It was the usual for the No. 13 Ohio State men’s ice hockey team this weekend, losing Friday but bouncing back Saturday against No. 5 Michigan.
The Buckeyes came out sluggish and lost 4-0 Friday night, only to rebound with an impressive 5-2 victory Saturday.
OSU maintained first place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association despite the split. The Buckeyes are now 8-5-0 on the season and 7-3-0 in the CCHA.
After losing Friday, OSU looked to be out of its league early in Saturday’s game. Michigan forward Dwight Helminen scored 21 seconds into the game to give the Wolverines momentum and a 1-0 lead.
With their backs to the wall, the Buckeyes stepped up to the challenge. OSU retaliated with two first-period goals and never looked back.
“(After the early goal) our guys got mad, and said this wasn’t going to happen again,” OSU coach John Markell said.
The dagger in the Wolverines’ back came with less than two minutes to play in the second period. OSU senior forward Chris Olsgard was ejected for checking from behind, resulting in a five-minute power play for Michigan. While skating a man down, senior forward Paul Caponigri took a long pass from senior defenseman Doug Andress and shot the puck. Michigan goalie Al Montoya made the save, but junior captain JB Bittner was there to slap the rebound into the net. The goal gave the Buckeyes a 4-1 lead, and they cruised from there.
“OSU played their game to a ‘T’,” Michigan forward Eric Nystrom said after Saturday’s game. “We tried battling back, but they stymied us.”
Senior Buckeye goalie Mike Betz came up huge Saturday, stopping 44 of the 46 shots he faced. For his play over the weekend, Betz was named the CCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season.
“Betz played well,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “He isn’t going to give up a lead like that.”
Friday night was a completely different story for the Buckeyes. In front of its largest crowd of the season, OSU looked powerless against the Wolverines. Michigan jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period and went on to win.
“We have to address how we come out on Friday nights,” Markell said. “We have an identity with bad Friday night games, and I’m sick of it.”
OSU is 2-5-0 in Friday games, but 6-0-0 on Saturdays.
Michigan out shot the Buckeyes 31-30, and Montoya handed OSU its first shutout of the season.
“I don’t think he made any spectacular saves, but he did pitch a shutout against us so you have to give him credit,” Bittner said. “It’s not like our guys weren’t trying.”
After being shut down, the Buckeye offense came out firing Saturday night. It was a balanced scoring attack for OSU, with 11 Buckeyes tallying at least one point.
“We buried our chances (Saturday). That’s the difference,” senior forward Scott May said.
The teams fought hard and showed how intense the rivalry between them is. A scuffle at the end of Saturday’s game involved at least eight players on the ice.
“It’s Michigan versus Ohio State, what do you expect?” May said.
Despite the tension, Michigan’s Nystrom was gracious in defeat.
“They’re the first place team for a reason,” he said.
