This past weekend saw the No. 14/15 Ohio State men’s ice hockey team revert to early-season form on the road against Ferris State. The team dropped a 5-2 decision Friday night, only to rebound with a dominating 5-0 victory Saturday. OSU is now 12-3 in Saturday games and 4-9 in Friday games.
“Friday night we didn’t play our game, but we came out much better on Saturday,” sophomore goalie Dave Caruso said.
OSU outshot the Bulldogs 42-37 but could only muster two goals – both by senior forward Scott May.
“They pretty much capitalized on every single one of our mistakes on Friday,” sophomore forward Dan Knapp said. “When we play like ourselves we’re a very tough team to beat.”
The Buckeyes know every one of their remaining games is crucial, so the team had a meeting after the game Friday. The players addressed each other’s role on the team and re-focused their efforts on the second game of the series.
“We can’t be looking ahead of ourselves,” junior forward Thomas Welsh said. “We’ve got to take it one game at a time.”
The newly energized team came out and took no prisoners Saturday, dominating the Bulldogs from the very beginning. Knapp and freshman forward Andrew Schembri both scored in the first 3:45 of play, with Knapp’s goal coming just 27 seconds into the game. Knapp finished with his first career hat trick.
“We went back to the simple things that make us a good hockey team,” Knapp said.
Senior goalie Mike Betz got Saturday night off after the loss Friday, and Caruso made the most of the opportunity. The sophomore stopped all 26 shots he faced, earning his second shutout of the season.
“My goal is just to stop the puck, play my game … and have fun,” Caruso said. “Having fun is the key.”
The Buckeyes’ focus is on this weekend’s series against visiting Nebraska-Omaha. The series is the last home series of the season for OSU, who are 7-6 at home this season. With six games left in the season, the team is treating each game as a matter of life-or-death.
“They’re going to be playing like it’s for their Stanley Cup, and we’ll have to match that intensity,” Knapp said.
