Close but no cigar. Ohio State came up short tonight against rival Miami, but the Buckeyes are inching closer to a solid sixty minutes. If the team continues to progress at this rate the Bucks should be in good shape when Big Ten play begins.
The teams established a decent flow to the game in the early going. There were few whistles in the first period. The only penalty was assessed to the RedHawks. The Buckeyes were unsuccessful in their power play opportunity.
| boxscore | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 18 Miami | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
The action on the ice was fairly even throughour the period, but Miami grabbed the advantage. Matt Tomkins had to lean around a screen and didn’t see Andrew Schmit crossing the slot until Schmit’s shot was halfway to the net. It was a good shot, too, beating the Buckeye goalie on the glove side.
The back-and-forth play continued into the middle frame. Miami got its first chance with the man-advantage at the six minute mark. The Buckeye penalty killers were more than up to their task.
The RedHawks got bupkis going in Ohio State’s end. Anthony Greco got the Bucks on the board with a shorthanded tally. Deep in Miami’s zone Greco picked the pocket of Louie Belpedio, swiftly brought the puck out front, and beat RedHawk goalie Ryan McKay.
The teams traded penalties for the remainder of the period. The game’s pace and physicality picked up noticeably. Still the score remained knotted up at the second break.
It didn’t stay that way long. Kiefer Sherwood put Miami back on top 3:14 into the third period. The Columbus native picked the corner on Tomkins off a RedHawks faceoff win.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 6:54 | Anthony Greco - SH (unassisted) |
| 3 | 17:15 | Anthony Greco (Dave Gust, Craig Dalrymple) |
Ohio State responded with two furious rushes. Each time Buckeyes, first Matt Weis and then Dave Gust, got behind the Miami defense but McKay fended off both shots.
Greco pulled the Buckeyes even once again with a big helping hand from Dave Gust. Craig Dalrymple dumped the puck in. Gust battled for it behind the Miami net, a battle he ultimately won. He sent the puck out to Greco who snuck in and scored his second goal of the game.
Ohio State seemed poised to carry the game to overtime but the RedHawks weren't done. An aggressive shift in the Buckeye end caught the Scarlet and Gray a bit out of position. They were victims of a Columbus native once again. This time it was Jack Roslovic, uncovered and banging home a game winning rebound.
Although they didn't skate away with a "W" the Bucks took a clear step forward from last week's series against Bowling Green. The defense was sharper from the get-go tonight. Tomkins turned in another solid effort in net. The penalty killers are still on point.
The power play maybe isn't as strong as it originally seemed and the offense is still finding its groove, but things are definitely looking up. Ohio State and Miami conclude their series tomorrow night at 8pm in Oxford. Diehard hockey (i.e. non-football) fans who want to follow that game can do so over the radio at 1460 AM or online via NCHC.tv
Women Fall to Minnesota in Home Opener
The Buckeyes began the game with good energy. They skated hard and did a pretty good job of limiting the Gophers’ quality shots. OSU netminder Stacy Danczak was superb in shutting down those few good chances.
| boxscore | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Minnesota | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Minnesota finally broke through the Ohio State defense during a power play late in the first period. Danczak appeared to be crossed up by an odd shot/pass. Minnesota’s Kate Schipper tapped the puck home.
The Bucks responded immediately with their best shift of the game. They put their first extended pressure on the Minnesota net, leading the Gophers to ice the puck. The lady Bucks won the ensuing offensive zone faceoff and swarmed the net. The puck squirted out to Cara Zubko who put it away. The goal was Zubko’s first of the year and the first scored against a Minnesota goaltender this season.
The second period was not so kind to the home team. Minnesota began to assert itself. The Gophers drew the Bucks into a penalty minutes into the frame and, though the Buckeyes killed it off, they just seemed to be a step behind the Gophers for the rest of the frame.
Minnesota reeled off four goals in an eight minute span. Alex LaMere came on in relief of Danczak. A comeback was not in the cards for Ohio State today. The Gophers pulled further ahead in the third, chipping in another two goals. Claudia Kepler popped in a late game buzzer beater for the Scarlet and Gray to make the final score 7-2.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19:49 | Cara Zubko (Lauren Spring, Dani Sadek) |
| 3 | 19:59 | Claudia Kepler (Dana Rasmussen, Julia McKinnon) |
Though the result isn’t great there are some positives to take away from this game. The Buckeyes played a very good opening period, better than anything I saw last week against Wisconsin. They spent too much time in the penalty box to be successful against any team, let alone one whose power play converts 60% of its chances. However, Ohio State’s penalty killers shut down five of Minnesota’s six attempts. Prior to tonight’s game not one single player had gotten the puck past a Gopher goalie. Not one, but two Buckeyes accomplished that feat tonight.
The ladies are making progress and the schedule is going to get slightly more manageable after this week. All in all things are looking up. Ohio State has a rematch with Minnesota tomorrow afternoon at 2pm. Fans heading out to the Ice Rink should be aware of the football traffic and plan accordingly.
