No. 7/9 Ohio State Men’s Hockey Back in CCHA Action – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 13, 2003
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FACEOFF
The No. 7/9-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team (15-4-2, 9-2-1 CCHA) returns to Central Collegiate Hockey Association action with a two-game series against instate foe Bowling Green (5-13-2, 3-1-2 CCHA) at 7:05 p.m. Thursday and Friday in Value City Arena. OSU extended its winning streak to eight with a 4-0 win over Findlay, 4-0, in its last time out, while the Falcons swept Northern Michigan at home last weekend.
THE BROADCAST
The game Friday can be heard live on WOSU Radio (820 AM) and online at wosu.org with Herb Howenstine and John Mowat calling the action. The games also are scheduled to be broadcast by OSU’s student radio station (www.underground.fm).
The series vs. Bowling Green kicks off The Ohio News Network’s television coverage of Ohio State hockey. ONN will televise OSU’s remaining home games this season with former Buckeye goaltender Bill McKenzie and Jeff Hogan on the call.
HERE YOU GO
Before the game Friday, there will be a Huntington hockey puck giveaway to the first 2,500 fans, while following the game, Huntington Mint Tins will be distributed. It also is a RHAC (Residence Hall) night, with free SBC-OSU hockey longsleeve t-shirts going to the first 1,000 OSU students with a valid Buck-ID.
THE TOP
Junior center R.J. Umberger earned the Commissioners’ Choice award as the Division I men’s hockey Top Player of the Month for December, the Ice Hockey Collegiate Commissioners’ Association (IHCCA) announced last week. During the month, Umberger earned three consecutive CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors. He scored four gamewinning goals and a game-tying goal to lead the Buckeyes to a 5-0-1 record. In the month, he posted 9-4-13 totals, including three two-goal performances and four multiple-point games. ANOTHER HONOR
Rookie Ryan Kesler was the CCHA’s nominee for the IHCCA’s Rookie of the Month honor for December. He had five points in four games during the month. He missed the Buckeyes’ games in the Everblades College Classic while competing with the U.S. in the World Junior Championships. North Dakota Rookie Zach Parise, who is leading the nation in scoring, received the honor.
DOMINATION
The Buckeyes are 10-1-0 at home this season and have won their last eight consecutive games. The squad’s only loss in VCA this year was to Cornell Nov. 1. The team is averaging 4.0 goals per game, while allowing just 1.6. OSU has not lost a CCHA game at home, posting sweeps against Michigan State, Miami and Nebraska-Omaha.
THE SERIES
Ohio State trails the all-time series with Bowling Green, 51-90-5. In Columbus, OSU trails by two games, 31-33-2.
IN THE 2002 SEASON
Ohio State and Bowling Green split a two-game series in Bowling Green last season, with BGSU winning the first night (Oct. 26), 5-3, before OSU rebounded for a 4-3 victory in the finale (Oct. 27). JB Bittner led the Buckeyes in the series. In the opener, he had two assists for his first career points. In the second game, he scored the gamewinning goal with 27 seconds left; his score came just 21 seconds after the Falcons had tied the game.
IN THE BOX
The last time Ohio State and Bowling Green met, the squads combined for 29 penalties and 102 penalty minutes in the third period. OSU’s 15 penalties in the third period set the team record for penalties in a period with 15, breaking the mark of 14 set in 1981.
MARKELL VS. THE FALCONS
Ohio State head coach John Markell, a 1979 graduate of Bowling Green, has a career record of 12-11-1 against his alma mater.
GOING FOR THE TROPHY
Ohio State, Miami and Bowling Green will battle for the Ohio Cup again this season. The traveling trophy is presented annually by the Buckeye Sports Bulletin to the team with the best record against its instate opponents. In the first Ohio Cup action of the year, Miami swept Bowling Green by scores of 3-2 and 6-1. Because Ohio State and Miami will face off four times this year, the first series (an OSU sweep in Columbus) will not count in the Ohio Cup standings.
A LOOK AT THE FALCONS
Bowling Green (5-13-2, 3-10-2 CCHA) stopped a six-game winless (0-5-1) streak with a two-game sweep of CCHA-foe Northern Michigan last weekend. The Falcons beat the Wildcats, 3-2, in the opener and 5-3 the next night.
Steve Brudzewski leads the team with 16 points, including nine goals. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa ranks first for the squad with 11 assists and is second in points with 15. In goal, Jordan Sigalet and Tyler Masters have split time. Sigalet has played in 10 games, posting a goals-against average of 3.34 and a .914 save percentage. In 11 games, Masters has a gaa of 5.03 and a save percentage of .872.
AT THE HELM
Scott Paluch, a 1991 graduate of Bowling Green, is in first season as the head coach of his alma mater. He had served as an assistant coach at Boston College before returning to BGSU.
A DIFFERENCE IN DEFENSE
The Buckeyes rank first in the CCHA in team defense, allowing 1.75 goals per game in league contests. The Falcons are last in the league, giving up 4.47 goals an outing.
BLANKING
Freshman goalie Dave Caruso extended his shutout streak to 120 minutes after blanking Findlay last Tuesday. It marked the second consecutive shutout for the rookie and dropped his goals-against average to 1.20 and raised his save percentage to 95 percent.
STILL ROLLING
R.J. Umberger had a goal and an assist against Findlay, extending his goal and point streaks to eight games (11-6-17). The IHCCA National Player of the Month for December, he leads the Buckeyes with 17-12-29 totals.
WELCOME BACK
Freshman Ryan Kesler had three assists against Findlay in his first game since the World Junior Championships. He has a five-game scoring streak, with 1-7-8 totals in the stretch.
CHECK IT OUT
This season, members of the Ohio State hockey team have kept travel journals on each of the squad’s road trips. Read all about the team’s travels across the country, from Alaska to Florida, by going to the men’s hockey page at ohiostatebuckeyes.com and clicking on the “On the Road” icon on the right side.
VOTEFORHOBEY.COM
College hockey’s top individual prize, the Hobey Baker Award, now is accepting nominations in the first phase of naming the Hobey winner. Through Sunday (Jan. 19), fans may nominate Division I men’s college hockey players by going online to voteforhobey.com. Each player that receives at least 25 nominating votes will be eligible to receive votes in the second phase, finalist selection.
From Jan. 20 through March 9, fans may cast one ballot per day for their first, second and third choices. The fans’ votes, along with ballots from the 60 Division I college hockey head coaches, will determine the Top 10 finalists, with the list announced March 20.
In the final round of balloting (from March 21-31) voters can cast their ballots ranking the Top 10 candidates one through five once a day. The top selection from the fans will join the ballots from the Selection Committee (comprised of college hockey personnel, pro scouts and media) in determining the award winner. The Hobey Hat Trick, the top three finalists, will be announced April 2. The award recipient will be announced in a live telecast from the NCAA Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y. Friday, April 11.
As of Jan. 13, Buckeye junior forward R.J. Umberger ranked in the Top 5 in the nomination phase. He will move on to the next phase of voting.
STREAKING
The Buckeyes are undefeated in their last eight games, posting a record of 7-0-1. The squad swept two-game series with Miami and Nebraska-Omaha to start the streak. In the Everblades College Classic Dec. 28-29, OSU tied Massachusetts (2-2), before beating Cornell, 1-0. The squad extended the streak with a 4-1 victory over Princeton in Pittsburgh Jan. 3 and a 4-0 win over Findlay last week. The squad’s unbeaten streak is the second-longest current streak in the nation, behind only Alabama Huntsville’s 11-gamer (9-0-2).
TOP 5
The Buckeyes rank in the Top 5 in the nation in two team categories – team defense and penalty killing. The squad ranks third in team defense, allowing 1.95 goals per game. On the penalty kill, OSU is tied for fourth in the nation.
WHAT A START
The Buckeyes’ 13 wins before Dec. 31 tied for the third-best start in program history and were the most since the 1983-84 squad recorded 17 wins (in 20 games) before New Year’s Eve. The 1971-72 squad’s 14 wins before the end of the year ranks second and the team also had 13 wins in the 1982-83, 1979-80 and 1978-79 seasons.
SHUT IT DOWN
The Buckeyes’ defense has held opponents to one goal or less in five of their last six outings. This season, the squad has three shutouts and has allowed one goal six times. They have given up more than three goals just twice.
THE LEADER
Junior goalie Mike Betz leads the CCHA in goals-against average both overall (2.10) and in league play (1.69).
KEEP ON MOVIN’ UP
Mike Betz moved into a tie for fourth place all-time at OSU for goalie wins with 47 following his victory against Princeton. He is seven behind all-time leader Bill McKenzie’s mark of 54, set from 1970-72. His 2,227 saves rank seventh in OSU history. Dan Stergiou (1973-76) is the all-time leader with 3,261.
A NICE SHADE OF GRAY
The Buckeyes are undefeated when wearing their third jerseys this season. The squad has posted a mark of 5-0-1 with the gray sweaters on, including three wins in Value City Arena.
THE MAGIC MARK
When scoring at least three goals this season, the Buckeyes are a perfect 14-0-0. The team has just one win (1-4-2) when held to two or less tallies.
ANOTHER SIGN
OSU also is undefeated when scoring first this season. The team is 11-0-1 when recording the first goal of a contest.
A CURSE?
The Buckeyes have not recorded a hat trick since Oct. 21, 2000 vs. Niagara, a stretch of 95 consecutive games. This season, the Buckeyes have had nine two-goal games. Last year, the squad had a player score twice in a game 17 times.
POWER
OSU went 3-for-6 on the power play against Findlay, the second time this season it scored at least three power play goal. The squad has scored at least one power play goal in 15-of-21 games this season.
OSU’s power play in the last five games: 12/14 vs. UNO 1/5 12/28 vs. UMass 1/6 12/29 vs. Cornell 0/5 1/3 vs. Princeton 0/4 1/7 vs. Findlay 3/6 Totals 5/26 (19.2%)
KILLER
OSU has held opponents scoreless on the power play in 12 games this season, including two of the last three outings.
OSU’s penalty killing in the last five games: 12/14 vs. UNO 3/4 12/28 vs. UMass 4/6 12/29 vs. Cornell 4/4 1/3 vs. Princeton 3/4 1/7 vs. Findlay 4/4 Totals 18/22 (81.8%)
THE RANKINGS
The Buckeyes moved up to No. 9 in the national polls after their 1-0-1 performance in the Everblades College Classic, including a 1-0 victory over then-No. 3 ranked Cornell. The Buckeyes were ranked in the Top 15 for the first two weeks before falling to receiving votes for five consecutive polls. Since reentering the polls Nov. 18, the Buckeyes have moved up to No. 7/9. It is OSU’s first Top 10 ranking in the last two seasons.
OSU in the polls since No. 18:
USA Today USCHO.com Nov. 18 14 13 Nov. 25 14 15 Dec. 2 14 14 Dec. 9 12 12 Dec. 16 11 11 Dec. 30 9 9 Jan. 6 9 9 Jan. 13 7 9
HELPER
Junior goalie Mike Betz is one of 15 finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, given each year to the top citizen in college hockey. Players from Divisions I, II and III and men’s and women’s hockey are eligible for the award, which will be awarded at the Frozen Four April 11. Betz is one of three nominees from the CCHA, joining Michigan State’s Brad Fast and John Wroblewski of Notre Dame.
