After the zamboni had finished grooming the ice surface at Michigan State and the players had headed back to Columbus, a lingering fan happened upon the shadow of a 10-game unbeaten streak.He silently watched the streak from his seat among the Spartan green of Munn Ice Arena, and sullenly left it there to fade with passing time until another streak is born.For this fan, the streak may be gone, but certainly not forgotten, as it would leave an unmistakable imprint on the coaches, players and fans of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.”We’re probably above where we thought we would be,” said OSU hockey coach John Markell.It was a streak which began with a 7-0 route of Lake Superior State University on Jan. 9.The shellacking was not only Ohio State’s largest margin of victory during the streak, but would also introduce a new second line of icers designed to counterbalance opposing teams’ top lines and open up scoring opportunities for OSU’s highly touted first line, and that’s exactly the way it played out.The “Ontario” line, which now consists of Todd Compeau, Dan Cousineau and Chris Richards, scored 27 points during the streak and helped the Buckeyes rise from eighth place to third in the CCHA.Its compliment, the first line, or the “Quebec” line, punished the opposition in every possible way.Jean-Francois Dufour, Hugo Boisvert, and Eric Meloche scorched opponents by turning in a 41-point effort over the 11 game span.Together, the lines have scored 28 goals, 40 assists, and have fundamentally played well, earning a +42 rating during the streak.”I think our team has come together well,” said freshman goaltender Jeff Maund. “Everybody is starting to believe in each other, which reflects the confidence we’ve earned.”Maund, a candidate for freshman of the year honors, saw the bulk of action between the pipes during the streak. His 420 minutes logged in seven games enabled him to up his record by six wins and lower his goals-against-average to 2.69 and raise his save percentage to .912. But as anybody who follows the Buckeyes knows, OSU has two goalies.Sophomore Ray Aho laced the skates four times during the streak and as did Maund, improved both his GAA (2.43) and SV % (.903). Aho won three games, lost none, and tied one.”Our goal was to go about 8-2 during that 10-game stretch – and we obviously accomplished that which is just a reflection of the team – the guys are playing well,” said Aho.Defense, as always in team sports, was a key element to the successful campaign.The six-member unit held opponents to only 23 shots per game during a seven-game stint during the streak, and combined with Maund and Aho to not surrender more than three goals to any opponent, until the Alaska tie, which broke the win-streak. Three times an Ohio State icer was honored with Bauer/CCHA Player of the Week accolades.Hugo Boisvert, Eric Meloche, and Ryan Root each earned the award once.Boisvert would score Ohio State’s 5000th goal in Western Michigan, and strung together a 10-game point scoring streak.OSU hasn’t finished higher than seventh in the past seven years, and hasn’t hosted a playoff series in twice that time.This season Ohio State looks to finish in the top three or four, and will probably host that first round CCHA playoff.The streak has earned Ohio State notable national attention, yet wasn’t enough for the Buckeyes to crack the top-10 – they received 11 votes, seven more than the previous week, and 11 more than before the streak began.Markell, as always, put the streak in its proper context by laying down the team approach, saying, “It’s all about winning now. We can’t afford to loose.”