The Ohio State men’s ice hockey team felt like it had something to prove after losing to unranked non-conference foe Mercyhurst at home Oct. 24.
The Buckeyes indeed proved themselves on Friday and Saturday when they swept visiting Alaska-Fairbanks to maintain their place at the top of the CCHA.
Like most early games for the Buckeyes, it was balanced attacking and solid goaltending that led to victory.
“I was very happy with the effort and the result,” said coach John Markell. “Alaska is a very good hockey team.”
Alaska’s best chance to defeat the Buckeyes came Saturday night. The Nanooks took an early lead when left wing Ryan Campbell beat OSU goalie Mike Betz on a wrap-around shot.
“I think Betz would tell you that he’d like to have that one back,” junior captain J.B. Bittner said. “But after he gives up a goal like that he’s even more determined and focused, and the guys feed off of that.”
Betz bounced back and slammed the door on Alaska, stopping 41 of the 43 shots he faced on the evening. OSU needed all the saves as it squeaked out on top, 3-2.
“The way he was playing tonight, it had a calming effect on me that he was there,” Markell said of Betz.
The big goal for the Buckeyes came near the end of the second period. Freshman forward Andrew Schembri grabbed a lob pass from junior defenseman Thomas Welsh just inside the blue line. Schrembi beat one defender and caught the Alaska goalie completely unprepared. It was Schrembi’s first career OSU goal and gave the Buckeyes a 2-1 lead.
“The puck just came up, and I wanted to get it on net,” Schembri said.
The goal gave OSU momentum and left Alaska-Fairbanks coach Guy Gadowsky shaking his head.
“I don’t know what kind of chance (goalie Preston McKay) had on that goal,” Gadowsky said.
Bittner scored in both games for the Buckeyes, continuing his scoring streak to six straight games.
“I can definitely say that next game I will not score a goal because I’ve had at least six people say that to me,” Bittner said after the game Saturday. “I think I’ve got the jinx on me now.”
Bittner’s goal Friday night was the game-winner as the Buckeyes defeated the Nanooks 4-2 in the series opener. Three of those goals came in the first period, when OSU outshot Alaska-Fairbanks by a 13-4 margin. The Buckeyes were undoubtedly the shot-dominant team, outshooting the Nanooks 32-21.
“Friday night I don’t think we deserved to win at all,” Gadowsky said.
The Buckeyes knew that winning Friday night would make Saturday’s game even more difficult. This pattern has been especially true for OSU this season. The Buckeyes are 2-3-0 on Friday night but have not lost on a Saturday night, going 3-0-0.
“You know if you beat a team Friday night, they’re going to come back twice as hard on Saturday,” Bittner said.
OSU skates to Northern Michigan next weekend knowing it performed well against a difficult opponent.
“Top to bottom they’re the best team we’ve seen so far this year,” Markell said of Alaska-Fairbanks. “Back to back wins in the CCHA are tough because of teams like that.”