Boston was a mere figment of a young team’s ambitious imagination in October.Since then, it has become a reality as the OSU hockey team faces-off in its first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance at Boston, Mass.’s FleetCenter tonight.
History
The turnaround of the hockey program at Ohio State can best be described in one word ‹ amazing. Only a year ago, the team finished seventh in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and netted a measly 12 wins all season (12-25-2), missing the NCAA tournament for the thirty-fifth straight year.This year saw the revival of a program thought to be long dead. The John Markell-led Buckeyes finished third in the CCHA this season, more than doubled its win total to 27, cut the loss total in half to 12, and for the first time in so long that nobody really remembers when the last time was, were nationally ranked. The team ended the season ranked seventh in the USA Today/American Hockey magazine poll and sixth in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll.Oh, and by the way, made the NCAA tournament for the first time in OSU hockey history.Not only did the Buckeyes merely make the tournament, the team has already won a pair of games. The No. 4-seeded Buckeyes pounded Yale to the tune of 4-0 last weekend, and as if that wasn’t enough icing on a fabulous season, then upended the tournament favorite and No .1 ranked and seeded, Michigan State 4-3 ‹ in overtime nonetheless. The victory avenged a double-overtime Spartan victory only a week earlier in the CCHA championship game. Returning to the NCAA tournament year after year, OSU’s opponent, Boston College, has long been considered a collegiate hockey staple team. This will be the 19th tournament appearance for the Eagles, who won their only national championship in 1949. BC has not lost a game in almost 60 days, and are the proud owners of the nation’s longest-active unbeaten streak of 13 games. The last BC loss was a 5-4 dropped decision to Harvard in the Beanpot Tournament Championship game Feb. 2.BC received the No. 2 seed in the East Regional and after a first-round bye, pounded Colorado College 6-1 to advance to the FleetCenter to play the Buckeyes.”They can be explosive if we let them,” said Bucks coach John Markell. “But if we stick to our systems and play solid hockey, we have as good a chance as they do.”
The Goaltenders
Tonight’s game features two rookie goaltenders, each capable of shutting the other out. Buckeye freshman Jeff Maund stands an imposing 6-foot-2, 195 lbs. and has used his wide shoulders to carry the team deep into post-season play. His 22-7-0 record speaks for itself. The 4-0 blanking of Yale Maund registered last weekend was only the 17th shutout in NCAA Tournament history. He was chosen to the all-Regional team and named Most Outstanding Player of the West Regional by media members. Maund seems to have excelled way beyond even his fanciest dreams so far in this seasons tournament. He owns a 1.40 goals against average in NCAA Tournament play and a 1.38 GAA in all postseason games. Maund finished the regular-season with a stellar .923 save percentage, collecting 818 saves in nearly 2,000 minutes logged.Maund’s four shutouts this season ties the OSU single-season shutout record held by current assistant coach Bill McKenzie and his 22 wins ties him for first in OSU’s single-season win ledger with Mike Blake, who posted 22 wins in 1981. “It’s unreal right now,” said Maund. “Day by day our team is playing better and better and my confidence just keeps growing as the team plays better. Our defense gets better every game and is the reason I have been playing so well,” said Maund in OSU’s weekly press release.Freshman Scott Clemmensen will fill the pipes for BC tonight. Clemmensen, like Maund, earned all-Rookie team honors, only he did so in the Hockey East conference. Clemmensen ended his regular season with a 3.06 GAA and an .877 save percentage.
Offensive Weapons
Ohio State is only one of two teams which has two 50-point scorers on its roster in Hugo Boisvert, (23-35-58) and Chris Richards (22-30-52). Eric Meloche fell two points shy of becoming OSU’s third 50-point scorer (26-22-48). Boisvert, an All-America candidate, became the second OSU player to win the CCHA scoring crown and only the eleventh sophomore to win the award. His numbers are the highest by an Ohio State icer since the 1992 campaign, and was only one of only four CCHA icers to score 20 goals in regular-season play.Richards, oftentimes said to be the most underrated player in the CCHA, nearly matched his two-year point total this season. His 30 conference assists placed him second to Boisvert. If Boston College is said to have just one strength, it would be offense. BC is the fifth-leading scoring team in the country, and both as a team and as individuals, the Eagles have many weapons to throw against the Bucks.Through 38 games BC has scored nearly four and a half goals per contest. The BC power-play unit converted 36-134 attempts (.268), ranking first in the Hockey East conference. Marty Reasoner, a Hockey East first-team selection, finished tied for first in conference scoring (17-25-42). Brian Gionta, Hockey East Rookie-of-the-Year and second-team all-conference selection led the conference in goals scored as well as finishing tied for third in conference scoring (22-16-38).
Defensive specialists
If defense is any indication of the outcome, then the Buckeyes should feel pretty darn confident heading into action tonight.The Buckeyes surrendered only 2.50 goals per game through 38 games and have the sixth-ranked team, nationally, when speaking of scoring defenses. Just two times since Jan. 9 the Buckeyes have allowed more than three goals in a game. Against Michigan State, the Bucks defense held the Spartans to less than 10 shots in two of three regulation periods. Fundamentally, the Buckeye defense is solid. Three defensemen have registered a plus/minus rating of +20. Ryan Root, +21; Ryan Skaleski, +21; and Andre Signoretti, +20; lead that stingy defense.
OSU v Hockey East history
Ohio State and Boston College aren’t new faces to each other, but haven’t played since splitting a pair of games back in 1988.OSU edged BC 5-4 in overtime at Chestnut Hill, Mass., then fell to the Eagles 7-2 in the 1988 Riverfront Invitational played in Cincinnati, OH.The only Hockey East team the Buckeyes faced this season was over the final weekend of October, when the Bucks faced Merrimack and split a pair in Columbus. OSU is 11-11-1 all-time versus Hockey East teams. In games against common opponents this season, including teams such as Bowling Green, Northern Michigan, Michigan, Notre Dame, Merrimack and Clarkson, BC went 5-3-0 while OSU went 10-2-1.
Coaches
Tonight’s game pits two coaches operating on vastly different levels in NCAA tournament play. 1998 CCHA Coach-of-the-Year and finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award given to college hockey’s finest coach John Markell leads the Buckeyes in his third full season, fourth total, after replacing longtime coach Jerry Welsh. Markell will bring his 51-63-9 overall and 37-48-8 CCHA career records into action tonight, but lacks NCAA Tournament experience. Since taking the helm, Markell has led the Buckeyes to a higher finish in the CCHA each successive year and has orchestrated the finest turnaround of a program in OSU hockey history.”They’ve (Markell, McKenzie and Casey Jones) assembled a terrific group of student-athletes,” said OSU Athletic Director Andy Geiger. “It shows that OSU is serious about ice hockey.” BC coach Jerry York is wrapping up his 26th year at the helm, and like Markell, his fourth year at BC.York was the National Coach of the Year in 1977, and led Bowling Green to a national title in 1984 before coming to BC. He entered the 1997-98 campaign as the ninth all-time winningest coach, earning 509 career wins. His record while leading BC is 69-66-14.”BC is a program which has been down for a few years, but with the addition of York,” Ma
rkell said, “The program is back where they think it should be.”
Game Time
Tonight’s game matches two of the hottest teams in the country as of Jan. 9. OSU rattled off an 18-2-1 record since then while BC accumulated a 16-2-3 mark. The teams respectively head the list of top performers heading into the NCAA Tournament. ESPN2 will carry both Final Four games today and tonight. ESPN will carry the championship game on Saturday. The puck is slated to drop at 8 p.m. tonight and at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening. Steve Levy has the call.For those who can’t pick-up ESPN or the “deuce,” WOSU radio (820 AM) will have the play-by-play. Herb Howenstein will do the play-by-play while former Buckeye John Mowatt does the commentary.”It’s a privilege to play for the national championship,” Markell said. “We think we’ve earned it and we’re looking forward to it.” “Our program has arrived,” said Geiger. “We are a contender.”
