Ohio State men’s hockey team huddles after a goal during the Ohio State-Penn State game on Saturday. Ohio State won 4-1. Credit: Gabe Haferman | Assistant Photo Editor
A couple of unsung heroes stepped up for the Buckeyes Saturday evening, earning Ohio State men’s hockey a non-conference series split with the Mercyhurst Lakers.
No. 17 Ohio State (8-4-0, 4-2-0 Big Ten) took down Mercyhurst (4-6-4, 3-3-4 AHA) 3-2 Saturday evening with seven different Buckeyes tallying a point in the triumph.
As per usual, the Buckeyes used a combination of different players to get the job done, something head coach Steve Rohlik loves about his team.
“I think that’s the recipe for our success. It has been all year,” Rohlik said. “You’re going to see that as we continue to go. As a coach, you don’t have to rely on one or two guys, someone else is stepping up every night.”
Mercyhurst was only able to muster three shot attempts in the opening frame. Ohio State’s defenseman did well to keep the puck in the attacking zone for a majority of the first 20 minutes.
Junior defenseman James Marooney scored the first goal of his collegiate goal after 4:43 in the second period. The Chaska, Minnesota, native skated in on goal alongside junior forward Dalton Messina and put a rebound into an empty net.
Messina, who made just his second appearance of the season tonight, recorded the first point of his collegiate career on the play. Sophomore forward Joe Dunlap was credited with the second assist on the goal, the third point he’s recorded in his last five contests.
Rohlik said he enjoyed seeing Marooney and Messina, two guys who don’t light the world on fire with their scoring, earn some recognition in tonight’s victory.
“It’s nice to see them have a night like this,” Rohlik said. “People don’t always see their names in the paper and stat sheets, but I see them every day and how hard they work, how they contribute every day to our team and make us better.”
Halfway through the second frame, Mercyhurst found an equalizer. Ohio State got caught in a line change while on the penalty kill and sophomore forward Mickey Burns capitalized. The goal was Burns’ second in as many nights for the Lakers.
Rohlik said he was disappointed by the defensive breakdown that allowed the Lakers to score.
“You don’t want to give up easy ones,” Rohlik said. “You have to work so hard to kill a penalty, you don’t want to give an easy one up.”
With 1:38 left to play in the second period, freshman forward Georgii Merkulov restored the lead for the Buckeyes. Junior forward Kamil Sadlocha raced towards the puck before firing a pass across goal for Merkulov, who calmly took the puck around sophomore goalie Kyle McClellan and into the back of the net.
Merkulov’s tally was his third of the season and gave him nine points for the year. Along with Sadlocha, freshman forward Cam Thiesing picked up an assist on the goal, the fifth of his rookie season.
After 40 minutes, Ohio State clutched a 2-1 lead. The Buckeyes had registered 27 shots compared to the Lakers’ 15.
Mercyhurst leveled the score at two with 10:38 left to play. A fairly optimistic blue line shot attempt from sophomore forward Austin Heidemann went unseen by freshman netminder Jakub Dobeš, and into the back of the net.
Exactly two minutes after the Lakers tied things up, Sadlocha and Merkulov combined again to give the Buckeyes their third lead of the game. The Carpentersville, Illinois, native collected a pass from Merkulov in front of the net and rifled a wrist shot past McLellan for his third goal of the campaign.
The goal gave Sadlocha, who was voted the team’s most improved player by his teammates in 2021, his second multipoint effort of the campaign. The first came in the 5-2 win over Penn State Nov. 5.
Sadlocha directed all applause to Merkulov, saying it was he who really made the play.
“Georgii made a nice play and I just finished it,” Sadlocha said. “Credit to him.”
Sadlocha had an opportunity to add a second goal with 11 seconds remaining but chose to feed the puck to graduate forward Eric Cooley. Although his selfless play didn’t result in a goal, Sadlocha said he’d do the same thing if presented with the opportunity again.
“I wanted Cooley to score,” Sadlocha said. “I trust him. He just put it upstairs, a little too high.”
Graduate defenseman Will Riedell made a couple of critical defensive plays in the final few minutes, allowing the Buckeyes to see out the hard-fought victory.
Dobeš saved 21-of-23 shots the Lakers sent his way in this one. The Czech Republic international improved his collegiate record to 8-3-0.
Next up for Ohio State is a trip to South Bend, Indiana, for a two-game series against No. 8 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have won six consecutive contests and will present a tough test for the Buckeyes.
Sadlocha reiterated that he and his teammates must put in the work during the week if they want to be successful against a team of Notre Dame’s caliber.
“I think we’ve got to forget about this weekend and get right back to work on Monday,” Sadlocha said. “It’s a whole new animal next weekend.”
