Ohio State
14-6-3, 10-5-3-1
Michigan
14-8-4, 8-6-4-1
No. 2 Buckeyes Downed By No. 13/15 Michigan, 4-1, in Frozen Diamond Faceoff – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 15, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In the Frozen Diamond Faceoff, the No. 2-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team lost to No. 13/15 Michigan Sunday in front of 25,864 fans at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Ohio State is 14-6-3 on the year and stands 10-5-3-1 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Michigan is 14-8-4 this season and is 8-6-4-1 in league play.
The Buckeyes will be back in action with two home games this weekend against Ferris State. The squads will face off at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Value City Arena.
Michigan led 2-0 after the first period. At 7:31, Chris Brown opened the scoring with a tally, assisted by Kevin Clare and Alex Guptill. Guptill then found the back of the net at 13:33, with Brown and Mac Bennet picking up the assists. Buckeye senior goalie Cal Heeter had 14 saves in the period, as Ohio State was outshot, 16-11. Neither team had a full power play in the stanza; Ohio State’s first advantage carried over into the second period.
Ohio State drew within one (2-1) just 50 seconds into the second period when Chris Crane tallied on the rebound of a Max McCormick shot with Ohio State on the power play, with Brandon Martell picking up the second assist. Michigan took a commanding 4-1 lead with two goals in a 28-second span midway through the stanza. Derek DeBlois scored at 9:47, deflecting a shot by David Wohlberg after a turnover deep in the Buckeye zone. At 10:15 Wohlberg scored a goal of his own from in close, assisted by Brown and Clare. Shots were 16-10 Michigan in the period. Heeter made six saves on eight shots before he was replaced by junior Brady Hjelle, who stopped all eight shots he faced in the final 9:45 of the period. Ohio State was 1-for-2 on the power play in the game and held Michigan scoreless on four chances.
Neither team scored in the third period. Hjelle had 10 saves in the Buckeye net, with Shawn Hunwick stopping 11 Ohio State attempts. Ohio State had two late power-play chances, including ending the game on a 5-on-3. Michigan had one chance with the man advantage.
Ohio State was outshot, 42-32, in the game. Heeter had 20 saves in 30:14, allowing four goals. Hjelle had 18 stops in 29:34. In the Michigan net, Hunwick had 31 saves in all 60 minutes.
The Buckeyes ended the game 1-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
Postgame Notes
? The Buckeye penalty kill was 10-for-10 vs. Michigan.
? Crane leads the Buckeyes with 13 goals and 22 points.
? Senior Cory Schneider played in the 100th game of his collegiate career.
? Martell’s assist was his first point of the season.
? Ohio State was swept for the first time this season and first time since losing two games in the CCHA tournament at Lake Superior State March 4-5, 2011.
Postgame Quotes
Mark Osiecki, Ohio State head coach
On the team’s missed scoring opportunities
“You have to give credit to Michigan — they were the better club tonight. Their goalie, defensemen and transition game are all terrific. Jon Merrill is the best defenseman in the country, in my opinion.”
On Michigan
“They are a top five team in the country. Coach [Red] Berenson does a terrific job and they have some outstanding players. They are one of the top teams in the nation.” On Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick “He is an outstanding player. He played well Friday night and played well again tonight. We didn’t have enough traffic around the net. He’s a proven goalie, and he stopped a lot of our opportunities.”
Chris Crane, Ohio State sophomore forward
On playing an outdoor game again in the future
“I would absolutely like to play in an outdoor game again. It’s a hockey player’s dream to play on this big of a stage. If we had a chance to get some redemption we’d be all for it.”
On Ohio State’s performance
“We’re in a funk. All teams go through adversity over the course of a season. We just have to work hard in practice and work our way out of it on the ice.”
On tonight’s game
“It was the biggest crowd we’ve seen, but we weren’t ready to come out and play from the start. Michigan is a great hockey club – you have to give credit where credit is due.”
Cory Schneider, Ohio State senior forward
On finishing the first period down 2-0
“It deflated us. We needed to bounce back after the first and compete at a higher level. It was a difficult first period. We were kind of in awe of the atmosphere.”
On playing in the Frozen Diamond Faceoff
“The environment and experience were great, once in a lifetime. It was really special being a senior and getting to experience something like this.”
