On an off day for Jack Myers (1 goal on 1-6 shooting), the Buckeyes still managed to nearly double up their opponent, 17-9. That's a solid, solid win as the meat of the schedule comes up starting with a banger against North Carolina. In Chapel Hill. Talk about tough.
As I mentioned, it wasn't a banner day for Jack Myers, but the other Buckeyes have really started to come into their own on the offensive end. The big storyline, however, was super senior Colby Smith's massive 5-goal performance, easily his best in a Buckeye uniform.
Smith took 11 shots, converted 5 of them, and scored nearly as many times as the next three top goalscorers combined (6). Colby Smith was an animal today, and stepped up when the other big guns didn't have it. If this keeps up, you have to like Ohio State's chances moving into their toughest stretch of the season.
The other big story was the freshmen. So many contributing players on this team already are underclassmen. Greg Langermeier and Connor Cmiel are incredible SSDMs as sophomores. And native Ohioans.
Trent DiCicco is about as close you're going to get to a Ryan Conrad or Ryan Terefenko on this year's squad. Except he might be the best wing player in half a decade off the face. DiCicco had a goal and assist today, to go with 5 more groundballs.
James Gurr might be one of the most underrated recruits of the 2021 class, as he has 3 goals and an assist this year. Ed Shean had a goal late, after the game was decided. Bobby Van Buren is arguably the best impact defender in Scarlet and Gray. As a true freshman.
The team is building something really special, which is a welcome relief from the doldrums of the past few years.
In cage, Caton Johnson was subpar, allowing 8 goals and boasting a paltry .467 save percentage. The first quarter and a half was not good again for the Buckeyes, including Johnson. But at the end of the day, an 8.5 goals against average is really, really good. Just need to improve in the opening phases.
This Buckeye faceoff unit is a monster. Justin Inacio was statistically the worst FOGO, by percentage, at 90.9%. The other FOGOs were perfect. That tells you a lot about how good the team is at the dot right now. Just extraordinary.
Special teams, long a problem for the Buckeyes, was spectacular today as well. The Bucks shut out Cleveland State on their three attempts, while Ohio State scored 4 goals on 3 opportunities. To call this an improvement is an understatement.
Yes, Cleveland State is very not good. But Ohio State has routinely struggled against inferior opponents, in all phases, so this is a welcome change to the landscape.
On the whole, the first quarter is going to be the Buckeyes' Achilles heel. If the score is close after 1, OSU has a great chance to win. But Maryland, Rutgers, and TTUN can score so fast one bad quarter can be your doom. Buckeyes need to start playing complete games. Fast.
Onto the Tar Heels!
