The Ohio State men’s hockey team was in position to grab a win and a tie against visiting Alabama-Huntsville this weekend, but the heroics of Charger Steve Canter turned the Buckeyes’ possible three points into one.
Canter, a junior left winger, scored a breakaway goal with 44 seconds left Friday to give Alabama-Huntsville (5-4-2, 2-2-0 College Hockey America) a 4-3 win, then came back Saturday and scored with less than a second to play to send the teams to a 2-2 tie at the Schottenstein Center.
“Steve Canter is a clutch player for us,” Charger coach Doug Ross said. “He’s always been a guy who can score goals. He’s a good player for us.”
Saturday’s ending was about as shocking as could be. The Buckeyes (7-6-2, 6-4-1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) were clinging to a 2-1 lead when the Chargers pulled senior goaltender Scott Munroe with 28 seconds to play. The Chargers did not get a good shot on goal until three seconds remained, when senior forward Bruce Mulherin threw a desperation shot on net from the right corner. OSU senior goaltender Dave Caruso made the save, but the rebound bounced to the low slot. UAH captain Jeremy Schreiber took a shot that a sprawling Caruso stopped, but Canter found the rebound and put it past a down-and-out Caruso just before the game ended.
The teams skated through a scoreless overtime. OSU had the only two shots on goal in the extra frame, a common theme throughout the weekend. The Buckeyes outshot the Chargers 51-21 Saturday and 106-47 on the weekend, but with 101 saves on the weekend, Munroe was up to the task.
“We need him to play consistently for us,” Ross said after Friday’s win. “He’s a good goaltender. He’s being scouted, as we all know. He’s a senior this year. He’s the backbone of our team. He’s our franchise. When he plays well, we can win games.”
OSU started with the lead Saturday night when junior defenseman Tyson Strachan scored his third goal of the year on a screened shot from the blue line. Sophomore forward Domenic Maiani and junior Bryce Anderson had the assists.
The Chargers tied it on a 4-on-3 power play with 16:34 left in the second period. The team passed it back and forth until a seam developed, and junior defenseman Mike Salekin beat Caruso to the glove side. It was Salekin’s second goal of the series and fourth of the year.
OSU answered a minute later on a power play of its own. Maiani won a draw back to senior forward Rod Pelley. Munroe stopped Pelley’s initial attempt, but Maiani buried the rebound for his fourth goal in three games. The Buckeyes then kept the Chargers without many third-period chances until Canter’s goal.
Friday night, OSU never led. Freshman Josh Murray converted a breakout chance 12:19 into the game to put UAH up 1-0 going into the first intermission.
OSU then outshot the Chargers 19-6 in the second period but were outscored 2-1. Schembri tied the game on a power play 11:00 into the frame when he converted a rebound from junior forward Mathieu Beaudoin. Salekin answered 1:03 later, blasting a slap shot from the blue line past Caruso, and junior forward David Nimmo put home his own rebound on a 5-on-3 power play 1:23 after Salekin’s goal.
The Buckeyes tied it in the third on two power-play goals in a 1:39 span. Pelley scored on a 5-on-3 blast at the 3:51 mark, and Maiani scored on a scramble out front to tie it.
“Letting in like two goals there early in the third, I didn’t know what to think,” Munroe said. “I thought, ‘Oh, here we go.’ I didn’t want to let them back in the game, and when they got two early there with 15 minutes left to go, I just wanted to preserve the tie.”
That he did, stopping 19 shots in the third period until Canter’s game-winner with 44 seconds left. Salekin fed him on a breakout pass, and he had the angle coming in toward the net on Caruso’s right. Caruso went for the poke check and missed, allowing Canter to put the puck into an open net.
“Steve Canter was there (and) made a good move on the goaltender,” Ross said. “Sometimes they finish that way, but I thought for sure we were probably going to go to overtime.”
Friday, OSU coach John Markell said he was not happy with his team’s play after seeing “inconsistencies” in practice throughout the week leading up the games.
“The team that I stood behind the bench last weekend, that’s not the same team I saw tonight, and I have a problem with that,” Markell said.
OSU was 3-of-12 on the power play, a fact that made the loss that much harder to take.
“When you get 12 power plays in a game, myself included, on the power play, they’re pretty much giving you the game and saying ‘Score some goals on us,'” Pelley said.
The Buckeyes were coming off a five-game winning streak that saw them outscore the opposition 19-5. That winning streak followed a five-game winless slide that came after OSU was ranked No. 2 in the country.
“We stepped back to where we were a month and a half ago, and it’s very, very disappointing,” Markell said after Friday’s loss.
After Saturday’s game, senior captain Nate Guenin said the Buckeyes had a team meeting to discuss each player’s role, and it resulted in a better effort even though the win fell through the Buckeyes’ fingertips.
“We’re starting to figure it out, slowly. It’s been probably the longest process I’ve ever been a part of,” Guenin said. “I thought we came together as a team better tonight.”
The Buckeyes are back at the Schott at 7:00 p.m. Saturday and 3:00 p.m. Sunday against the Union Dutchmen.
