Men’s Hockey Tops Minnesota Duluth, 4-1, to Advance to Championship Game of Ohio Hockey Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 29, 2006
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s hockey team defeated Minnesota Duluth by a score of 4-1 Friday in the first round of the Ohio Hockey Classic at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus. The win advances to the Buckeyes to the championship game against in-state rival No. 4 Miami Saturday at 8:05 p.m. The Bulldogs will face Bowling Green in the consolation game at 5:05 p.m.
Eleven different Buckeyes registered a point in the victory, including junior forward Tom Fritsche (Parma, Ohio), who played in his first game of the season after missing the opening 18 games of the year with an intestinal illness. Fritsche assisted on the opening goal of the game, catching a pass from fellow junior Tommy Goebel (Parma, Ohio) and setting up senior defenseman Sean Collins (Troy, Mich.). While skating across the front of the net, Collins backhanded the puck through traffic into the UMD goal just 1:40 into the game for a quick 1-0 lead. The goal was Collins’ sixth of the season while Goebel registered his fifth assist.
The Bulldogs responded minutes later at 4:43 when Matt Greer picked up the puck from teammates Mike Curry and Jeff McFarland and skated it into the OSU zone, firing a shot from the left circle past freshman goaltender Joseph Palmer (Yorkville, N.Y.). That would be the only shot to get back Palmer though as he stopped a total of 19 shots to improve to 6-7-3. It was his fourth game this season allowing one or fewer goals.
Ohio State regained its 1-goal lead at the 6:39 mark with junior Domenic Maiani (Shelby Township, Mich.) tallied his second shorthanded goal of the season and fifth overall. Classmate Matt McIlvane (Naperville, Ill.) dragged out UMD netminder Josh Johnson to the left side of the net and flicked the puck across to Maiani on the right side who tapped it in for the 2-1 lead that the Buckeyes held into the first intermission. The Buckeyes added two goals in the second period to up their lead to 4-1. Senior Mathieu Beaudoin (Sherbrooke, Quebec) lit the lamp just :41 into the stanza when he picked up his own rebound and flicked it in from the left side of the net. He was assisted by classmates Kenny Bernard (Sarnia, Ontario) and Tyson Strachan (Melfort, Saskatchewan). The goal was Beaudoin’s sixth of the year while Bernard picked up his eighth helper and Strachan had his fifth.
The final OSU goal was at 11:20 when rookie Mathieu Picard (St. Isidore, Ontario) scored his third goal in as many games, knocking the puck in from the right doorstep with assists from linemates Zach Pelletier (China Village, Maine) and Dave Barton (Calgary, Alberta). It was the second assist of the season for both.
Ohio State held its 4-1 lead throughout the third period and finished the game with a 32-20 advantage in shots. The Buckeyes were 0-for-6 on the power play with a perfect 7-for-7 mark on the penalty kill.
Postgame Quotes
John Markell, Ohio State head coach
On the game
“When you host your own tournament you don’t have to worry about traveling and you can sleep in your own bed. For the past three years, we have performed well in the first game of this tournament. Tonight we were focused and spirited. As a whole, we played pretty good hockey for a full 60 minutes.”
On Tom Fritsche’s return
“I thought he did some good things. It was good to see him get back up after that hit and I was able to regulate his shifts.”
Tom Fritsche, junior forward
On returning to competition
“I was pretty excited. I couldn’t sleep last night. Getting that assist settled me down a bit. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. I didn’t play that much, but it was not bad at all. I am just happy we won. I didn’t want to come back and lose. Our system showed tonight.”
On the turning point in Ohio State’s season
“Sitting in the stands I was able to see the team make the turn. Coming on the ice, it felt the same way. We were all on the same page.”
Minnesota Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin
On the game
“We’ve been in a rut, but we have to give Ohio State credit. (Tom) Fritsche gave them a boost coming back. We haven’t played particularly well as a team, but we have to persevere. We played a better third period and I was pleased with what I saw, but we gave them some easy goals.”
On playing Bowling Green
“We need to win. Maybe now we’ll have our legs under us, but no game is easy.”
Hockey Game Box Score (Final) 2006-07 Ohio State Men’s Hockey Minnesota Duluth vs Ohio State (Dec 29, 2006 at Columbus, Ohio)
Minnesota Duluth (4-13-3, 2-10-2 WCHA) vs. Ohio State (6-9-4, 5-6-3 CCHA) Date: Dec 29, 2006 Location: Columbus, Ohio Arena: Nationwide Arena Attendance:4449 Start time:8:05 pm End time:10:25 pm Total time:2:20
Goals by Period 1 2 3 Tot ———————————- Minnesota Duluth…. 1 0 0 – 1 Ohio State………. 2 2 0 – 4
1st period – 1, OSU, Sean Collins/6 (Tom Fritsche/1, Tommy Goebel/5) 1:40. 2, UMDMHK, Matt Greer/3 (Mike Curry/8, Jeff McFarland/2) 4:43. 3, OSU, Domenic Maiani/5 (Matt McIlvane/5) 6:39 (sh). Penalties – Sean Collins, OSU (interference) 5:00; Mason Raymond, UMDMHK (interference) 6:55; Matt Waddell, OSU (slashing) 9:03; Andrew Carroll, UMDMHK (goaltender interference) 12:39; Matt Niskanen, UMDMHK (boarding) 19:49; Jason DeSantis, OSU (cross-checking) 19:49.
2nd period – 4, OSU, Mathieu Beaudoin/6 (Kenny Bernard/8, Tyson Strachan/5) :41. 5, OSU, Mathieu Picard/3 (Zach Pelletier/2, Dave Barton/2) 11:20. Penalties – MacGregor Sharp, UMDMHK (hooking) 3:14; Johann Kroll, OSU (holding) 5:32; Zach Pelletier, OSU (interference) 7:41; Ryan Geris, UMDMHK (cross-checking) 12:01; Andrew Schembri, OSU (holding) 12:55; Matt Greer, UMDMHK (face-off interference) 15:09.
3rd period – Penalties – Travis Gawryletz, UMDMHK (boarding) 6:01; Zach Pelletier, OSU (cth elbowing) 10:32; Tommy Goebel, OSU (interference) 13:44.
Shots on goal – UMDMHK 6-5-9 20; OSU 11-13-8 32.
Power plays – UMDMHK 0 of 7; OSU 0 of 6.
Penalties – UMDMHK 7 (14 min); OSU 8 (16 min).
Goalies – UMDMHK, Josh Johnson 1-2-0 (60:00 minutes, 32 shots-28 saves); OSU, Joseph Palmer 6-7-3 (60:00, 20-19).
Penalty shots – None.
A-4449 T-2:20 Three stars: 1. None 2. None 3. None Referee:Steve Piotrowski Linesman:Neil Stafford; Brian Hill Win-Joseph Palmer (6-7-3). Loss-Josh Johnson (1-2-0). ID-455336 Game 2 of 2006 Ohio Hockey Classic Ohio State advances to championship game vs. Miami
