No. 2 Buckeyes Skate to 1-1 Tie at Bowling Green

Heeter makes 38 saves, with McCormick scoring for Buckeyes; Falcons win shootout

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 2-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team skated to a 1-1 tie at Bowling Green and then dropped the shootout, 2-1 in five rounds, Sunday at BGSU Ice Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. Buckeye senior goalie Cal Heeter had a season-best 38 saves in the game, with freshman Max McCormick recording the Ohio State goal.

 

Ohio State, in first place in the CCHA, is now 14-4-3 and 10-3-3-1 in conference play. This upcoming weekend, the Buckeyes will host Michigan at 7:35 p.m. Friday in Value City Arena in Columbus. Sunday, the teams will meet at 5:05 p.m. in The Frozen Diamond Faceoff outdoors at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

Sunday afternoon, the teams were scoreless through the first period. Heeter had seven saves in the Buckeye net, with Andrew Hammond stopping eight Buckeye attempts. Each team had one power play chance.

 

Ohio State opened the scoring at 11:31 of the second period. From just outside the crease, McCormick was able to put it past the BG goalie, with Chris Crane picking up the assist. Each team had 15 shots on goal in the period. Ohio State had the only two power plays of the stanza.

 

Ohio State maintained the one-goal lead until the final minute of regulation. With a 6-on-4 advantage by way of a Buckeye penalty and empty net, Bowling Green’s Camden Wojtala was able to score at 19:04 following a scramble in front. Heeter made 13 saves in the period, as Ohio State was outshot, 14-7. The Buckeyes were unable to convert one power play advantage, with the Falcons scoring on their one opportunity.

 

For the second night in a row, the teams went to overtime and neither team was able to score. Ohio State had a power play late, but a Buckeye penalty ended the game with the teams skating 4-on-4. Heeter had three saves in overtime, with Hammond stopping two shots.

 

A shootout ensued to determine the extra point in the league standings. Neither team scored in the first three rounds of the shootout, with Heeter making two saves in the Buckeye net. In round four, freshman Nick Oddo scored for Ohio State and Adam Berkle answered for Bowling Green. In the fifth round McCormick’s shot hit the post and Marc Rodriguez tallied, giving the Falcons the shootout victory.

 

Ohio State was outshot, 39-32, in the game. Heeter played all 65 minutes and had a season-best 38 stops. Hammond had 31 saves in 64:17 for the Falcons.

 

Ohio State was unable to score on five power play chances, with Bowling Green converting 1-of-2.

 

Postgame Notes

·         Ohio State remains in first place in the CCHA, with a seven-point advantage over second-place Notre Dame and Western Michigan (with two more games played). With games played even, the Buckeyes are nine points up on fourth-place Lake Superior State and 10 points ahead of the teams tied for fifth place, Miami and Northern Michigan.

·         Heeter dropped his goals-against average to 2.02 (ninth nationally) and improved his save percentage to .932 (fourth in the NCAA) with his fourth-consecutive game with more than 30 saves. He is fourth among NCAA goalies in winning percentage with a 12-2-3 mark (.794).

·         McCormick had two of the Buckeyes’ three goals in the series and now has four goals, five assists and nine points in 13 games this year.

·         The Buckeyes have held opponents to 2.05 goals a game this year, ranking fourth in the NCAA. The squad has allowed two goals or less in 14 of the last 16 games.

·         Ohio State is 1-0-3 in overtime games this year and 1-2 in shootouts. Three of the Buckeyes’ last four games have gone to overtime.

·         The series was part of Ohio Cup play. 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 0-0-2 in cup play this year. Miami is 1-0-1, and Bowling Green is 0-1-3. The Ohio State vs. Miami series in February ends Ohio Cup play for 2011-12.

·         This was the first time Ohio State skated to a tie in both games of a series since March 7-8, 2003 vs. Michigan (4-4, 3-3).

·         Senior defenseman Sean Duddy had his assist streak ended at seven. He has a career-high 11 assists on the year.

·         Ohio State is now 8-0-1 when leading after two periods this year.