Men's Hockey
Rally Comes Up Short and So Does Fourth
By Craig MerzOhio State is an enigma. Let’s put it right out there.
Forced to rally after losing the first game of many series it has rallied for impressive wins the second time around over the likes of No. 5 Denver, No. 3 Michigan and No. 2 Notre Dame.
So, needing at least three points on the weekend and with their backs against the wall Friday at Miami the Buckeyes pulled of a stunning 6-2 win over the No. 7 RedHawks. With that they needed only a point in Saturday’s regular-season finale in Value City Arena to secure the important fourth-place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
Figuring the heavy lifting had already been accomplished with its first win in Oxford since 2004, the Buckeyes looked nothing like the same team on Senior Night before 9,012 fans.They fell behind by three goals after two periods and trailed 6-2 with less than 11 minutes to play. Remember, the Buckeyes are at their best when the anvil is about to strike their collective heads.
OSU rallied to pull to within 6-5 with 75 seconds left and thoughts of one of the greatest comebacks in program history filled the air.
“I give credit to our team. We never give up. The last five or six minutes we pressed as hard as we could. You can’t press the last five or six minutes and expect to win the game,” sophomore captain Peter Boyd said.
They didn’t. Justin Mercier scored into an empty net 15 seconds later and the Buckeyes suffered a devastating 7-5 loss.
“We didn’t play 60 minutes tonight and the scoreboard showed that,” said Boyd.
“We played 20 minutes really, really hard and looked what it paid off for us – it gave us a chance to tie the game up at least. That’s a lesson learned that you can’t take the night off in college hockey. You’ve got to play back-to-back.
“If you’re not going to give back-to-back efforts teams are going to walk all over you. That’s a lesson to be learned tonight and we’ll put it behind us. Next week’s the playoffs.”
The Road To The Joe Could Go Through Alaska
Yes, the playoffs. A win or a shootout loss would have vaulted the Buckeyes (20-12-4, 13-11-4-3) past Alaska into that important fourth spot and would have given them next weekend off and assured a home series in the second round.Instead, the Buckeyes will host Bowling Green in a best-of-three series Friday through Sunday in the OSU Ice Rink because VCA is booked for the high-school state wrestling tournament the first two days of the playoffs and men’s basketball game on the third.
That’s going from a building where the Buckeyes have averaged 9,000 the past three games to their old home with less than 1/10 the capacity (800). Games will be at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday. A time for the Sunday game, if needed, will be announced later.
“Who wants to play there but what can you do?” senior Corey Elkins said with a smirk
“It’s another one of those things we have to accept and go with the grind. Nobody wants to play in there. We’re there every day (for practice) so it should work to our advantage.”
If the Buckeyes get by the Falcons they will have to travel to Alaska the following weekend for another best-of-three with the winner advancing to the CCHA Final Four in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena. The Buckeyes will likely need to make it there to have a shot at an NCAA at-large berth unless they win the whole darn as they did in 2004.
“We’re starting the exciting part of the year. It can be a lot of fun. We’ve got to focus on what can make us better this weekend and try and get it done,” OSU coach John Markell said. “It’s a new season. The playoffs are the playoffs. We came within one point of fourth place.
“You’re going to have to back up good games with good games. They’re trying to end our careers and we’re trying to end their careers. It’s never easy in college hockey and it’s going to take a lot of heart no matter where we play.”
Not Able To Bounce Back
Obviously, Saturday’s outcome makes the task more difficult.
After Andy Miele scored Miami’s second power-play goal at 9:07 of the third for a 6-2 lead the Buckeyes looked dead in the (frozen) water. But Hunter Bishop scored at 11:41.OSU got a power play with 5:26 left and pulled goalie Dustin Carlson as well but had only one shot on goal over the next two minutes. With hope fading, Elkins scored at 18:21 and again 24 seconds later to send the crowd into a frenzy.
“They were fighting for their lives, no question about it,” Mercier said.
The Buckeyes did not have any good chances the rest of the way and Mercier iced the win for Miami (19-10-5, 17-7-4-2).“We never counted ourselves out of the game but we very seldom give up seven goals. We need to buckle down defensively. We got away from that,” Elkins said.
Peter Boyd scored twice for the Buckeyes to rebuke 3-0 and 4-1 deficits but each time the RedHawks quickly responded.
“It was deflating,” Boyd said.
In the biggest game of the season Ohio State found itself down 2-0 after the first period. The Buckeyes should have known they were in for a long night when Boyd was sent to the penalty box for boarding at 4:13 and Brian Kaufman converted about 90 seconds later for the RedHawks (19-10-5, 17-7-4-2).
Stripe Gripe
First of all, the Buckeyes are getting penalized for being a physical team. Boyd’s hit was hard and clean as the opponent turned away from the boards. In an effort to protect players the officials have gone overboard. The CCHA referees are making the game closer to the women’s brand where checking is not allowed.As evidence, a checking from behind call on OSU senior Zach Pelletier six minutes later was equally unjust. While the Buckeyes have taken their share of stupid penalties throughout the season it’s hard to justify how Michigan could get six power plays to two for OSU in the previous home game and Miami had five of eight Saturday.
“We can’t control the refs and that’s something we have to realize on our team. They’re going to call what they think is a penalty or not,” Boyd said.
“We can’t deviate from our physical. You can’t get away from what makes you good. We’re not angry at the refs. They’re doing their best job.”
A non-call indirectly led to the first goal. Speedy Kyle Reed, who had a hat trick Friday, got free on a short-handed attempt but could not get off a shot after pin grabbed and spun around. It didn’t take long for Kaufman to finish a bang-bang play at the other end for the 1-0 lead.
Miami didn’t need help to go up by two. Andy Miele outworked the Buckeyes for the puck deep in the zone and fed Justin Mercier in the left circle for a one-timer.“We’re disappointed to come that close and can’t get it done especially after the game we played last night. My compliments to Miami. They played a better game and jumped on the lead,” Markell said.
“We couldn’t respond to it, not right way then when we made it 4-2 they responded right away. The fifth goal took the wind out of our sails.”
Different Night, Different Team
Buckeye netminder Dustin Carlson had a difficult second period and couldn’t control the puck on either of the Miami goals as the score went to 4-1. On the RedHawks’ third score he couldn’t handle a shot and let the puck get by. It bounced off the top netting and landed in the crease where it was knocked in.Reeling and dazed, the Buckeyes regained hope when Reed dropped a pass to Boyd, who fired from the slot for a short-handed goal at 9:34. However, it took only 66 seconds for Hirschfield to regain the lead after Carlson mishandled another shot and was left scrambling to cover an open net.
“We lost a lot of puck battles, loose puck battles that we won last night,” said Markell.
“We played a little softer than we played last night. We just played with more energy last night. Who knows why that happened because the way they played last night I fully expected they could bring it back and play that way again.”
Now the Buckeyes must regroup for an adventure in the OSU Ice Rink.
“We’re in this for the long haul,” Elkins said. “Before this weekend we laid out two possible things that could happen and you have to mentally accept it and be ready for it.”
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