Men’s Hockey Opens Season vs. Mercyhurst in Lefty McFadden Tourney Friday – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
LEFTY MCFADDEN TOURNEY
Friday, Oct. 12
Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin – 5:05 p.m.
Ohio State vs. Mercyhurst – 8:05 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 13
Consolation Game – 4:35 p.m.
Championship Game – 7:35 p.m.
E.J. Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
BUCKEYE BITES
The Lefty McFadden Invitational marks the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign for the Buckeyes. It is the 45th varsity season in program history.
Ohio State played in the 2003 Lefty McFadden Invitational, placing third after a win in the consolation game. The squad downed then-host Miami in the third-place game after falling to eventual-national champion Denver in the opening round.
Ohio State is 24-18-2 all-time in season openers, including a 1-0 victory over Lake Superior State to open the 2006-07 campaign. Under John Markell, the team is 6-5-1 in season lid-lifters. The team last opened the year in a tournament in the 2004 Ice Breaker tourney, when it lost to New Hampshire in the opener and fell to St. Cloud State in the consolation game in Durham, N.H.
Ohio State’s 2007-08 roster contains 14 returning players from 2006-07, including 12 letterwinners. The group includes seven forwards, four defensemen and three. Added to the roster is 14 freshmen, the biggest rookie class for an OSU squad since the 1992-93 squad had 13.
FACEOFF
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State men’s hockey team opens the regular season in the Lefty McFadden College Hockey Invitational this weekend at the E.J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. In the first round Friday, the Buckeyes will take on Mercyhurst at 8:05 p.m., preceded by a game between No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 14 Wisconsin at 5:05 p.m.
Saturday, the championship game is scheduled for 7:35 p.m., with the consolation game at 4:35 p.m.
Ohio State is serving as a co-host of the tournament with the Dayton Hockey Foundation.
GETTING THERE
Tickets for the Lefty McFadden tournament are $15 per night for lower arena seats and $10 per night for upper arena seats. Tickets can be purchased at the Nutter Center box office and through Ticketmaster. Contact the Dayton Hockey Foundation at lefty@daytonhockey.org for more information.
Ohio State fan sections are 221-222, Notre Dame’s are 218-219, Mercyhurst fans will be in 203-204 and Wisconsin has been assigned 206-207.
THE BROADCAST
WOSU Radio will have web broadcasts of both Buckeye games in the Lefty McFadden Invitational online at wosu.org. Neil Sika (Friday) and Paul Barnes (Saturday) will call the action, with former Buckeye John Mowat providing color commentary.
Live stats for all games in the tournament can be accessed from the men’s hockey schedule page at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
ABOUT THE LEFTY
This is the fifth edition of the Lefty McFadden Invitational. The tournament was played each year from 2002-05 before taking a hiatus last season.
Miami used to co-host the tournament and won the title three times (2002, ’04, ’05), with Denver claiming the 2003 crown.
The tournament is sponsored by the Dayton Hockey Foundation. It is named for Ed “Lefty” McFadden, a well-respected Dayton-area sports figure. McFadden (who never played the game of hockey) served as general manager of the International Hockey League Dayton Gems from their inception in 1964 until 1973. Under McFadden, the Gems were one of the most successful franchises in minor league hockey.
THE BUCKEYES IN THE LEFTY
Ohio State played in the 2003 Lefty tournament, losing to Denver, 5-2, in the opening round Oct. 3 before downing Miami, 5-3, Oct. 4. No current Buckeyes were on that squad.
IN DAYTON
The Buckeyes’ games in the 2003 Lefty tournament mark the only games the squad has played in Dayton in program history.
The squad faced the University of Dayton four times (4-0-0), but the games in 1964, ’65 and ’66 were in Columbus and the ’68 contest was at the Oberlin tournament in Oberlin, Ohio.
IN THE RANKINGS
Ohio State is ranked 19th in the Oct. 1 USCHO.com/CSTV poll and in the Inside College Hockey preseason power rankings. The squad is in the “receiving votes” category in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
Notre Dame is ranked eighth by USCHO, seventh by USA Hockey and sixth by INCH.
Wisconsin is 15th in the USCHO and INCH polls and 14th in the USA Hockey rankings.
OPEN IT UP
The Buckeyes are 24-18-2 all-time in season openers, including wins in their last two season lid-lifters. The squad downed Lake Superior State, 1-0, to open last season and won at Colorado College, 4-2, in 2005.
Under head coach John Markell, OSU is 6-5-1 in its season openers.
THE YEAR THAT WAS
Ohio State was 15-17-5 last year and finished seventh in the CCHA with a 12-12-4 mark.
The squad returns 12 letterwinners. Senior Tommy Goebel is the leading returning scorer, posting 26 points last year and ranking second on the squad with 12 goals. Senior defenseman Jason DeSantis was second among blueliners last season with a career-best 25 points, including a team-high 20 assists.
LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes held their Scarlet and Gray intrasquad game Sunday in Value City Arena. The event was open to the public for the first time under head coach John Markell. The game gave the coaches a chance to see the team’s freshmen in action, along with 12 returnees (all but goalie Phil Lauderdale and injured forward Zach Pelletier).
BUCKEYES VS. LAKERS
Ohio State will face Mercyhurst in the opening round of the Lefty, with the series tied at 1-all. Ohio State posted a 5-2 win Nov. 30, 1999, before the Lakers won, 3-2, Oct. 24, 2003, with both games in Columbus.
This is the second-consecutive season Ohio State will open the campaign against a team with the nickname “Lakers,” after downing Lake Superior State, 1-0, in Columbus to open the 2006-07 campaign.
AHA
Mercyhurst is a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association, where it is joined by Air Force, American International, Army, Bentley, Canisius, Connecticut, Holy Cross, Rochester Institute of Technology and Sacred Heart.
The Buckeyes are 18-7 all-time vs. current AHA teams, including a 14-6 ledger vs. Air Force, a 2-0 mark against Sacred Heart, a 1-0 record vs. Holy Cross and a 1-1 record vs. Mercyhurst.
A LOOK AT THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst was 9-20-6 last season and finished seventh in Atlantic Hockey with a 9-15-4 record., reaching the quarterfinals of the league tournament. Top returnees include forwards Ben Cottreau, who had 35 points (14g, 21a) in 28 games last season, and Ryan Toomey (32gp/12-9-21).
Rick Gotkin is in his 20th year as the head coach at Mercyhurst and has a 347-218-39 ledger.
BUCKEYES AND BADGERS
Ohio State could face Wisconsin on the second day of the Lefty. Ohio State is 0-10 all-time vs. the Badgers, with just two meetings since 1969. The teams last met in the Frozen Tundra College Hockey Classic outdoors at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., Feb. 11, 2006, a 4-2 UW victory. The Buckeyes lost to the Badgers in overtime in the first round of the 2004 NCAA tournament in Albany, N.Y.
Buckeye senior Tom Fritsche had an assist in the game at Lambeau, the only current Buckeye with a point vs. the Badgers.
BADGER BRIEF
Wisconsin, the 2006 NCAA champion, was 19-18-5 last season and finished sixth (tied) in the WCHA with a 12-13-3 ledger before reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Forward Michael Davies leads the returnees with 24 points a year ago, including 11 goals and 13 assists. Forward Ben Street had a 10-7-17 line last year, with defenseman Jamie Bain posting a 3-15-18 line. The squad returns 17 letterwinners, including 10 forwards.
Mike Eaves, a 1978 graduate of Wisconsin, is in his sixth year at the helm of his alma mater. He has a school and career record of 107-78-23.
THE WCHA
Wisconsin is a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, where it is joined by Alaska Anchorage, Colorado College, Denver, Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Mankato, North Dakota and St. Cloud State. The Buckeyes faced WCHA schools Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth last year, falling twice to the Gophers but downing the Bulldogs, 4-1, in the Ohio Hockey Classic in December.
BUCKEYES AND IRISH
Ohio State and Notre Dame, both members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, could meet on the second day of the Lefty McFadden Invitational. The Buckeyes lead the series with the Irish, 27-25-7, including 3-0 in neutral-site games. In the last 10 meetings, OSU leads 7-2-1, but the Irish won the series last year, 1-0-1, with a 4-2 ND win Nov. 3, 2006, and 1-1 tie Nov. 4, 2006.
The teams last met at a neutral site March 18, 2004, when Ohio State came back to beat Notre Dame in overtime, 6-5, in the quarterfinal round of the CCHA Super Six Championship at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
Senior Tom Fritsche has a Buckeye team-best three goals, four assists and seven points in his career vs. Notre Dame.
Ohio State and Notre Dame will meet Feb. 22-23 in South Bend, Ind., in CCHA regular-season action.
IRISH INFO
Notre Dame won the CCHA regular-season and tournament championships last year and advanced to the NCAA tournament regional finals. The squad was 32-7-3 overall and 21-4-3 in the conference. The team returns 16 letterwinners, including junior forward Erik Condra, who had 48 points, including 34 assists, a year ago. Sophomore Ryan Thang posted a 20-21-41 line in 2006-07, while sophomore defenseman Kyle Lawson had 19 points, with 15 assists.
Jeff Jackson is in his third year at the helm of the Irish and his ninth season as a collegiate head coach. He has a school record of 45-26-7 and a career mark of 227-78-32.
THE BUCKEYE STATE
Nine Buckeyes hail from the state of Ohio, including the first three Central Ohio products in head coach John Markell’s tenure in Patrick Schafer of Hilliard, Todd Rudasill of Columbus (Powell) and Ryan Markell of Pickerington. Three Buckeyes are from Parma (Tom Fritsche, Nick Biondo, Tommy Goebel), along with John Albert from Concord, John Dingle from Shaker Heights and Chris Reed from Solon.
THE ROOKIES
Ohio State’s 2007-08 recruiting class was rated seventh by Red Line Report and 14th by Inside College Hockey.
In INCH’s individual rankings, Shane Sims was slotted eighth among incoming defensemen.
PREDICTING THE FUTURE
Ohio State was picked to finish fifth by the coaches and media in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association preseason polls, the league announced Sept. 25 at its annual media day at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
Defending NCAA champion Michigan State was the media’s choice for the top spot in the poll, while the coaches picked Miami as the team to beat.
HONORED ALREADY
Buckeye Jason DeSantis, a senior defenseman from Oxford, Mich., was voted to a spot on the Preseason All-CCHA Second Team by the league’s head coaches. He had a career-best and team-high 20 assists last year and ended the campaign with 25 points to rank fourth (tied) on the team.
IN THE BIGS
Five Ohio State men’s hockey players, who all ended their Buckeye careers within the last five years, were on opening-day rosters of National Hockey League teams to begin the 2007-08 campaign. Both R.J. Umberger (2001-03) and Nate Guenin (2003-06) play for the Philadelphia Flyers. Dave Steckel (2001-03) is with the Washington Capitals, Rod Pelley (2003-06) is on the New Jersey Devils’ roster and Ryan Kesler (2003) is in his fourth season with the Vancouver Canucks.
I FEEL A DRAFT
On the Buckeyes’ 2007-08 roster, six players are NHL draft picks, including seniors Tom Fritsche (Colorado 2005) and Matt McIlvane (Ottawa 2004), sophomore Joseph Palmer (Chicago 2006) and freshmen John Albert (Atlanta 2007), C.J. Severyn (Calgary 2007) and Shane Sims (New York Islanders 2006).
BACK TO SCHOOL
The fourth-annual Ohio Hockey Classic, hosted by Ohio State, has been moved to Value City Arena in Columbus because of a scheduling conflict. The tournament still will be held Dec. 29-30.
On the opening day, Miami and St. Cloud State will meet at 6 p.m., followed by the Buckeyes taking on Harvard at 9 p.m. Day two includes championship and consolation games at 5 and 8 p.m. Ohio State will play in the late game regardless of the first-day results.
Dec. 29 will be a triple-header with the Ohio State men’s basketball team, as the squad hosts UMBC at 11 a.m. in Value City Arena.
The OHC was held at Nationwide Arena indowntown Columbus the first three years. The Buckeyes won the 2006 championship, with Miami claiming the title in 2005 and Colorado College winning the inaugural event in 2004.
CARRYING ON
Junior Corey Elkins is the only Buckeye to carry a scoring streak into the 2007-08 season. He had an assist in each of the Buckeyes’ last two games of 2006-07.
BREAK IT DOWN
The Ohio State roster for 2007-08 includes nine seniors and 14 freshmen, along with just two juniors and three sophomores. The 14 freshmen mark the biggest rookie class for the Buckeyes since the 1992-93 squad opened the year with 13 freshmen.
Head coach John Markell has opened a season with 11 freshmen three times (1996, 2000, 2004).
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes open conference action with a home-and-home series with Miami. Ohio State will host the RedHawks at 7:05 p.m. Oct. 19 and will travel to Oxford for a 6:05 p.m. game Oct. 21.
