Ohio State’s first foray into the 2015-16 season was not a successful one. A slow start and inconsistent play doomed the Buckeyes and they fell to No. 16 Bowling Green.
The Falcons were the much sharper team off the opening faceoff. By the mid-point of the first period they dominated the shot counter and the scoreboard. BGSU’s Jakob Reinhart drew first blood a few minutes into the contest. Leading returning goal scorer Kevin Dufour put his team two goals up at the eight minute mark. Ohio State mustered its first shot about seven minutes in.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #16 BOWLING GREEN | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| OHIO STATE | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Buckeye junior Dave Gust ameliorated some of the damage late in the frame, tallying the first Scarlet and Gray goal of 2015-16. A nifty pass from defender Josh Healey sprang Gust on a breakaway chance. He didn’t miss, smoothly lifting the puck over BG goalie Tommy Burke.
Ohio State looked much better to begin the second period. Defensively they succeeded in pushing Bowling Green to the perimeter and clogging the prime real estate in front of goaltender Christian Frey. The Bucks in general, and Victor Bjorkung in particular, also showcased a stellar round of penalty killing. They took control of the play, prevented the Falcons from getting set up, blocked shots well, and repeatedly forced the puck out of the zone.
Unfortunately the Bucks’ amped up defense did not lead to an outbreak of offense. Even more unfortunately it seemed to tire the squad out. Ohio State looked a step behind Bowling Green throughout the back half of the stanza.
The Scarlet and Gray defenders were nearly immobile by the ten minute mark. Frey gave a valiant effort but failed to stop consecutive 2-on-0 Falcon chances. The netminder was screened by his own gassed defensemen on Bowling Green’s fourth goal.
The Buckeyes bounced back and began the third period strong. Aggressive skating by OSU sucked the Falcons into back-to-back penalties. Good puck movement by the first power play unit set up a Nick Schilkey slammer on the initial man-advantage. The next one was decent but the Bucks couldn’t get anything else past Burke.
Ohio State’s energy seemed to flag at the mid-point of the period once again, though not quite as severely as in the middle frame. The Bucks did not give up any more quality chances. However they didn’t generate much either.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14:57 | Dave Gust (Josh Healey) |
| 3 | 2:06 | PP - Nick Schilkey ( Anthony Greco, Victor Bjorkung) |
| 3 | 17:29 | Nick Schilkey (Victor Bjorkung, Luke Stork) |
Bowling Green chipped in a pair of empty net goals. These were sandwiched around Schilkey’s second marker of the game. The late goals boosted the numbers on the scoreboard, but didn’t change the result.
All in all this was a typical early outing for the Buckeyes. There was some good. Special teams looked decent. OSU’s penalty killers shut down Bowling Green on both of its advantages. The Scarlet and Gray power play was 1-for-3. The team had brilliant moments at both ends of the ice. It’s just that the action in between those moments was kind of sketchy.
At this point of the season two out of every three coaches spends their postgame press conference talking about a “sixty minute effort.” The results of this game are not as important as where the Bucks go from here. As long as the next game is better there’s nothing to worry about.
The teams wrap up the series tomorrow night in Bowling Green. Fans not attending that game can watch online at WCHA.tv. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
