DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — The first period didn't go so well for the Miami University hockey team in its season opener Friday night, but after senior Nathan Davis left the ice with a separated shoulder, his teammates figured things had to get better.

Somehow.

And they did.

Junior forward Justin Mercier and senior forward Ryan Jones each scored a third-period goal, and junior goaltender Jeff Zatkoff was near perfect as the fourth-ranked RedHawks held off the 20th-ranked Vermont Catamounts 2-1 at Steve Cady Arena.

"It was a great game," said Miami head coach Enrico Blasi. "Both teams got better as the game went along. It was an intense game. If felt more like March out there than October."

"It would be nice to say we didn't think about it, but we did," said Jones, referring to the team's mood after Davis went back to the locker room after getting hurt at about the 11:30 mark of the first period. "The guys did a really good job of taking up the slack."

"Once we knew Nate was out of the game," Zatkoff said, "we had to put it behind us. We rallied as a team and came out on top."

Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said he didn't know the extent of the injury to Davis, who was named as the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's Best Defensive Forward last season.

"I hope he'll be back (tonight)," Blasi said, referring to Miami's second home game against Vermont, scheduled to start at 8:05 p.m.

"We knew we had enough leaders and seniors to step up tonight," Blasi added, "and that's exactly what happened."

The game was scoreless at the end of the second period when several players mixed it up along the boards. It looked worse than it was. Two Vermont players and one Miami player received minor infractions.

"It's an emotional game, and you have to stick up for your guys," Blasi said.

Mercier broke the scoreless tie at the 4:49 mark of the third period on assists from Ray Eichenlaub and Brian Kaufman, and Jones made it 2-0 at 12:17 with assists an assist from Kevin Roeder.

Vermont pulled goaltender Joe Fallon in the closing minutes, and it paid off, somewhat, when Peter Lenes scored with 2:22 remaining in what Zatkoff called a "cluster" of 10 players or "scrum" in front of the Miami net.

The RedHawks had lost their previous six decisions to the Catamounts, including a 4-1 setback last season in the second game ever played at Miami's new arena.