Miami's first losing streak of the season is over.
The RedHawks shut out No. 7 Ferris State, 4-0 at Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich., on Friday, ending a two-game skid and giving No. 2 Miami the outright lead in the CCHA.
Sophomore goalie Cody Reichard stopped 23 shots to record his fourth shutout of the season, tying a school record set by David Burleigh in 2002-03.
Senior forward Jarod Palmer opened the scoring seven minutes into the first period with his eighth goal of the season, and junior center Andy Miele make it 2-0 early in the second period.
Senior forward Brandon Smith and sophomore forward Trent Vogelhuber both scored their second goal of the season to ice the game.
Palmer and Miele finished with a goal and an assist each, and junior defenseman Vincent LoVerde recorded a career-high two assists.
Fifty-six penalty minutes were assessed to the teams, yet both teams were unable to score on any of their 13 combined chances.
Ferris State was 11-0 at home entering the season, and had lost just one of its previous 16 games overall (12-3-1). Miami was tied with the Bulldogs with 34 points entering Friday, and now leads Ferris State by three points.
Michigan State, which had 33 points going into its series with Notre Dame, also lost and fell four points behind Miami.
Reichard is already halfway to Burleigh's career shutouts record of 12. His goals-against average in conference play is now a CCHA-best 0.89, and has a 1.37 overall GAA, best in the country.
BOTTOM LINE: Sometimes a short-term memory can be a good thing.
Miami (14-4-5) was able to completely forget about last weekend's disaster series vs. Robert Morris and revert to its pre-holiday form.
This was a dominating effort all-around against a team that was not only red-hot but had already salvaged two ties in Oxford.
Although the RedHawks' brief losing streak was eerily reminiscent of last season's post-holiday slump, Reichard and Knapp are no longer freshmen. Reichard especially is capable of stealing games, making it difficult for Miami to suffer through another prolonged losing streak.
This season's RedHawks also have stronger leadership from junior captain Tommy Wingels.
GRADES
FORWARDS: A-. Four goals on 38 shots against a team that was previously unbeaten at home is a great start to Miami's second-half CCHA schedule.
Palmer and Miele have already established themselves as offensive studs, but it was good to see Smith and Vogelhuber generate some offense.
DEFENSEMEN: A. Ferris State (16-5-2) managed just 23 shots, and the defensive corps recorded four assists. Sophomore Cameron Schilling blocked six shots, and the six blueliners blocked nine for the game.
GOALTENDING: A+. Stopping 23 shots en route to a shutout is excellent. Blanking an opponent tied for first on the road when a team really, really needs a strong goaltending performance earns Reichard the "plus".
Stat of the day: Reichard has allowed three or more goals (actually only three each time) four times this season. His goals-against average the next game he plays is 0.28 and his save percentage is .988.
LINEUP CHANGES: Freshman forward Devin Mantha played for the first time since Nov. 14, and senior Gary Steffes sat after playing consecutive games last weekend. Mantha recorded his first career assist.
On defense, sophomore Matt Tomassoni was scratched last weekend, but he cracked the lineup on Friday after playing forward most of the last two months. To make room, freshman Steven Spinell sat after playing 10 consecutive games. Tomassoni had three shots and went plus-1.
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