Buckeyes Host Fighting Irish for Two Games in Value City Arena – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 25, 2006
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Faceoff
The Ohio State men’s hockey team (12-10-4, 8-8-2 CCHA) hosts Notre Dame (8-13-3, 6-9-3 CCHA) for two games this weekend. The teams will meet at 7:05 p.m. Friday and at 8:05 p.m. Saturday in Value City Arena in Columbus.
The Broadcast
WOSU Radio (820 AM/WOSU.org) will broadcast both Buckeye games against Notre Dame, with Neil Sika (play-by-play) and former Buckeye John Mowat (analysis) on the call.
The game Saturday will be televised live by CSTV: College Sports Television. Matt McConnell (play-by-play) and Dave Starman (analysis) will call the action.
The Underground, Ohio State’s student-run radio station, will have the Saturday game live on the internet at www.underground.fm.
The Fun Stuff
At the game Friday, the Ohio State band will perform Script Ohio on Ice.
Saturday is a Family Four Pack night, with four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and four popcorns available for $42. Free rally towels will be handed out, courtesy of Nationwide. Postgame, defensemen Sean Collins and Nate Guenin will have an autograph session.
Last Time Out
The Buckeyes split a series at Alaska Fairbanks, with a 5-1 win Friday and 3-0 loss Saturday.
Notre Dame traveled to Marquette, Mich., to take on Northern Michigan. After losing game one, 5-2, the Irish came back to win, 4-3, Saturday.
A Busy Weekend in the CCHA
All 12 CCHA teams are in conference action this weekend. In addition to the Buckeyes’ home series vs. Notre Dame, Bowling Green travels to Lake Superior, Miami heads to Ferris State, Nebraska-Omaha flies to Alaska Fairbanks and Northern Michigan plays at Western Michigan. Michigan will play at Michigan State Friday before the teams meet at Joe Louis Arena Saturday. The Spartans and Bulldogs also will meet Tuesday in East Lansing.
Nine points separate both first and second place and second place and 12th place in the league.
Ohio State is in sixth place with 18 points in 18 games, one point behind fourth place (LSSU and UM), two points behind third (MSU) and three points back of second-place NMU.
A Look At The Buckeyes
The Buckeyes are 12-10-4 on the year and 8-8-2 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
The Buckeyes are averaging 2.7 goals scored a game and rank sixth in the country in scoring defense, allowing 1.96 goals an outing.
Sophomore forward Tom Fritsche leads the Buckeyes with eight goals, 14 assists and 22 points. Junior forward Mathieu Beaudoin is second in goals (7), while sophomore forward Domenic Maiani is second in assists (13) and points (18). Beaudoin (7-8) and junior forward Andrew Schembri (6-9) are tied for third with 15 points each. Junior defenseman Sean Collins leads the blueliners and is fifth on the team with 13 points, including six goals. Collins is a team-best +15 this year.
In net, senior Dave Caruso has started 23 games, with a 1.71 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, along with a 10-9-4 record.
John Markell, a 1979 graduate of Bowling Green, is in his 11th full season at the helm of the Buckeyes. He has a career and school ledger of 212-183-36.
The Series
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series with Notre Dame, 26-23-6. In the last 10 games, Ohio State is 8-1-1 vs. the Irish and has won the last six meetings. Ohio State and Notre Dame met Thanksgiving weekend in South Bend. The Buckeyes posted a sweep, with 4-1 and 5-2 victories Nov. 25-26.
OSU includes four games (two wins for each school between 1965-67) in its all-time series ND does not, as the Buckeyes’ records include games when OSU was a varsity team and Notre Dame was a club team.
Welcome to C-Bus
Ohio State leads Notre Dame in the series in Columbus, 12-11-4 . The Buckeyes and Irish have not met on the Buckeyes’ home ice since Oct. 19-11, 2003, splitting the series. The Irish won game one, 5-2 and OSU rebounding for a 3-1 victory. The win also marks Notre Dame’s last win in the series.
A Look Back – Buckeyes Sweep Irish
The Buckeyes used points from 10 players, including two from Kyle Hood, en route to a 4-1 win over Notre Dame Nov. 25 in the series opener.
The Buckeyes opened the scoring with Matt McIlvane’s power-play goal 1:57 into the game. The first period ended with the teams tied at 1, however, as ND’s Matt Amado scored on the power play with less than three minutes remaining. OSU scored twice in the first 3:16 of the second period, with Hood and Mathieu Beaudoin scoring 59 seconds apart, to head into the third ahead 3-1. Tom Fritsche closed out the scoring with a power-play score at 11:38 of the final period. The Buckeyes controlled play throughout the game, outshooting the Irish, 34-15, including 27-7 through the first two periods.
In game two, Domenic Maiani and Rod Pelley each contributed three points, as the Buckeyes rolled to a 5-2 win over the Irish last Saturday. The Buckeyes led 1-0 after the first, with Dave Barton scoring 1:34 into the game and Pelley converting on the power play with .8 left in the opening period. Maiani scored twice in the second period, including a power-play goal, to put the Buckeyes ahead, 4-0, at the end of two. In the third, Fritsche closed out scoring for the Buckeyes before the Irish added two late power-play goals for the 5-2 final. The Buckeyes outshot the Irish, 31-20, in the game, including 12-3 in the first period.
A Buckeye Connection
Former Buckeye Paul Pooley, Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer with 270 points from 1981-84, is in his first season as the associate head coach of the Irish after serving as the head coach at Providence for the last 11 seasons. Pooley was an assistant coach at Ohio State for three years and also assisted under new Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson at Lake Superior State, where the Lakers won two NCAA titles (1992 and ’94) in his three years.
Success vs. The Irish
Junior Mathieu Beaudoin leads the Buckeyes with seven points in five career games vs. Notre Dame. Junior Andrew Schembri has a team-best five assists vs. the Irish. Beaudoin and senior Rod Pelley are tied for the team lead with three goals each against ND.
What A Cluster
The Buckeyes and Irish are in the same CCHA scheduling cluster this season and will face off four times.
Ohio State and Notre Dame were in the same cluster during the 2000-01 season. Ohio State went 3-0-1 vs. the Irish in the four games combined, with a 5-3 win and 2-2 tie Jan. 19-20, 2001, in Notre Dame and a two-game sweep (5-2, 5-3) Feb. 4-5, 2001 in Value City Arena.
The Buckeyes are 4-4-1 in games against teams in their cluster this season, with a 2-0 ledger vs. Notre Dame, 1-2 record vs. Miami and 1-2-1 mark against Bowling Green in CCHA play. Last season, the squad was 11-2-1 in games against its cluster foes. After the series with the Irish this weekend, OSU closes out cluster play at Miami Feb. 14.
A Look at the Fighting Irish
Notre Dame is 8-13-3 on the year and has a 6-9-3 ledger in CCHA action. The team is 3-2-2 in its last seven games, including a series split at Northern Michigan last weekend (L 5-2, W 4-3).
The Irish are averaging 2.67 goals a game, while allowing 3.21. The team has converted 18.3 percent of its power-play chances.
Freshman forward Erik Condra leads Notre Dame with 19 assists and 23 points this season. Junior forward Josh Sciba has a team-best 12 goals and is second with 22 points, while senior forward Tim Wallace is second with 10 goals and ranks third with 19 points. Junior Wes O’Neill leads the defensemen with 16 points this season.
In net, junior David Brown has played in 20 games, with a 3.02 goals-against average, .896 save percentage and 5-10-3 record. Freshman Jordan Pearce has seen action in seven games, with a 3.42 gaa, .873 svpct. and 3-3-0 ledger.
Jeff Jackson, a 1978 graduate of Michigan State, is in his first year as the head coach of the Irish. His first head coaching job was at Lake Superior State, where he led the Lakers to NCAA titles in 1992 and `94. Jackson, who spent the last two years as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders before coming to Notre Dame, has a career collegiate coaching record of 190-65-28.
Buckeyes Skate, Volley vs. Irish
There is another Buckeye-Irish matchup Saturday, as the Ohio State women’s tennis team will travel to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame at 11 a.m.
A Look Back – OSU at UAF
The Buckeyes were 1-1 on the road at Alaska Fairbanks last weekend, winning the opener, 5-1, before falling in game two, 3-0.
In game one Friday, the line of Tom Fritsche (0-2-2), Domenic Maiani (0-3-3) and Sam Campbell (2-0-2) combined for seven points, as Ohio State downed Alaska Fairbanks, 5-1.
The Buckeyes opened the scoring in the first period on Sean Collins’ power-play goal. The Nanooks tied the score with a power-play tally of their own 9:15 into the second period, but OSU responded with a Campbell goal just 12 seconds later to regain the lead for good.
The Buckeyes scored three times in the third period, with goals by Rod Pelley, Campbell and Andrew Schembri, for the 5-1 final.
UAF outshot the Buckeyes, 33-29. Buckeye goalie Dave Caruso made 32 saves in the win.
In game two, the Buckeyes fell, 3-0, giving up one goal in each period.
The Nanooks opened the scoring with a 5-on-3 tally in the first period and went ahead 2-0 with a goal in the last minute of the second period. UAF closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal late in the third. The Buckeyes were 0-for-9 on the power play in the game, including going scoreless on seven power-play chances in the second period.
The Nanook win ended the Buckeyes’ five-game winning streak overall against Alaska Fairbanks and the team’s three-game unbeaten (2-0-1) streak in Fairbanks.
Lighting the Lamp
The Buckeyes’ five goals against Alaska Fairbanks were the most since scoring six in a 6-1 victory over Union Dec. 11. It was the fourth time this season the Buckeyes scored five or more goals in a game. OSU had a season-high seven goals at Bowling Green Oct. 20. OSU is 11-2 when scoring three or more times this year, 4-1 when scoring four times and 4-0 when scoring more than five goals in a game.
Blanks
The loss to Alaska Fairbanks Jan. 21 marked the third time Ohio State was shut out in the last six games and the fourth shutout this season. It was the first time in 36 meetings the Buckeyes were held scoreless by the Nanooks.
A Tale of Two Teams
In games the Buckeyes have won this season, they have averaged 4.2 goals a game while allowing 1.0. On the flip side, in games the Buckeyes have lost, they have scored just 1.2 games a contest and given up 3.2. In all games, OSU is averaging 2.65 goals scored and 1.96 goals allowed.
Shooter Story
Alaska Fairbanks outshot the Buckeyes Jan. 20, just the third time this season the squad was outshot (but the second consecutive game).
The Nanooks had 18 shots in the third period Jan. 20 to tie the Buckeye season high for opponent shots in a period, set twice before (last vs. Miami Dec. 30).
In the game Jan. 21, the Nanooks had 21 shots, the 12th time this season a Buckeye opponent had 21 or fewer shots on net.
The Buckeyes have outshot their opponents, 901-619, this season, averaging 34.7 shots a game and allowing 23.8.
Keep Out
The Buckeyes are allowing just 1.96 goals a game through 26 games this season, a mark that would set the program record for lowest single-season goals-against average. The 2002-03 squad holds the record, holding opponents to just 2.21 goals a game.
The Buckeyes are sixth in the nation and third in the CCHA in scoring defense. Wisconsin leads the way nationally with 1.54 goals allowed a game, followed by Vermont (1.62), Miami (1.80), Boston College (1.91) and Lake Superior State (1.96).
The Buckeye squad has allowed more than two goals just seven times this season and more than three just four times. The team is 0-7 when allowing three or more goals.
Add it Up
The line of sophomores Tom Fritsche, Sam Campbell and Domenic Maiani combined for seven of the Buckeyes’ 12 points in the win over Alaska Fairbanks Jan. 20.
No. 23 Helps Out
Domenic Maiani had three assists vs. Alaska Fairbanks Jan. 20 to tie his career best, set twice before, with the last Jan. 15, 2005 at Notre Dame. He also had three assists Nov. 6, 2004 vs. Sacred Heart.
Maiani’s three points tied his career high, last set Nov. 26 at Notre Dame and set four times total.
Maiani’s first assist vs. the Nanooks marked his 50th career point. He has 52 points as a Buckeye.
Between the Pipes
Senior goalie Dave Caruso moved into fourth place in Buckeye history with the win at Alaska Fairbanks Jan. 20. Caruso has 49 career victories, three behind John Dougan (1982-85) is in third place with 52 career victories.
Caruso remains the Buckeyes’ all-time leader in goals-against average, allowing just 1.94 goals a game. He is ahead of second-place All-American Jeff Maund (1997-99), who compiled a 2.35 goals-against average.
Caruso has 10 career shutouts to tie for second in program history with Bill McKenzie (1970-72), one behind Mike Betz (2001-04). Caruso’s four shutouts this season are tied for second in program history with McKenzie (1970, 72) and Maund (1998). Betz owns the program record with five shutouts in the 2002 campaign.
Goal!
Sophomore Sam Campbell’s two-goal night against Alaska Fairbanks Jan. 20 was the second of his career and his first since Nov. 14, 2004 vs. Northern Michigan. Campbell has a career-best nine points this season and has matched his personal-best of three goals. He has played in a career-high 22 games this year and has a point in five of the last nine games.
Live From Columbus, It’s OSU Hockey
The Buckeyes’ game vs. Notre Dame Saturday will be televised live on CSTV, the second of four Ohio State games that will be televised on the network this season. CSTV also will show the Buckeyes’ game at Michigan Feb. 4 and their home game vs. Michigan State Feb. 9. OSU is 3-2-1 in televised games this season, including a 4-1 win over Notre Dame Nov. 25 on ESPNU.
Home and Away
After the series with Notre Dame this weekend, the Buckeyes close out the regular season with six road games and just three home games. The Buckeyes are 6-4-3 in Value City Arena this season and 7-4-4 in Columbus, including the Ohio Hockey Classic at Nationwide Arena.
Multiple-Point Man
Sophomore Tom Fritsche’s two assists vs. UAF marked the fourth time this season he had two helpers and the first since Dec. 11 vs. Union. He leads the Buckeyes with eight multiple-point games this year, including two three-point efforts.
Who’s On First
The Buckeyes are 10-0-2 when leading after the first period this season. The squad has outscored opponents, 23-14, in the opening period, while outscoring its opponents by three in second and six in the third period.
A Century and a Half
Senior forward Rod Pelley marked the 150th game of his career Saturday vs. Nebraska-Omaha. He is just the 28th Buckeye to play in 152 or more games in the Scarlet and Gray. Pelley is four games shy of tying Don Perkins (1983-86) for 10th in career games played. Mark Anderson owns the OSU record with 167 games played.
Joining the Century Club
Seven Buckeyes have played in 100 or more games in the Scarlet and Gray. Senior Rod Pelley leads the way with 152, followed by classmates Nate Guenin (138) and Dan Knapp (111) and juniors Matt Waddell (107), Sean Collins (107), Mathieu Beaudoin (106) and Andrew Schembri (105).
He’s Back
Sophomore defenseman Jason DeSantis returned to the Buckeye lineup in the series at Alaska Fairbanks after missing the last 15 games with an injury suffered against Michigan State Nov. 15.
D Leader
Junior Sean Collins leads the Buckeye defensemen with six goals, seven assists and 13 points. He has a team-best +15 rating this year. He is tied for the team lead with three power-play tallies.
Vote For Hobey
Buckeye senior goalie Dave Caruso and sophomore forward Tom Fritsche both advanced to the second phase of fan voting for the 2006 Hobey Baker Award online at www.hobeybaker.com. Vote for Hobey consists of three phases.
Each player in the nomination phase with at least 25 nominations was placed on the preliminary voting ballot. Preliminary voting began Jan. 16 and runs through March 5. Fans may cast one ballot per day for their first, second and third-place choices for the award. The fans’ tally will be combined with the votes of the 58 Division I head coaches to determine the 10 finalists for the award.
Final voting is from March 17-27, where fans have the opportunity to cast their final ballot for the award. The results of the fan vote will be counted, along with the votes of the Hobey Baker Selection Committee, to determine the recipient of the 2006 award.
When Down a Man
Ohio State has allowed 27 power-play goals on 177 chances this season, stopping 84.7 percent of its opponents’ opportunities. Since returning to action after the December break, OSU has stopped 52-of-58 opponent chances (89.7 percent) in the nine games combined. The squad has three games where it was perfect on the power play in the stretch and has not allowed more than one extra-man tally in any game. Last weekend at Alaska Fairbanks, the Buckeyes held the Nanooks scoreless on 9-of-10 chances Jan. 20, the most opponent chances since Notre Dame was 2-for-10 Nov. 26.
In the Box
Senior Nate Guenin ranks eighth in program history in career penalty minutes with 368, 19 behind seventh-place Scott Rex, who had 387 from 1987-90. Guenin did not have a penalty during the series at Alaska Fairbanks.
Guenin has led the Buckeyes in penalty minutes in each of the last three years and is second on the team with 55 this year. He is third on the team lead with 18 penalties this season.
A Good Sign
The Buckeyes are 11-2-4 when scoring first this season, but just 1-8-0 when the opponent opens the scoring.
I Feel a Draft
The Buckeyes have five NHL draft picks on their roster this season. Tom Fritsche was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the 2005 draft, senior Nate Guenin was a New York Rangers selection in the fourth round of the 2002 draft, junior Tyson Strachan was a fifth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003, goalie Ian Keserich was drafted in the seventh round of the 2004 draft and the Ottawa Senators selected Matt McIlvane in the eighth round in 2004.
A Team Effort
This season, each Buckeye skater that has played in at least 10 games has at least one point on the year and all but one have at least three points. Seventeen Buckeyes have scored a goal.
Seven Buckeyes have reached double-digits in points, while three others have nine points on the year.
On the Plus Side
Of the 20 Ohio State skaters who have played in 10 or more games this season, 18 have a +2 or better rating. Five – Sean Collins (+15), Mathieu Beaudoin (+11), Kenny Bernard (+11), Johann Kroll (+11) and Matt McIlvane (+10) – have reached the double-digit mark in plus/minus. OSU is +115 as a team this season and its opponents are a combined -122.
On the List
The two players who have signed National Letters of Intent to play at Ohio State beginning in the 2006-07 season were listed in the mid-term rankings of the top players eligible for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft released by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service.
In the listing for North American skaters, defenseman Kevin Montgomery is rated 37th out of 210. Goalie Joe Palmer is seventh on the list of 30 goalies.
USA! USA!
Sophomore Tom Fritsche returned to the Buckeye lineup Jan. 6 after competing for Team USA in the World Junior Championship. He had five points (1-4) in the six games of the tourney and was named the U.S. Player of the Game in the 6-5 comeback win over Finland when he had a goal and an assist.
Fritsche is the fourth Buckeye to compete in the World Junior Championship, joining Ryan Kesler (2003, 04), Dave Steckel (2001, 02) and R.J. Umberger (2001, 02).
Leader of the Pack
Tom Fritsche leads the Buckeyes in goals (8), assists (14) and points (22). Last year, Fritsche, a second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche had a team-best 45 points and 34 assists.
Picked by Your Peers
A number of Buckeyes were honored in the first CCHA Captains’ poll released in December.
Both senior Nate Guenin and sophomore forward Tom Fritsche won two categories. Guenin was named the Hardest-Hitting Defenseman and Best Defenseman 1-on-1, while Fritsche was voted Best Stickhandler and Most Dangerous Leading a Rush.
Senior forward Rod Pelley won Best Wrist Shot and was first runner-up for Hardest Hitter (Forward). Dan Knapp tied for first runner-up in quickest release. Sophomore Domenic Maiani tied for second runner-up in the Best on Faceoffs category and junior defenseman Sean Collins was the second runner-up in Best Power-Play Pointman.
Senior Dave Caruso was voted Best Stickhandling Goalie and was second runner-up in both the Best Glove Hand and Toughest Goalie 1-on-1 categories.
Leading the Way
Senior Nate Guenin, an alternate captain for the Buckeyes the last two seasons, was voted team captain by his teammates for the 2005-06 campaign. Guenin takes over the captaincy from two-time leader JB Bittner, who completed his eligibility in 2004-05. The duo grew up playing hockey together in Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Hornets junior hockey organization.
Senior Rod Pelley is in his second year as an alternate captain, while junior Sean Collins is in his first year wearing the `A’.
Shooting For 20
The Buckeyes are looking to extend their streak of seasons with 20 or more wins to five, after setting the program record with its fourth in a row last season. The school’s 27 wins last season tied for the second-most in program history.
The Breakdown
The Buckeye roster contains four seniors, nine juniors, a CCHA-high 11 sophomores and a league-low two freshmen. Twenty-three of 26 players from last season returned to the squad.
A Quick Recap
The Buckeyes were 27-11-4 last season and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season. The team finished second in the CCHA regular-season standing with a 21-5-2 ledger (its highest finish in over 20 years) and was the runner-up in the CCHA Super Six tournament.
Up Next
The Buckeyes hit the road to take on Michigan for two games in Ann Arbor. The teams will meet at 7:35 p.m. Feb. 3 and at 8:05 p.m. Feb. 4 in Yost Ice Arena.
The Frozen Tundra
Ohio State will face off against Wisconsin Feb. 11 in an outdoor game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., home of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Tickets to the Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic are $24 for adults, $16 for students (including college), $14 for children (under 12) and $45 for indoor and outdoor club seats. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketstaronline.com or by phone by calling 800-895-0071.
