Ryan McKay’s return to action was pretty typical for him.

The Miami University hockey team’s freshman goaltender registered a 4-0 shutout at Alaska last Saturday in his first contest since suffering a sprained ankle in late October.

“To be honest, it all came back pretty quick,” said McKay, a 6-foot, 225-pound Palatine, Ill., native. “I think the thing I thought about first was the routine before the game that I’ve done ever since I was a little kid.”

That routine includes visualization and some work with a racquetball. Once that was out of the way, McKay made 26 saves and improved his season save percentage to .989.

He blanked Colgate 3-0 in the RedHawks’ season opener, then tied Providence 1-1 the following weekend. McKay started at Michigan on Oct. 26 before the ankle injury sidelined him in the first five minutes.

“It was your basic sprained ankle,” McKay said. “No one ran into me — I hit a rut in the ice. It was just like a twist kind of thing. Being a goalie with the stress there is on your knees and your ankles and your hips, it was causing me some inability to move.”

McKay and fellow freshman Jay Williams were alternating starts early in the year. With McKay out, Williams has been very solid (2.16 goals-allowed average, .918 save percentage).

McKay has been cleared to play for several weeks, but Miami took the precautionary route and held him out until last weekend.

Miami coach Enrico Blasi said he wasn’t surprised that McKay was so sharp in his return.

“He’s been 100 percent for a couple weeks,” Blasi said. “We see that stuff in practice every day.”

McKay said it was tough to be a spectator for so long, but he understood the coaches’ decision, adding, “I think it was the right decision at the end of the day. There’s no sense in risking it or pushing it. I feel 100 percent now.”

He’s hopeful that his rotation with Williams will continue in this weekend’s series against Lake Superior State at Steve Cady Arena. Blasi declined to reveal his plans earlier this week.

McKay said it’s not hard to root for Williams when he’s on the ice.

“Jay and myself have known each other for a number of years now. We played in the same junior league together and kept in touch when we were there,” McKay said. “We’re very friendly, even though it’s a competitive situation. When I was recruited here, the coaches all made that very clear. I think that’s what has pushed us to play well so far this year.”

Having allowed just one goal this year, McKay can remember it clearly.

“It was a 5-on-3 against Providence,” he said. “A one-timer from the high left slot. It was a rebound, and the guy was standing there on the doorstep. Remembering those things, I think that’s pretty common in sports. It’s part of being a competitor. You strive to be as perfect as you can be.”

Miami is on a roll, going 5-o-2 with a pair of shootout wins since dropping a 3-0 decision at Ferris State on Nov. 2. The RedHawks are ranked third in this week’s USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.

“I like where we’re at,” Blasi said. “I think we’re getting better every week. I don’t think we’re a team that talks about outcomes unless the process is there, and the process has been there, so it’s nice when those two things match up. Sometimes they don’t.”

MU is 9-2-3 overall and alone in first place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association with a 6-2-2 mark. The Lakers are 7-9, 4-6, and were swept last weekend at Notre Dame.

Miami’s Austin Czarnik (seven goals, 12 assists) and Riley Barber (six goals, 12 assists) are the top two scorers in the CCHA. Domenic Monardo (five goals, seven assists) and Nick McParland (four goals, seven assists) lead Lake Superior.

The Lakers have one Southwest Ohio player, senior forward Brett Wall from Huber Heights. He’s got two assists.