Over the course of a rocky first half Ohio State fans occasionally questioned the decision making of head coach Steve Rohlik. For tonight, at least, no one is second guessing him.
Prior to tonight's contest at Mercyhurst, Rohlik made two notable personnel decisions. First, he named blue-collar senior Matt Johnson an assistant captain. Then he switched sophomore defenseman Drew Brevig from the blue line to right wing. Both moves paid off.
| goals by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Mercyhurst | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
The Buckeyes opened up a commanding 3-0 lead over Mercyhurst in the first period. First blood came as Brevig and Tanner Fritz connected to beat the Lakers' goalie. Johnson was the next Buckeye to light the lamp. Nick Schilkey also tickled the twine.
Johnson kicked the second period off with his second goal of the game, assisted for the second time by linemates Christian Lampasso and Chad Niddery. The Lakers had not heard the last from Johnson. The senior completed the hat trick, the first of his career, in the third period. Leadership evidently suits him.
Mercyhurst made some noise at the midpoint of the game. The Lakers potted a pair of scores in the span of a minute. Those goals cut the Buckeye lead to 4-2, but Johnson's goals, along with a power play strike by Matt Weis, put the game out of reach.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:55 | Tanner Fritz (Drew Brevig, Josh Healey) |
| 1 | 13:34 | Matt Johnson (Christian Lampasso, Chad Niddery) |
| 1 | 17:28 | Nick Schilkey (Matt Weis) |
| 2 | 2:47 | Matt Johnson (Christian Lampasso, Chad Niddery) |
| 3 | 7:32 | Matt Weis - PP (Dave Gust, Nick Schilkey) |
| 3 | 16:36 | Matt Johnson (Justin DaSilva) |
Ohio State outshot Mercyhurst 43-18 in the game. Buckeye special teams were 1-for-5 with the man advantage and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Sophomore Matt Tomkins started in net for OSU and stopped 15 Laker shots.
The teams meet again tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Online video is available from Atlantic Hockey TV for a fee.
