No. 12 Ohio State Men’s Hockey Falls to Mercyhurst, 3-2 – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 24, 2003
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 12 Ohio State men’s hockey team lost to non-conference opponent Mercyhurst, 3-2, Friday in Value City Arena. The loss, which ends the Buckeyes’ three-game winning streak, drops the squad to 4-3-0 overall (3-1-0 CCHA). Mercyhurst, a member of Atlantic Hockey, moves to 1-1-0 on the year (0-0-0 Atlantic Hockey).
Ohio State returns to action with a two-game series against CCHA foe Alaska Fairbanks next weekend. The Buckeyes and Nanooks will face off at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
The Buckeyes had multiple scoring chances in the first period but failed to take advantage. Ohio State outshot the Lakers, 11-6, with many of the Buckeye shots coming from in close, but it could not get anything past Mercyhurst goalie Andy Franck. At the other end, OSU goalie Mike Betz (Elizabeth, Pa.) stopped all six shots he faced.
Mercyhurst took the lead at the 16:46 mark of the second period, as Jon Asselstine scored from right in front of the OSU net, set up by Jim Gehring and Pat Henk. The Buckeyes put 10 shots on net in the stanza; the Lakers had nine shots in the period.
Buckeye senior Daymen Bencharski (Beaverlodge, Alberta) tied the game at one 5:05 into the third period, beating Franck with a wrist shot from the faceoff dot with the Buckeyes on the power play. Betz started the play behind his net for his first assist of the year, before Doug Andress (Sr., Iroquois Falls, Ontario) passed it to Bencharski on the left wing for his second goal of the season. The Lakers regained the lead just over three minutes later when Adam Tackaberry tallied on the power play, pushing the puck in following a scramble in front of the net. Mercyhurst pushed its lead to two (3-1) with another power play goal, as Peter Rynshoven scored at 10:41 following a turnover deep in the OSU zone. Buckeye junior JB Bittner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) extended his goal-scoring streak to four with his goal at 16:06 that cut the lead to one. Bencharski and Andress assisted on the goal, which was scored from just outside the crease. The Buckeyes pulled Betz with 50 seconds remaining for the extra attacker but could not get the puck in the net. Betz made 19 saves on 22 Mercyhurst shots, while Franck had 28 saves on 30 Buckeye chances.
Each squad scored two power-play goals. OSU was 2-for-5 and the Lakers were 2-for-8. The Buckeyes had eight penalties for 16 minutes and the Lakers were assessed five penalties for 10 minutes.
Bencharski had a season-high two points in the game and now has three points (1-2) in his last three games. Andress broke a three-game scoreless streak with his season-best two assists and now has five helpers on the year. Dan Knapp (So., Rochester, Mich.) was held without a point, stopping his scoring streak at six.
Postgame Quotes
Ohio State head coach John Markell
“We’re obviously disappointed. A lot of penalties came into to play. We dominated in the first period, but we had five offensive penalties (in the game) and that really hurts.
“We were down 3-1 and we scored to cut the lead to one. We lacked the determination and fortitude to tie the game; you have to put yourself in the right place and we didn’t.”
OSU junior captain JB Bittner
“We came out ready to play, but we didn’t bury our chances. Mercyhurst started the game out a little flat but we didn’t capitalize on that. We didn’t score goals and they continued to gain momentum. We were hungry to win but couldn’t score.
Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin
“We have a great respect for Ohio State. We knew we had to play pretty darn well to win. We know we’re not Ohio State or Michigan, but there is no reason we can’t compete. We go out hard and play hard and we were rewarded. We knew Ohio State was a great program before and we have an even greater respect for them today.”
Hockey Game Box Score (Final) Ohio State Men’s Hockey 2003-04 Mercyhurst vs #12 Ohio State (Oct 24, 2003 at Columbus, Ohio)
Mercyhurst (1-1-0, 0-0-0 AH) vs. Ohio State (4-3-0, 3-1-0 CCHA) Date: Oct 24, 2003 Location: Columbus, Ohio Arena: Value City Arena Attendance:2103 Start time:7:05 pm End time:9:17 pm Total time:2:12
Goals by Period 1 2 3 Tot ———————————- Mercyhurst………. 0 1 2 – 3 Ohio State………. 0 0 2 – 2
1st period – Penalties – BRIGGS, Preston, MC (obstruction-hooking) 1:49; Dan Knapp, OSU (obstruction-tripping) 8:57; Nate Guenin, OSU (cross checking after the whistle) 12:55.
2nd period – 1, MC, ASSELSTINE, Jon/1 (GEHRING, Jim/1, HENK, Pat/1) 16:46. Penalties – CARTER, Mike, MC (slashing) 2:40; Andrew Schembri, OSU (unsportsmanlike conduct-diving) 4:57; KIRBY, Mike, MC (obstruction-hooking) 12:20; TEAM, OSU (too many on ice) 13:23; Lee Spector, OSU (contact to head-roughing) 18:28.
3rd period – 2, OSU, Daymen Bencharski/2 (Doug Andress/4, Mike Betz/1) 5:05 (pp). 3, MC, TACKABERRY, Adam/1 (RYNSHOVEN, Peter/1, WRIGLEY, David/2) 8:07 (pp). 4, MC, RYNSHOVEN, Peter/1 (TACKABERRY, Adam/1, HANSEN, Rich/1) 10:41 (pp). 5, OSU, JB Bittner/4 (Daymen Bencharski/3, Doug Andress/4) 16:06 (pp). Penalties – KIRBY, Mike, MC (interference) 4:38; Rod Pelley, OSU (slashing) 6:22; Dan Knapp, OSU (slashing) 9:48; Daymen Bencharski, OSU (contact to head-high sticking) 12:39; FRANCK, Andy, MC (contact to head-high sticking) 14:30.
Shots on goal – MC 6-9-7 22; OSU 11-10-9 30.
Power plays – MC 2 of 8; OSU 2 of 5.
Penalties – MC 5 (10 min); OSU 8 (16 min).
Goalies – MC, FRANCK, Andy 1-1-0 (60:00 minutes, 30 shots-28 saves); OSU, Mike Betz 3-2-0 (59:10, 22-19) , EMPTY NET (00:50, 0-0).
A-2103 T-2:12 Three stars: 1. FRANCK, Andy 2. RYNSHOVEN, Peter 3. TACKABERRY, Adam Referee:Steve McInchak Linesman:Tony Molina; Jesse Berkabile Win-FRANCK, Andy (1-1-0). Loss-Mike Betz (3-2-0).
