Blake Coleman's Return Sparks Miami to 4-3 Upset of St. Cloud State

Coming off of four consecutive losses, capped by an embarrassing 9-2 loss at North Dakota last weekend, nobody was quite sure what kind of effort Miami, last place in the NCHC, would put forth against NCHC league leader St. Cloud tonight in the opening game of their series with the Huskies.

But the RedHawks picked up a big boost tonight with the return of junior forward Blake Coleman to the line-up from injury. Coleman came into the game with 10 goals for Miami, despite not having played since December 6th. Coleman was a spark plug all night for the RedHawks, lighting the lamp twice with goals to put Miami up 3-1 in the second period, and 4-2 in the third period. His second goal would stand as the game-winner, when St. Cloud scored with just over a minute to play, but could draw no closer, and Miami pulled out the 4-3 win.

The win was Miami's second of the season against St. Cloud, which is significant because St. Cloud could be seeing Miami again in the first round of the NCHC playoffs if each team stays in their respective position in the league. The RedHawks looked like a much stronger team with Coleman back in the line-up, however, and despite their poor performance to this point in the year, could be a dangerous team to play down the stretch.