The men’s hockey team didn’t do anything fancy tonight. It simply took care of business against an opponent it was expected to handle. And, as expected, the Bucks picked up their second consecutive victory.
| boxscore | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canisius | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Canisius continued its trend of slow starts. The Golden Griffins gave the Buckeyes plenty of time and space to work in the early going. Ohio State used the opportunity to set up shot after shot, often with traffic in front of the net. A game effort by Canisius goaltender Simon Hofley foiled most of the OSU attempts.
The Buckeyes finally broke through midway through the first period. The Griffins tried to dump the puck in deep and change lines. OSU defenseman (and Ragnar Lothbrok look-alike) Victor Bjorkung intercepted the dump and quickly turned the puck back up the ice. Nick Schilkey collected it. Luke Stork delivered it. Ohio State led 1-0.
The second period featured more of the same hockey. Canisius tightened its game up a few degrees but Ohio State still managed to create three or four decent scoring chances. The Buckeyes were thwarted more than once by the Griffs’ shot blockers. Still they added to their lead.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8:28 | Luke Stork (Nick Schilkey, Victor Bjorkung) |
| 2 | 5:38 | Matt Weis (Dave Gust, Craig Dalrymple) |
| 3 | 0:49 | Anthony Greco (Dave Gust) |
| 3 | 14:37 | Brendon Kearney (Freddy Gerard, Dakota Joshua) |
Dave Gust battled along the wall in the offensive zone. He won the battle and flung a perfect rink-wide pass to Matt Weis. The sophomore stepped into it and gave the home team a two goal lead heading into the second intermission.
When the puck dropped on the third period the Bucks picked up right where they left off. Gust’s relentless pestering led to a Canisius turnover and a breakaway opportunity. Hofley shut Gust down but he couldn’t stop Anthony Greco who cleaned up the rebound and ran OSU’s lead to three.
The Buckeye rookies got into the scoring act late in the game. Dakota Joshua, Freddy Gerard, and Brendon Kearney perfectly executed the play Ohio State tried to set up all night. With Joshua screening the Canisius net, Gerard served up a pass for Kearney who blasted it home.
Canisius’ Ralph Cuddemi spoiled Matt Tomkins’ shutout with a goal the junior netminder probably should have stopped. It was a small black mark in this game. However one-bad-goal is something of a trend with Tomkins. It would be nice to see that nipped in the bud before Big Ten play begins.
But a win is a win. While it could’ve been a little cleaner, overall this was a solid game for Ohio State. The Buckeyes outshot Canisius 46-30. They jumped out to an early lead and continued to control the pace for the majority of the game. This was a step forward from last series.
We’ll see if the Bucks can keep the mojo flowing when they and the Golden Griffins wrap up their series tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. The contest is Ohio State’s final home appearance of 2015. The Bucks’ next scheduled home game is in mid-January.
