After blanking Findlay 4-0 and putting up a season-high 47 shots Tuesday night, one would think Ohio State men’s hockey coach John Markell would be happy.
With the No. 9 Buckeyes extending their unbeaten streak to eight games with a win over the Oilers at the Schottenstein Center, Markell is expecting more as his team rolls into CCHA play.
The latest victory in the Buckeyes’ streak, which dates back to Dec. 6, saw them statistically post some of their best numbers of the season over a budding Findlay program.
OSU (14-4-2) recorded three power play goals and held the Oilers to just 15 shots, tying the second lowest total allowed this season. Freshman goalie Dave Caruso also recorded his second consecutive shutout.
But the numbers were deceiving for Markell, who felt his squad was not playing like one ranked in the top 10 nationally.
“I was pleased by our 4-0 effort,” he said. “In games like this, you hope to get some guys in the goal-scoring column. I would have liked to see us score more than four goals on 47 shots, but you have to give credit to their goalie.”
After a scoreless first period, the Buckeyes were able to power up their offense thanks to junior Scott May’s sixth goal of the season with 11:33 left in the second period. Taking a pass from center R.J. Umberger, which glided from right to left through a crowd of defenders, May punched the puck into the open left side of the net to complete the power play.
OSU had been firing up close all night to that point and it finally found Findlay goalie Kevin Fines out of position.
The opening score severely dashed any upset hopes the visitors may have had.
“If we would have scored in the first period, then we would have gained some momentum and kept on going,” May said. “But, we scored in the second period and were able to get fired up.”
The Oilers achieved their opening strategy to stay in contention through the opening moments in hopes of avoiding the same 10-0 blowout from their last visit to Columbus, in 2000.
“The key for us was the first 10 minutes tonight,” said Findlay men’s hockey coach Craig Barnett. “We went up to Kalamazoo (Mich.) last week and were down 3-0 after the first 10 minutes and that’s a long hill to climb.”
Barnett was impressed by his goalie’s early effort.
“Kevin (Fines) made some great saves for us early in the game that kept it close,” he said. “He played very well but was tired at the end.”
After breaking onto the scoreboard, the offense started to come together for OSU.
The tandem responsible for the initial tally reversed roles with just more than 20 seconds remaining in the second period. Only five seconds into a five-on-three power play, Umberger took a pass just in front of the blue line from May and fired it past Fines.
Umberger has scored 11 goals during the team’s winning streak.
For his effort, Umberger was named the Division I Top Player of the Month for December by the Ice Hockey Collegiate Commissioners’ Association yesterday.
Umberger won three consecutive CCHAOffensive Player of the Week awards last month. Also during the stretch, the first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks and 2001 CCHARookie of the Year scored four game-winning goals and also contributed a game-tying score.
The offense made up for lost time in the third for another pair of goals. With 9:59 left in the contest, sophomore JB Bittner scored as he fired a shot just in front of the blue line. Luke Pavlas and Doug Andress assisted him.
Paul Caponigri, assisted by Ryan Kesler and May, closed up shop for the hosts when he converted on a power play opportunity with 1:26 left to play.
OSU will return to CCHA play when they host Markell’s alma mater Bowling Green for a two-game series starting Jan. 16.
