Men’s Hockey in A Series to See – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 21, 2001
%^$Ohio State Men’s Hockey
%^$(16-12-2, 13-9-2 CCHA)
%^$vs.
%^$No. 1 Michigan State
%^$(25-4-4, 18-4-3)
%^$
%^$Game Nights
%^$Friday, Feb. 23, 2001, 7:35 p.m.
%^$Saturday, Feb. 24, 2001, 7:05 p.m.
%^$Value City Arena (17,500, 200×85)
%^$Columbus, Ohio
%^$
%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State plays host to No. 1 Michigan State in a two-game Central Collegiate Hockey Association series this weekend. The Buckeyes (16-12-2, 13-9-2 CCHA), who are in fifth place in the league, are fighting to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Michigan State (25-4-4, 18-4-3) is in first place in the league and already has home-ice locked up.%^$
%^$The Buckeyes and Spartans meet at 7:35 p.m. Friday and at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in Value City Arena.%^$
%^$The Broadcasts
%^$The games vs. Michigan State can be heard live on WOSU (820 AM) and on-line at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.%^$
%^$The game Saturday will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit as part of the CCHA’s television agreement.%^$
%^$We’re In
%^$The Buckeyes clinched a spot in the 2001 CCHA Playoffs with a split against Miami (Feb. 9-10). The squad did not advance to the postseason a year ago, breaking a streak of 17-consecutive appearances in the CCHA tourney. After clinching a berth in the playoffs, the squad is now working to secure home-ice advantage in the first round.%^$
%^$The CCHA Playoffs
%^$The Top 10 teams in the CCHA standings advance to the CCHA Tournament. In the first round, a best-of-three series is played with the Top 5 teams hosting the series (10 at 1, 9 at 2, 8 at 3, 7 at 4 and 6 at 5) Friday-Sunday, March 9-11. Following the first round, the winning teams are reseeded. The new No. 4 hosts the new No. 5 in a play-in game Tuesday, March 13. The CCHA Championship Semifinals are held Friday, March 16 at Joe Louis Arena, with the Championship Final the next day at “The Joe”.%^$
%^$A General Look
%^$Seven CCHA teams have clinched a berth in the league tournament: Michigan State, Michigan, Miami, Nebraska-Omaha, Ohio State, Western Michigan and Northern Michigan. The Spartans are the only squad to clinch home-ice advantage.%^$
%^$OSU’s Playoff Picture
%^$The Buckeyes sit in fifth place in the CCHA with 28 points, one point behind Miami and Nebraska-Omaha, who are tied for third, and five points behind Michigan (33 points). Ohio State and Miami each have played 24 games, while Michigan has competed in 25 and Nebraska-Omaha 26. Western Michigan is two points behind the Buckeyes (24 games) in sixth place.%^$
%^$A First
%^$The series this weekend marks the first time Michigan State will play in Value City Arena, which opened for hockey in January 1999. The squads last met in Columbus Nov. 14, 1998, a 3-2 win for the Buckeyes in the OSU Ice Arena.%^$
%^$The OSU-MSU Series
%^$Michigan State holds a 64-12-5 lead in the all-time series with the Buckeyes, including a mark of 22-10-4 in Columbus. However, in the last 12 games, the Buckeyes are 5-6-1 against the Spartans.%^$
%^$The Last Five
%^$The Buckeyes are 1-3-1 in their last five meetings with the Spartans. Four of those five games took place in East Lansing, Mich. The Buckeyes only win during the stretch was a 3-2 win in Columbus in November 1998.%^$
10/23/99 L 6-0 A%^$10/22/99 L 1-0 A%^$11/14/98 W 3-2 H%^$11/6/98 L 3-1 A%^$10/24/98 T 4-4 OT A%^$
%^$Scouting the Spartans
%^$Michigan State stands in first place in the CCHA with a league mark of 18-4-3 and an overall record of 25-4-4. The squad, which posted a 23-game unbeaten streak earlier in the season, is 4-3 in its last seven games, suffering losses to Michigan (4-3 OT), Northern Michigan (3-2) and Western Michigan (4-2).%^$
%^$As a team, the Spartans have outscored their opponents, 102-44. Rustyn Dolyny leads the squad with 31 points, on 10 goals and a team-best 21 assists. John Nail ranks first for MSU with 16 goals, including a league-leading six game-winning goals. Eight Spartans have a plus/minus rating of +10 or better, led by John-Michael Liles’ +17 mark.%^$
%^$Record Setter
%^$Michigan State sophomore goalie Ryan Miller, a leading candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, set the NCAA record for career shutouts with his 17th career blanking earlier this season. Miller broke the 70-year old NCAA record with a 3-0 shutout of Alaska Fairbanks Feb. 10. In 32 games this season, he has a goals-against average of 1.31 and a save percentage of .949.%^$
%^$The Series Last Season
%^$MSU swept the Buckeyes with two shutout wins in East Lansing, Mich., last season. Ohio State fell, 1-0, the first night before losing 6-0 in the second game.%^$
%^$A Familiar Face
%^$Michigan State head coach Ron Mason was the head coach at Bowling Green while John Markell, Ohio State’s head coach, was a student-athlete. Mason is in his 35th year as a collegiate head coach and his 22nd at the helm of the Spartans. He recently posted his 600th career win at Michigan State.%^$
%^$High-Scoring Rookies …
%^$Three Buckeye freshmen are ranked among the Top 4 rookie scorers in the CCHA. WMU’s Jeff Campbell ranks first with 39 points (1.30 points per game). OSU’s Dave Steckel and R.J. Umberger are second with 32 points each. Umberger is averaging 1.28 points per game, while Steckel has posted 1.23 points per outing. The Buckeyes’ Paul Caponigri is fourth among league rookies in scoring. Doug Andress is tied for second among league rookies, seventh overall, in scoring by defensemen with 18 points.%^$
%^$And A Senior
%^$Ohio State senior Jean-Francois Dufour ranks fourth among seniors in the CCHA in scoring with 33 points. WMU’s David Gove is first with 54 points, followed by Steve Rymsha of WMU (43 points) and Notre Dame’s Dan Carlson (37).%^$
%^$At the Helm
%^$John Markell is in his sixth full season at the helm for the Buckeyes. He has led Ohio State to NCAA Tournament appearances in two of the last three seasons, including a berth in the Frozen Four in 1998. Markell, a four-year letterwinner at Bowling Green and one of only five CCHA players to earn first team all-conference honors three times, has a career record of 101-111-19.%^$
%^$Happy 100th
%^$Ohio State head coach John Markell posted his 100th career win with the Buckeyes’ overtime road victory at Miami (Feb. 10).%^$
%^$Extending the Streak
%^$With a win in the first game at Nebraska-Omaha, the Buckeyes improved to 7-0-0 in the first game of their two-game road series this season.%^$
%^$The Pattern
%^$In the opening game of the Buckeyes’ 13 two-game series this season, the squad has posted a mark of 10-3-0 (.769). On the second night of the series, Ohio State is 4-7-2 (.385).%^$
%^$To the End
%^$Four of the Buckeyes’ wins this season have come in overtime. Of those wins, all four game-winners have been scored with less than one minute remaining in the overtime period. At Miami (Feb. 10), Miguel Lafleche scored with 12 seconds remaining for OSU’s 4-3 victory. Pete Broccoli scored with 26 seconds left in overtime against Bowling Green (Nov. 19). On the road at Lake Superior, Dave Steckel tallied with 31 seconds left to give the Buckeyes the win. At Maine (Oct. 27), Scott May scored with 48 seconds remaining to lift OSU over the Black Bears, 3-2.%^$
%^$The Century Mark
%^$The Buckeyes’ first goal of the first game at Nebraska-Omaha marked their 100th goal of the season.%^$
%^$The UNO Series
%^$In the first game at Nebraska-Omaha, the Buckeyes scored three goals in the third period to come back and defeat the Mavericks, 4-3. Ohio State trailed, 2-1, entering the last stanza. Jean-Francois Dufour tied the game before Dave Steckel gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game at the 7:42 mark with a 5×3 power-play goal. UNO’s David Brisson scored a power-play tally of his own at the 12:08 mark to tie the game at three. The Buckeyes’ fourth line then broke through for the game-winner. Chris Olsgard controlled the faceoff deep in the UNO zone and the puck got to Yan Des Gagne, who got the puck in the goal for his first GWG of the season.%^$
%^$The next night, Luke Pavlas tallied the lone goal for the Buckeyes, assisted by Miguel Lafleche and Scott May, as Ohio State lost, 6-1. Mike Betz made 27 saves in net for Ohio State.%^$
%^$Improving on the PP
%^$The Buckeyes have scored a power-play goal in 10 of their last 11 outings, improving their season percentage to 18.2 percent. In that span, the squad has connected for 13 goals in 61 chances (21.3 percent).%^$
%^$The Leaders
%^$Jean-Francois Dufour leads the Buckeyes with 33 points, on a career-high tying 13 goals and a team-best 20 assists. Freshmen Dave Steckel and R.J. Umberger are tied for second with 32 points each. Steckel ranks first on the squad with 16 goals.%^$
%^$Everything Else
%^$Jean-Francois Dufour ranks first for the Buckeyes in power play goals with a career-high seven and in shots with 92. Dave Steckel leads the Buckeyes in plus/minus (+11), shooting percentage (25.8 percent), penalties (24) and penalty minutes (64). Mike McCormick, Paul Caponigri, Nick Ganga and Steckel each rank first with two game-winning goals.%^$
%^$The Captains
%^$Senior Jean-Francois Dufour is serving as the Buckeyes’ captain this season. Senior Jaisen Freeman and junior Nick Ganga are Ohio State’s alternate captains.%^$
%^$Hot Shots
%^$Both Dave Steckel and Paul Caponigri have scored on more than 20 percent of their shots this season. Steckel has 16 goals on 62 shots (25.8 percent), while Caponigri is second with 11 goals on 50 shots (22.0 percent).%^$
%^$
Streaks%^$Scoring (3 or more consecutive games)%^$None%^$
%^$Plus/minus of even or better%^$Daymen Bencharski 22 games*%^$T.J. Latorre 7 games%^$*Has not had a minus rating this season%^$
%^$The Ratings Are In
%^$Ohio State freshman R.J. Umberger was the fourth-rated North American, and top collegiate, prospect in the NHL Central Scouting Services Mid-Season Rankings. Teammate Dave Steckel is ranked No. 25, the fifth collegiate prospect in the rankings. Both athletes were members of the U.S. Junior National Team that competed in the 2001 World Junior Championships in Moscow.%^$
%^$Consistency
%^$The Buckeyes have earned at least two points in 10-of-11 conference two-game series this season following their win last night. The squad earned four points at Lake Superior and vs. Notre Dame (2-0), three points at Ferris State and at Notre Dame (1-0-1) and two points vs. UAF (1-1), vs. Bowling Green (1-1), vs. Michigan (1-1), at Northern Michigan (1-1) at WMU (1-1), vs. Miami (1-1) and at Nebraska-Omaha (1-1).%^$
%^$Home and Away%^$So far this season, the Buckeyes have posted a mark of 7-6-0 (.538) at home in Value City Arena. In road games, the squad is 9-4-2 (.667).%^$
%^$Game-Winners%^$Dave Steckel and Jean-Francois Dufour lead the Buckeyes with six points each on game-winning goals. Steckel has tallied two goals and four assists, while Dufour has a goal and five game-winning helpers.%^$
%^$Outstanding Rookies
%^$The Buckeyes lead the conference with four CCHA Rookie of the Week honors so far this season. Dave Steckel is a two-time honoree, while Mike Betz and R.J. Umberger earned the award once each.%^$
%^$In OT
%^$The Buckeyes have more overtime goals (four) than any other team in the CCHA. Michigan State ranks second with two overtime game-winners, while eight others have won one game in the extra stanza.%^$
%^$The PK
%^$The Buckeyes have held their opponents scoreless on the power play 13 times this season, including in five of the last nine outings.%^$
%^$SOG
%^$The Buckeyes held UNO to just 15 shots on goal in the first game, the second-lowest total Ohio State has given up this season. (Niagara managed just 13 shots on net Oct. 21.) The squad tied a season-best by allowing the Mavericks just three shots on goal in the third period.%^$
%^$Two Plus
%^$The Buckeyes are 15-4 when tallying three or more goals this season. When scoring two or less, Ohio State is 1-8-2, including a mark of 1-4-1 when scoring twice and 0-3-1 when tallying once.%^$
%^$Worth Noting
%^$The Buckeyes are 9-2-1 when R.J. Umberger scores a goal this season and 12-3-1 when Umberger posts at least one point.%^$
%^$Tough At the End
%^$The first game at Nebraska-Omaha was the second time this season the Buckeyes won after trailing at the end of two periods. The squad also came back to tie a game after being down entering the third period. Ohio State is 3-1 when the game is tied after two.%^$
%^$The Over-30 Club
%^$Jean-Francois Dufour (13-20-33), Dave Steckel (16-16-32) and R.J. Umberger (13-19-32) all have posted over 30 points this season. In each of the last two seasons, just two Buckeyes broke the 30-point plateau. In 1997-98, the year the squad went to the Final Four, three Buckeyes – Hugo Boisvert, Chris Richards and Eric Meloche – had 30-plus point totals.%^$
%^$Always There
%^$Five Buckeyes have played in all 30 games so far this season: seniors Jean-Francois Dufour and Jaisen Freeman, sophomores Miguel Lafleche and Pete Broccoli and freshman Scott May.%^$
%^$Up Next
%^$The Buckeyes end the regular season with a home-and-home series with Miami. The squads will meet at 7:35 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27 in Value City Arena and will face off at 7:35 p.m. Friday, March 2 at Goggin Ice Arena in Oxford, Ohio.
