The Ohio State men’s hockey team continued its red-hot play in the month of November over the weekend, with a two-game sweep over No. 6 Northern Michigan at the Schottenstein Center.
OSU tamed the Wildcats Friday night, 3-1, then finished off the sweep with a 2-0 victory Saturday night.
The Buckeyes have won four in a row and are beginning to establish themselves as an elite team in the CCHA.
A theme that continues to persist is the outstanding play of Buckeye goaltender Mike Betz. Betz, who was named CCHA player of the week last week, only allowed one goal over the weekend. Saturday night was his third shutout this year and fourth in his career as a Buckeye.
“When they (fellow teammates) are playing with confidence, I feed off them,” Betz said.
He credited his defense for being solid all weekend long.
“I think 95 percent of the shots I faced were clean,” he said.
The Buckeyes set the tone early Friday night when forward Miguel Lafleche snuck the puck past Wildcat goaltender Craig Kowalski for the first goal of the game. Kowalski came into the weekend’s action as one of the top performers in goal statistically in the CCHA, but the Bucks were up for the challenge.
Northern Michigan tied the game in the second period, when forward Chad Theure did what few opponents have done all year – get the puck past Betz.
However, OSU quickly restored momentum when Buckeye forward T.J. Latorre struck gold with his first goal of the season.
The Bucks put on the finishing touches when center R.J. Umberger added an insurance goal in the third to cap off an impressive 3-1 victory.
After game one, OSU coach John Markell was pleased with his team’s performance.
“The team made the effort all night, from the goalie to the forwards,” he said.
The Bucks came up big Saturday controlling the puck and never allowing Northern Michigan to get on track defensively.
The Buckeyes jumped out early when forward Scott May tallied his fifth goal of the season. May was assisted on the goal by defensemen Jason Crain and Doug Andress.
The Bucks created a safety-net when forward Daymen Bencharski blasted a sensational high shot to the upper right side of the net to score.
For the second straight night, Betz and the Buckeye defense created a barricade in front of the OSU goal.
Betz stopped all 27 NMU shots, while Buckeye defenders broke up Wildcat possessions all game.
“You can’t start off slow against a team like this. They are too good,” Northern Michigan coach Rick Comley said.
May said the players are comfortable with their roles.
“Everything seems to be clicking. We play well off each other,” he said.
Markell said he was pleased with his team’s progress in handling back-to-back-to-back games.
“I thought we played well. You have to learn how to play back-to-back weekends in college hockey. It is part of the learning process,” Markell said.
The Buckeyes are now 7-2-1 overall and 5-2-1 in the CCHA. OSU will look to continue its winning ways this Saturday night on the road against New Hampshire.
