COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 1 Miami turned a road game against rival Ohio State into Milestone Night.
Sophomore goaltender Cody Reichard recorded Miami's third straight shutout - something the team had never accomplished - in a 6-0 win at Value City Arena on Friday.
Junior captain Tommy Wingels became the first Miamian ever to score four consecutive goals in a game, and he added an assist on the fifth.
And by the way, junior Carter Camper recorded three assists to become the 44th player in Miami history to reach the career 100-point mark.
Miami (12-2-5) blanked Notre Dame in both games last weekend, and has not allowed a goal since the second period of its Nov. 28 game at North Dakota. The RedHawks have gone 207:14 without allowing a goal, a school record.
Miami has posted back-to-back shutouts three other times, but never three straight.
Reichard only faced 17 shots, five of which came on Ohio State's six power plays. He was only tested a few times. Miami blocked 22 shots to help preserve the shutout.
Miami sophomore goaltender Cody Reichard faces a scoring chance from Ohio State's leading scorer, Zac Dalpe on Friday (Cathy White/CNATI.com).
Wingels broke the school's consecutive goals record in a game, which was three held by Dave McClintock and Brian Savage. McClintock's natural hat trick was registered on March 1, 1980, and Savage's was also against Ohio State (7-11-1) on Nov. 27, 1992.
Wingels' first two goals came on backhanders, and his first three were all on the power play. His fourth goal came on a wrister from the faceoff circle to the right of Ohio State goalie Cal Heeter - one of Wingels' favorite shooting spots.
Tommy Wingels (9) sets up in front of the Ohio State net (Cathy White/CNATI.com).
Camper assisted on Wingels' first two goals - the second of which was point No. 100 - and he added a third helper on Cannone's goal in the third period.
Junior Carter Camper (11) takes a faceoff against Ohio State. Camper became the 44th Miami skater ever to reach the career 100-point mark on Friday. Camper needed two points to reach triple figures, and he recorded three assists (Cathy White/CNATI.com).
Lost in the milestones is Miami's offensive output. Friday equaled the most goals the RedHawks have scored in a game this season. Miami also scored six goals at New Hampshire on Oct. 16.
Miami wraps up its series against the Buckeyes at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday at Cady Arena in Oxford, Ohio.
BOTTOM LINE: For the second straight game, Miami was exceptional in both ends of the ice. The offense got rolling, the RedHawks blocked a ton of shots and played tight defense, and when Reichard had to make saves he did so without allowing rebounds.
Miami actually played better than the score indicates because Heeter was outstanding the first two periods. He stopped 24 of 26 shots before the third period, when Heeter went cold and allowed four goals on seven shots.
GRADES
FORWARDS: A+. It's about time. This corps of forwards was too talented to struggle for long. They scored all six goals, generated 28 shots and as mentioned above, were denied on a few quality chances by Heeter.
Wingels, in addition to lighting up the scoresheet, was also Miami's best penalty-killing forward. He was second on the team with three blocked shots.
DEFENSEMEN: A. They did an excellent job riding Ohio State players off the puck when they penetrated the Miami zone, and blocked nine shots (junior Vincent LoVerde, who leads the team, had four blocks).
Would've liked to have a seen a little more offensive presence from the defense, and the team could've done without the penalties. Despite Miami's six goals, RedHawks blueliners did not have a point and took five of Miami's six minor penalties.
But overall all of the defensemen were exceptional. Sophomore Cameron Schilling probably played the best game of all the blueliners.
GOALTENDING: A+. Reichard does it again. He only faced a few somewhat difficult shots, and he stopped them all without giving up any rebounds. He never had to make a highlight-reel save, and didn't see that much action, courtesy of the defense.
I like to reserve the 'A+'s for special occasions, like when Miami scores six goals for the first time in 16 games, but I give Reichard one for Friday's game because of the team record that I'm sure added pressure on him.
LINEUP MOVES: On Friday, coach Enrico Blasi went with the same 18 skaters that led Miami to a 4-0 win over Notre Dame.
Senior Brandon Smith played in his second straight game, and senior Gary Steffes sat for his second in a row.
It looks like Blasi is sticking with playing sophomore Matt Tomassoni as a fourth-line forward and penalty-killing defenseman. He played in his eighth straight game, and freshman defenseman Steven Spinell played in his seventh.
EXTREMELY SPECIAL TEAMS: Miami had four power play goals in its last five games, but the RedHawks went 4-for-6 on the power play on Friday.
It was the most goals for Miami on the man advantage all season (the RedHawks only had two PPGs three times).
Obviously, Miami has not given up a power play in three straight games. The RedHawks were 6 of 6 on Friday, and are 21-for-21 during their shutout streak. Miami has not allowed a man-advantage goal in six of its last seven games, with the lone blemish being a three PPG game by North Dakota on Nov. 28.
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