Despite falling into a 2-0 deficit in the second period Friday night, the No. 9 University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team responded with five unanswered goals – including two power play tallies – to overcome No. 20 Miami University (Ohio) 5-2 inside the Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio.

The win pushed the Bulldogs closer to first round home National Collegiate Hockey Conference ice, and was the most goals UMD has scored in seven games.

It didn't begin that way for UMD, however, who had two errors lead to RedHawk goals, including one at 14:04 into the opening frame. Miami took a 2-0 lead 6:15 into the second period, but the Bulldogs used a double minor on the RedHawks at the 9:58 mark to get on the board with a power tip by Hunter Anderson at 12:34 to get on the board.

Less than five minutes later, on his 20th birthday, Max Plante buried a feed from Jayson Shaugabay for his 22nd goal of the season to pull the Bulldogs even at 2-2.

Plante factored in early in the third when the sophomore winger was speared just 14 seconds into the third frame to give UMD a five minute power play off the major and game misconduct charged to RedHawk Bradley Walker. Scout Truman made Miami pay with a one-timer from the slot on the power play for the go-ahead goal less than three minutes later to push the Bulldogs out in front 3-2. 

Shaugabay finished off his own breakaway late in the third with a goal that ended up getting knocked into the net by the pads of goaltender Matteo Drobac to make it a 4-2 contest at 15:16, and Callum Arnott ground the RedHawks for good on an empty net goal with just 27 seconds left to punch in the 5-2 final.

The Bulldogs had five players in double figures – Plante (1g, 1a), Shaugabay (1g, 1a), Anderson (1g, 1a), Kyle Gaffney (2a) and Grayden Siepmann (2a) and went 2-of-5 on the power play while holding Miami scoreless in four attempts. UMD outshot the RedHawks 32-29 in the contest and got 27 stops from sophomore goaltender Ethan Dahlmeir in his return to Oxford. 

UMD (19-12-0, 10-11-0) and Miami will do it all over again tomorrow night, with the puck set to drop at 5:05 p.m.

BULLDOG NOTES: UMD has now scored over 100 goals – 103, to be exact, the most it has scored since 2023-24 (103) and more than 100 tallies for just the third time since 2019-20 season, where it hit 114) … Max Plante scored his first goal in seven games (since Jan. 17), and posted his first multiple point game over the same seven games and 13th of the season.