OSU Ready to Close a Chapter in Hockey History – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/24/1998 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 24, 1998
Ohio State can clinch home ice advantage in the first round of the CCHA playoffs with two wins this weekend. The Buckeyes have not hosted a first round playoff series in 14 years (1983-84 season). OSU also jumped to the No. 10 spot in the Pairwise Rankings – the statistical ranking system used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine the participants in the NCAA Division I hockey tournament. Twelve teams qualify for the national championship tournament, and the winner of the CCHA tournament receives an automatic bid.
GAME INFO – After calling it home for 35 years of intercollegiate competition, the Ohio State hockey team will play its final regular season game in the historic OSU Ice Arena (1,400) Thursday night. The Buckeyes (18-11-2, 15-10-1) will be matched up against the Miami RedHawks (18-10-4, 13-10-4) in a battle for third place in the CCHA standings. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. Ohio State will then battle Bowling Green (7-24-3, 5-18-3) on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the BGSU Ice Arena (5,000).
OSU ICE ARENA HISTORY – The Buckeyes stand 308-208-32 all-time in the OSU Ice Arena, commonly known as “The War Memorial” to Ohio State players.
RADIO COVERAGE – Thursday’s game will be broadcast live on WBNS Radio (1460 AM). Dwight Burgess and former Buckeye John Mowat will call the action.
NO PRESSURE – On Jan. 30, 1998 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Ohio State sophomore Hugo Boisvert scored the 5000th goal in the history of Ohio State hockey. As part of OSU’s 5000 Dollars for 5000 Goals promotion, a lucky fan who correctly predicted Boisvert as the goal scorer will take center stage between the second and third periods of this Thursday’s game and shoot a puck for $5000 dollars.
THE OHIO CUP – A win for Ohio State on Thursday would clinch the Ohio Cup for the Buckeyes. Formed during the 1982-83 season and sponsored by an independent local publication, the Ohio Cup is symbolic of college hockey supremacy in the state. It is awarded to the collegiate hockey team in Ohio that records the best head-to-head record against the other in-state teams. Ohio State, Bowling Green, and Miami are in the running for this year’s Cup. The Buckeyes lead the pack with a 3-1 mark against the other two Ohio teams. BGSU and Miami both stand 1-2 against in-state rivals. OSU won the inaugural Ohio Cup, but has not had its name engraved on the trophy since then. Bowling Green has dominated the Cup, winning 10 titles overall and eight straight during the mid 1980’s and early ’90’s. Miami has won four Ohio Cup titles overall, including the last two.
THE COACHES – The Buckeyes are coached by former Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) standout John Markell. Wrapping up his fourth overall and third full year as a head coach with OSU, Markell brings a 42-62-9 (33-48-8 CCHA) overall mark into this weekend’s games. Last year, the Markell-led Buckeyes finished 12-25-2 overall, which – before this season – was the most wins by an OSU hockey squad since the 1991-92 season. Since taking over the program in 1994-95, the Cornwall, Ontario native has led the Buckeyes to more wins and a higher finish in the CCHA standings each year. Markell was an assistant coach at Ohio State during the 1993-94 season and took over as head coach the next year when Jerry Welsh stepped down with nine games remaining. Prior to joining Welsh’s staff, Markell was a player/coach with ESC Wolfsberg in Germany.
Like Markell, Mark Mazzoleni is in his fourth year as head coach at Miami. He has compiled a 73-59-15 overall record with the RedHawks, including a 54-42-15 mark in the CCHA. After orchestrating one of college hockey’s biggest turnarounds last year, Mazzoleni was named the CCHA’s Coach of the Year and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year. Mazzoleni came to Miami after coaching stints with Minnesota, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and Illinois-Chicago.
Francis “Buddy” Powers was named head hockey coach at Bowling Green State University in 1994. Since then, he has compiled a 75-65-11 overall mark with the Falcons, including a record of 51-48-11 in CCHA games. Prior to taking the Bowling Green job, Powers was the head coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. He led the Engineers to 94 wins in five seasons, and in 1994 guided them to their first NCAA tournament appearance in nine years. His ten year overall collegiate record stands at 195-136-26.
THE SERIES – Ohio State leads the all-time series against two schools in the CCHA, one of which is Miami. The Buckeyes are 37-34-6 against the RedHawks all-time. The two schools first met in 1966. Each school has won one meeting this year. Ohio State topped Miami 5-4 on Nov. 8 of this season in the OSU Ice Arena, but the RedHawks shutout OSU 3-0 just three weeks prior in Oxford, Ohio. Miami swept Ohio State in five games last season – including two in the first round of the CCHA playoffs.
Bowling Green leads the all-time series against Ohio State 84-45-5, but the Buckeyes are unbeaten in their last five games against the Falcons. The two schools first met in 1967. The Buckeyes have won both meetings this year, topping the Falcons 5-4 on Nov. 15 at BGSU and 4-2 on Jan. 18 in the Ohio Expositions Center. OSU has met Bowling Green 134 times – more than any other opponent.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS – After being nationally-ranked and among the top three teams in the CCHA all-season, Miami comes to Columbus in the midst of a downward spiral. The RedHawks have lost four straight games and tumbled to fifth place in the conference standings. Miami dropped a 4-3 decision to Ferris State last Friday and was blanked 2-0 by Western Michigan the next night. A win tonight coupled with a Northern Michigan loss, however, would vault Miami back into third place. The RedHawks stand 18-10-4 overall and 13-10-4 in the CCHA. Senior defenseman Dan Boyle leads Miami in scoring with 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points. Tim Leahy is Miami’s top scoring forward with 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points. Trevor Prior will most likely be in the nets for Miami. The senior goaltender stands fourth in the CCHA with a 2.66 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS – BGSU is nestled in last place in the CCHA standings with a 5-18-3 conference mark. The Falcons have struggled all season to make up for the loss of 10 letterwinners – more than any other team in the CCHA -from last year’s 17-16-5 squad. Bowling Green was swept last weekend, falling 6-3 in Western Michigan and 3-0 at Ferris State. The Falcons have shown signs of life in the past few weeks, however. BGSU stands 3-3-1 in its last seven games. Dan Price (11-13-24) and Adam Edinger (9-13-22) lead the Falcons offensively. Freshman Shawn Timm, a two-time CCHA Defensive Player of the Week winner, has handled the majority of the goaltending duties this year. He currently sports a 3.40 goals against average and an .892 save percentage.
LAST TIME – OSU trailed 4-1 heading into the final period, but notched four unanswered goals in a nine-minute span to steal a 5-4 victory over the then No. 7-ranked RedHawks on Nov. 8 in the OSU Ice Arena. Jean-Francois Dufour scored two goals and Chris Richards added a goal and two assists – all in the third period – in the Buckeye win. A strong Ohio State defense limited one of the CCHA’s top offenses to 31 shots on goal. Jeff Maund made 27 saves in the win. A third period comeback was also the storyline of the last OSU-BGSU meeting. Trailing 2-1 after two periods, Ohio State scored three unanswered goals in the third for a 4-2 victory over Bowling Green on Jan. 18 in the Ohio Expo Center. All three of the goals were scored by Ohio State’s second line of Richards, Todd Compeau, and Dan Cousineau.
PLAYOFF RUN – Despite being idle last weekend, Ohio State held on to the third place in the CCHA standings. Ohio State currently has 31 points in the conference race – the same amount as Northern Michigan. OSU gets the nod for the third place spot, however, with a better overall record and 3-0 mark in head-to-head competition this year with NMU. Miami has a hold on fifth place with 30 points. After a four-point weekend, Lake Superior stands sixth with 28 points.
OTHER GAMES TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS WEEKEND – Bowling Green visits Miami Friday night. The Falcons topped the RedHawks 5-4 in Bowling Green two weeks ago. Northern Michigan travels to Notre Dame for a pair of games (Friday and Saturday). The Irish won the only other meeting of the year between the two schools last weekend.
OSU’S LAST ACTION – The Buckeyes return to action tonight after enjoying 11 days off. Ohio State was last in action on Feb. 13 and 14 for a two-game road swing through Notre Dame and Michigan State. Eric Meloche and Neal Rech each scored a pair of goals as Ohio State extended the nation’s longest unbeaten streak to 10 games with a 5-3 win over the Irish. CCHA Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Jeff Maund was sensational between the pipes for Ohio State, making 31 saves for his 14th win of the year.
It was payback time the next night in East Lansing, Mich. however. Michigan State showed why they are widely regarded as one of the best defensive teams in the nation, limiting OSU to 21 shots on goal and gaining a 4-1 win in Munn Arena. Just eight days before that game, the Buckeyes had knocked off the then No. 1-ranked Spartans 4-2 in the OSU Ice Arena. Richards scored the lone Ohio State goal.
AND HE’S ONLY A SOPHOMORE – Despite not playing last weekend, Boisvert continues to lead the CCHA in league scoring. Boisvert is bidding to become only the second CCHA scoring champion in the history of Ohio State hockey. Paul Pooley won the title in 1984 after tallying 25 goals and 46 assists for 71 points (the fourth highest total in CCHA history). Boisvert currently has 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points, and leads second place scorers Bill Muckalt (Michigan) and Mike York (Michigan State) by one point.
He is attempting to become the 11th sophomore in CCHA history to win the scoring title. Boisvert is also an impressive +13 in the plus/minus statistic. In overall scoring, two more assists this season will equal his team high 27 assists last year. Boisvert’s already surpassed his goal total from last year (17 so far this season, 11 last season). He has already established himself as a strong candidate for All-America honors this season, and should be a front-runner next season. U.S. College Hockey Online recently listed him as one of 25 Hobey Baker Award candidates this year.
AND HE’S ONLY A FRESHMAN – Since the calender flipped to 1998, freshman goalie Jeff Maund has recorded a 2.61 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. He stands 5-2-1 during that stretch. Maund is 14-6-1 overall this season, and his 14 wins are the most by an OSU goaltender in 14 years. One more win will tie Maund for the fourth-highest victory total in OSU history. Not be outdone, Maund’s counterpart Ray Aho has been equally impressive in 1998. The Allen Park, Mich. native has a 2.14 goals against average since Jan. 1 and a 3-1-1 record. He has also recorded a pair of shutouts and a .915 save percentage in that span.
UNDERRATED – Sophomore defenseman Ryan Skaleski – a walk-on last year – has not had a minus rating in a game since Jan. 2 (a string of 12 consecutive games). Skaleski has quietly become one of the top young defenseman in the CCHA, and has a team-leading plus-minus rating of +16 in all games. Freshman defenseman Andre Signoretti, a leading candidate for CCHA All-Rookie team honors, has not had a minus rating in his last 11 games (Jan. 3). The more offensive-minded Signoretti has three goals and 15 assists for 18 points, and an overall plus/minus rating of +13.
EXPLOSION IN SOUTH BEND – After scoring four goals in 59 previous collegiate games (including 31 games at Illinois-Chicago), Rech scored two goals in OSU’s recent 5-3 win over Notre Dame. He has four goals and two assists for six points this season, and has a plus/minus rating of +6.
CCHA BANQUET DETAILS ANNOUNCED – The CCHA Championship Banquet has been scheduled for Thursday, March 19 at Second City in Detroit, Mich. Tickets are available at a price of $25.00 each, and a limted number of tickets can be purchased through the CCHA office by calling (313) 764-2590.
CCHA TOURNAMENT NOTES – Ohio State is bidding to host its first conference playoff series in 14 years (1983-84 season). The first round of the CCHA playoffs will be held at campus sites on March 13-14-15 in a best-of-three series. The second and third rounds will be held in Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Semifinal games are scheduled for March 20 at 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The conference championship game will be played March 21 at 7:30 p.m. No third place game will be played this year. Once it is determined whether or not Ohio State will host its first round playoff series, ticket information will be released.
1997-98 CCHA Regular Season Standings Team (Overall Record) GP W L T PTS GF GA PEN MIN LAST 10 1. %-Michigan State (26-4-5) 26 18 4 4 40 95 43 197 446 7-1-2 2. %-Univ. of Michigan (25-8-1) 26 19 6 1 39 97 61 245 605 6-4-0 3. #-OHIO STATE (18-11-2) 26 15 10 1 31 88 71 262 641 8-1-1 4. #-Northern Michigan (16-12-4) 27 14 10 3 31 88 81 280 647 6-4-0 5. #-Miami University (18-10-4) 27 13 10 4 30 86 76 205 457 3-5-2 6. #-Lake Superior State (15-13-4) 27 12 11 4 28 77 87 293 683 5-5-0 7. #-Ferris State (14-16-3) 26 11 12 3 25 81 89 220 459 6-4-0 8. #-Univ. of Notre Dame (15-16-4) 27 10 13 4 24 83 85 161 365 3-6-1 9. Western Michigan (9-24-2) 27 8 18 1 17 67 82 285 679 4-6-0 10. Alaska-Fairbanks (9-20-3) 27 6 19 2 14 78 125 305 804 3-6-1 11. Bowling Green (7-24-3) 26 5 18 3 13 63 103 232 568 3-6-1 -overall games #-clinched playoff spot %-clinched home ice
