The Ohio State men’s hockey team was out-gunned by No.1 Miami over the weekend. In a dramatic quarterfinal matchup, of the CCHA tournament, The RedHawks end the Buckeyes season Sunday night with a 2-1 victory.
Miami out-shot OSU in all three games of the series and their extra chances paid off as they won both Friday and Sunday’s games, by scores of 6-2 and 2-1 respectively, to win the series. Even in OSU’s overtime victory on Saturday they were out-shot by Miami 46-21.
“They force you to raise the level of your play,” coach John Markell said of Miami. “Our guys are capable of it. You try and teach your guys to stay at that level, to stay at that intensity.”
The Buckeyes played with high energy and intensity throughout the series but they were outlasted by Miami, who displayed why it is the best team in the country.
“I’ve got to give credit to Miami. They fought hard to get back in it,” forward Hunter Bishop said.
Bishop had six goals and two assists for the Buckeyes in their five postseason games.
For the Buckeyes, it’s a disappointing end to a disappointing season. After being picked to finish fourth in the CCHA in the preseason, the Buckeyes finished in eighth. OSU finishes the season with a 15-18-6 mark and will not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Sunday’s finale served as senior Mathieu Picard’s final game for the Scarlet and Gray. Picard was the lone senior on this year’s team. Picard played one of the best games of his career in the first round in the conference tournament against Notre Dame. The Ontario native scored two goals to lead OSU to a 3-1 victory on Mar. 5. He finishes his career with 19 goals and 22 assists.
