After an overtime victory on Friday, the Ohio State men’s hockey team went down to the wire for the second consecutive night, beating the Western Michigan Broncos 3-2 in regulation at the Schottenstein Center Saturday.

Although the Buckeyes prevailed in the end, several controversial calls almost proved costly.

The most pertinent occurred with five seconds left in the game when the clock did not start with play. After an almost five-second delay, the clock finally began to tick, giving the Broncos added time to try to tie the game.

“I (was) extremely upset with the clock,” said OSU coach John Markell. “It didn’t run for five seconds, and that cannot happen in this rink. If that had cost us the game, something would have to be paid here. It was brutal, and that has our whole team upset.”

Early in the game, OSU seemingly had a goal, but an inadvertent high stick disqualified the score.

However, the Buckeyes weren’t the only ones who fell victim to strange circumstances. Several minutes after the OSU non-goal fiasco, an odd ricochet off both the Buckeye goal and goaltender Mike Betz left the puck in the OSU net. However, it was disallowed because the whistle sounded before the puck crossed the line.

The game mimicked the Friday night thriller when OSU scored late to claim the win in the CCHA battle. The difference between the games was who scored the key goals. On Saturday, forwards JB Bittner and Miguel Lafleche scored late to give the Buckeyes the victory. In Friday’s overtime win, forwards Rod Pelley and R.J. Umberger posted late goals to aid in the win.

The Buckeyes started the series finale strong on Saturday as forward Ryan Kesler notched a goal with defenseman Doug Andress and Umberger providing the assists.

After Western Michigan scored, the game stayed tied until Bittner added a goal in the beginning moments of the third period, but Western Michigan battled back to tie the game.

However, just 14 seconds after the tying goal, Lafleche, on a backhand pass from Kesler, lifted the puck over the arm of Bronco goaltender Mike Mantua.

“Ryan (Kesler) made a great play,” Lafleche said. “I just closed my eyes, shot the puck and it went in.”

“It was kind of a bang-bang play,” Kesler said. “He (Lafleche) made a move and put it in the shelf backhand.”

Lafleches’ goal proved to be the game-winner, as OSU defeated the Broncos for the second straight night.

“Obviously we’re extremely disappointed,” Bronco coach Jim Culhane said. “I thought we played real hard and gave a gallant effort both nights. Unfortunately on our end, we don’t get any points out of it.”

The victory Saturday gave OSU its 20th win of the season, and the Buckeyes still have not lost a CCHA battle at home.

One of the keys to OSU’s success at home has been its penalty kill, which has not allowed a goal in 21 opponent chances.

The Buckeyes’ power play has been strong, generating three goals against the Broncos.

OSU’s success could be attributed to its bombardment of the opposing net. The Buckeyes laid 76 shots on the Western Michigan goaltenders, including 47 on Saturday.

“It’s to create those shots is what gives the guys confidence,” Markell said. “At some point, they are going to go in. We’re working way too hard to only get two or three goals a game and producing all those shots.”