No. 2 Buckeyes Rally for 2-2 Tie at Bowling Green

Heeter makes 35 saves, McLean and McCormick tally in final four minutes; Buckeyes fall in shootout

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With goals from freshmen Al McLean and Max McCormick in the final 3:48 of regulation, along with 35 saves from senior Cal Heeter, the No. 2-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team came from behind for a 2-2 overtime tie at Bowling Green Saturday night in the BGSU Ice Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Falcons won the shootout, 2-1 in three rounds, to pick up the extra point in the CCHA standings.

 

Ohio State, now 14-4-2 on the year and 10-3-2-1 in CCHA play to stand in first place, and Falcons (6-13-4, 1-11-3-2 CCHA) will close out the series at 5:05 p.m. Sunday in Bowling Green. The game can be heard in Columbus on 1460 AM. Online links to audio, video and livestats can be found on Buckeye Hockey Gamecenter.

 

Bowling Green controlled play through much of the game, with early goals in both the first and second periods. In the third, McLean and McCormick scored for the Buckeyes in a 1:23 span to tie the game at 2. Neither team was able to score in overtime, sending the game to a shootout. Senior Sean Duddy had a career-high tying two assists, with McCormick adding a helper for a two-point game. Heeter had 35 stops between the pipes for Ohio State, including 17 in the third period and overtime combined.

 

The Falcons scored in the first three minutes of both the first and second periods for a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. In the opening stanza, Ted Pletsch scored at the 2:29 mark, assisted by Marcus Perrier. Shots were 12-6 in favor of the Falcons in the stanza, with Heeter making 11 saves for the Buckeyes. Bowling Green had the only power play of the period.

 

The Buckeyes started the second period on the power play but Bowling Green scored during the penalty kill, as Marc Rodriguez tallied shorthanded unassisted as he came up the ice on a 2-on-1. Bowling Green outshot the Buckeyes, 8-5, in the second period. Ohio State was unable to convert on a power play later in the stanza.

 

Ohio State scored twice in the final 3:48 of regulation to force overtime. McLean broke up the shutout at 16:12, scoring on a one-timer off an assist from McCormick, with Duddy picking up the second assist. Ohio State went on the power play shortly after and was able to convert, as Duddy took a pass from freshman Darik Angeli and found McCormick down low, who was able to beat the Bowling Green goalie for a 2-2 game. Heeter stopped all 13 shots he faced in the period, as the Buckeyes were outshot, 13-8. The Buckeyes were 1-for-2 on the power play in the period, including an unsuccessful 5-minute major advantage at the 5:30 mark, with another opportunity extending into overtime. Bowling Green was 0-for-1 on the power play.

 

Neither team was able to score in overtime, as Heeter made four saves and Ohio State put one shot on net. In the shootout, both teams scored in the opening round, with Alex Szczechura successful for Ohio State. The goalies stopped both shots they faced in the second round. In round three, BG goalie Andrew Hammond stopped Tanner Fritz and Ryan Carpenter was able to score for the Falcons to give BG the shootout win.

 

For the game, Ohio State was outshot, 37-20. Heeter played 64:56 and had 35 stops while allowing two goals. Hammond made 18 saves in 65 minutes for Bowling Green.

 

The Buckeyes were 1-for-5 on the power play in the game and stopped Bowling Green on all four opportunities.

 

Postgame Notes

·         Heeter dropped his goals-against average to 2.09 and improved his save percentage to .929 (ranking seventh nationally) with his third-consecutive game with more than 30 saves. He is second among NCAA goalies in winning percentage with a 12-2-2 mark (.812).

·         Duddy had the second two-assist game of his career and first since Nov. 28, 2009 vs. Bemidji State. He has a team-best 12 helpers this season and is on a seven-game assist streak, with a helper in nine of his last 10 games. He has 11 points in CCHA play to tie for the scoring lead among defensemen.

·         McLean’s goal was the first of his career. He is the ninth Buckeye rookie to score this season.

·         McCormick had his second career multiple-point game and first since a three-point night at Notre Dame Oct. 15.

·         The Buckeyes allowed their third shorthanded goal of the season and the first since Dec. 9 vs. Miami.

·         The Buckeyes have held opponents to 2.10 goals a game this year, ranking sixth in the NCAA. The squad has allowed two goals or less in 13 of the last 15 games.

·         Ohio State is 1-0-2 in overtime games this year and 1-1 in shootouts.

·         The game opened Ohio Cup play for the Buckeyes. The traveling trophy, sponsored by Buckeye Sports Bulletin, goes to the Ohio-based team which performs best in intrastate competition. Ohio State, the defending champion, is 0-0-1 in cup play this year. Miami is 1-0-1, and Bowling Green is 0-1-2. The Ohio State vs. Miami series in February ends Ohio Cup play for 2011-12.

·         Ohio State is 7-3-1 when giving up the first goal this season.