Buckeyes and Mavs to Meet in Value City Arena – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 5, 2014
Ohio State vs. No. 19 Nebraska Omaha (Ohio State PDF Game Notes)
Date: Friday, November 7 | Time: 7 p.m. ET | Venue: Value City Arena | Location: Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com | Radio: 1460 AM Online ($) | Watch: BTN Plus ($)
Date: Saturday, November 8 | Time: 7 p.m. ET | Venue: Value City Arena | Location: Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com | Radio: 1460 AM Online ($) | Watch: BTN Plus ($)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State opens a stretch of five home games in six outings with two games vs. No. 19 Omaha this weekend. The Buckeyes (2-3-1, 0-0-0 B1G) and Mavericks (4-1-1, 2-0-0 NCHC) will meet at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Value City Arena.
Follow Along
Both games will be streamed online through the BTN Plus subscription service, also available on the BTN2Go mobile app. The radio call will be over the air in Columbus (1460 AM) and online through Buckeye Vision on OhioStateBuckeyes.com, with Herb Howenstine and former Buckeye Chris Olsgard calling the action. GameTracker live stats can be accessed through OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Links to all audio, video and stats can be found on the men’s hockey gameday page: go.osu.edu/mhkygameday. In-game updates will also be on Twitter @OhioState_MHKY.
Military Appreciation Night
Friday is Military Appreciation Night in Value City Arena. Fans who show a military ID at the arena box office can purchase tickets for $6 for themselves, family and friends. In addition, fans who show military ID at concession stands in the arena that night will receive a 10 percent discount.
The Buckeyes are wearing special military jerseys for both games this weekend. The jerseys will be auctioned, with proceeds donated to Defending the Blue Line. Information on the jersey auction will be available on the team’s website, facebook and Twitter pages when available.
Zach Cooper, a Marine veteran and member of the Ohio State Student Veterans Association, is serving as the team’s honorary captain Friday. A native of Avon Lake, Ohio, Cooper served from 2008-12 and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. At Ohio State he is majoring in security and intelligence, with a minor in Arabic. Cooper spoke to the Buckeyes Thursday about his experiences, both in the military and at Ohio State.
Private First Class Taren Davis of the Ohio National Guard will drop the ceremonial puck pregame Friday.
Ticket Talk
Tickets for all Buckeye hockey home games can be purchased at the arena on game night, from the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office or a Ticketmaster outlet in person, through Ticketmaster online (ticketmaster.com) or by calling 1-800-GOBUCKS. For more information, call 1-800-GOBUCKS or look under tickets on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
For adults, single-game tickets are $11 for non-conference games and $15 for Big Ten games, while senior citizen/youth tickets are $8 and $10, respectively. A Power Play pack is available, with fans able to choose any four regular season games for $8 (non-conference) or $12 (B1G) each. (Note service fees may apply.) Ohio State students are admitted free to all home games with a valid BuckID.
Group tickets are available for $6 for non-conference games and $8 for Big Ten games for groups of 10 or more. For information on group tickets, contact the Ohio State Athletic Ticket Sales office at 1-800-GOBUCKS (select option 2) or email AthleticSales@osu.edu to speak with an account executive. The ticket sales staff can also provide information on season ticket packages.
Buckeye Snapshot
- Ohio State is 2-3-1 this season and coming off a 3-3 overtime tie and 4-1 win at Canisius last weekend. Omaha is the third ranked team the Buckeyes are facing this year, after opening the campaign vs. then-No. 3 Providence and then facing then-No. 11 Miami in a home-and-home series.
- The team is averaging 2.5 goals a game and allowing 2.83 goals a contest. The power play is 5-for-24 (.208 percent) and the penalty kill is 18-for-21 (.857).
- Senior Tanner Fritz has a team-best seven points and shares the assist lead with freshman Matthew Weis with five each. Junior Anthony Greco leads the squad with four goals, followed by rookie Luke Stork, Fritz and senior Nick Oddo with two each.
- In goal, Christian Frey and Matt Tomkins have split time. Frey, who had 60 saves on 62 shots at Miami Oct. 18, is 1-1 with a 3.96 goals-against average and .915 save percentage, while Tomkins has a 2.18 gaa and .918sv% and 1-2-1 ledger. The squad has blocked 111 shots, led by senior Justin DaSilva and sophomore Drew Brevig and with 19 and 18, respectively. Opponents have blocked 60 Buckeye attempts.
The Series – Ohio State vs. Omaha
- Ohio State and Omaha met as members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association from 1999-00 through 2009-10. The squads first faced off Nov. 19-20, 1999 in Columbus, with the last series Feb. 5-6, 2010 in Omaha.
- The all-time series is tied, 13-13-5, with Ohio State ahead, 8-4-2 in Columbus.
- The last series in Columbus was Nov. 28-29, 2008 in Columbus, a two-game Buckeye sweep (4-3, 3-2). In the last series, the teams skated to a 5-5 overtime tie Feb. 5, 2010, followed by a 4-3 Maverick win Feb. 6, 2010 in Omaha.
- Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik spent three years as an assist coach at UNO, joining the program for its inaugural season in 1997-98.
Maverick Minute
Omaha is 4-1-1 and skated to a 1-1 overtime tie and 2-1 victory at Cornell last weekend. The team is 2-0-0 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference after sweeping Western Michigan on the road (5-2, 3-0). UNO is averaging 3.0 goals a game and in in the Top 10 nationally in team defense, holding opponents to 1.83 goals a game. The power play is 4-for-31 (.129) and the penalty kill is 26-for-29 (.897). UNO averages 24.5 shots on goal a night, giving up 29.8 an outing.
Jake Guentzel and Austin Ortega lead the squad with nine points each. Ortega is first with six assists, followed by Guentzel with five, while Guentzel is first with four goals and Ortega and Dominic Zombo have three each. In goal, Ryan Massa has started five games and is 4-0-1, with a 1.38 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.
Last Time Out
Ohio State was 1-0-1 at Canisius last weekend, rallying for a 3-3 overtime tie with the Golden Griffins Friday and then posting a 4-1 win Saturday.
- Game 1: Ohio State 3, Canisius 3 OT: Ohio State rallied for a 3-3 overtime tie against Canisius Friday in the inaugural game in HarborCenter in Buffalo. The Buckeyes trailed 2-0 on two early first period goals in the first 1:49 of the game, but Matt Johnson and Luke Stork scored in the second period for a 2-2 game after 40 minutes. Canisius went ahead 3-2 at 13:23 of the third, but sophomore David Gust tallied at 15:59 to deadlock the score at three. Neither team was able to score in overtime. Buckeye goalie Matt Tomkins made 26 saves on 27 shots in relief. The teams were unable to score on the power play – Ohio State was 0-for-6 and Canisius was 0-for-4.
- Game 2: Ohio State 4, Canisius 1: The line of seniors Nick Oddo and Chad Niddery and freshman Kevin Miller posted nine points to lead Ohio State to a 4-1 win over Canisius Saturday. The Buckeyes were ahead 1-0 after the first period on a goal by Oddo and senior Darik Angeli made it 2-0 in the second period. In the third, Oddo netted his second of the night and Miller tallied just 29 seconds later for a 4-0 Ohio State lead. Canisius scored a shorthanded goal at 15:34 for the final goal. Tomkins had 20 saves on 21 shots. The teams were again scoreless on the power play, with Ohio State 0-for-3 and Canisius 0-for-4.
Tomkins Honored
- Sophomore goaltender Matt Tomkins was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. Tomkins had a .97 goals-against average and stopped 46-of-48 shots (.958 save percentage) in the Buckeyes’ win and tie at Canisius last weekend.
- Friday, Tomkins came off the bench early in the first period and stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced as the Buckeyes tied the Golden Griffins, 3-3. Saturday, he had 20 saves on 21 shots in the Buckeyes’ 4-1 win.
- This is the first weekly award for Tomkins as a Buckeye. He has played in four games this season and has a 2.18 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.
Scoring This and That
- The Buckeyes ended a streak of three consecutive games with just one goal at Canisius, scoring seven times in the series. The squad had five goals in the season opener before scoring just one goal in three-consecutive losses to Providence and Miami.
- The Ohio State squad is now averaging 2.50 goals a game this year.
- At Canisius, six Buckeyes combined for the seven goals, with senior Nick Oddo the only Buckeye with multiple goals. In the series, eight Buckeyes had at least one assist. Senior Chad Niddery and sophomore Josh Healey each had three helpers, with Niddery picking up all three Saturday and Healey posting two in the second game.
- Against the Golden Griffins, Oddo, Matt Johnson, Luke Stork, David Gust, Darik Angeli and Kevin Miller each lit the lamp. In addition to Niddery and Healey, Miller, Matthew Weis, Oddo, Angeli, Tanner Fritz and Justin DaSilva all had helpers.
- Senior Tanner Fritz was the Big Ten’s leading returning scorer in points per game entering the season after averaging 1.0 points per contest last season. He leads the Buckeyes and is tied for sixth in the B1G with 1.17 points per outing. Fritz has 90 points in his 112-game Buckeye career, with 27 goals and 623 assists.
- Junior Anthony Greco is tied for fifth in the Big Ten with four goals. He had the first hat trick in the NCAA this season (the first of his career) and had the overtime gamewinner in game one vs. Providence, the fifth gamewinner of his Buckeye career.
Overtime
- Three of the Buckeyes’ six games this season have gone to overtime, with the squad 1-1-1 in those outings.
- Going back to last season, five of the squad’s last eight contests have needed extra time. The team beat Michigan State, 2-1 in overtime, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals before falling to Wisconsin, 5-4 in overtime, in the tourney championship.
Special Teams
- Ohio State is 5-for-24 on the power play this season, ranking 13th in the NCAA at 20.8 percent. After scoring five goals on its first 15 opportunities through the first four games of the season, the squad was scoreless on nine chances in the two games at Canisius.
- The Buckeyes held Canisius scoreless on four power play opportunities in each game last weekend and are now 18-for-21 (.857) on the penalty kill this year. The team has allowed a power play goal in just one game, when Miami was 3-for-5 Oct. 17.
- Ohio State has faced three major power plays this season and has not allowed a goal on any of the three opportunities.
- Tanner Fritz is tied for third nationally with five power play points, including two power play goals and three power play assists. Anthony Greco and Fritz are tied for eighth nationally with two power play goals each. Matthew Weis is tied for second nationally with four power play assists.
Blocking Out
- Ohio State has blocked 111 opponent shot attempts this season, led by Justin DaSilva with 19 and Drew Brevig with 18.
- DaSilva, who led the NCAA with 2.74 blocks per game a season ago, is third nationally with 4.50 blocked shots a game this year. Brevig is tied for sixth nationally with 3.0 shot blocks a game.
- Against Miami Oct. 17-18, the Buckeyes blocked 22 shots in game one and 27 in game two. At Canisius last weekend, the Buckeyes had 15 blocked shots in the opener and 10 in the second game.
Have a Game
- Senior Chad Niddery, who had 10 assists in his first three years as a Buckeye, had three helpers in the win at Canisius Saturday. It was the second three-assist game for a Buckeye this year (Matthew Weis, Oct. 10 vs. Providence). It was his second career multiple-point game, after two assists March 2 vs. Michigan.
- Senior Nick Oddo had his sixth career three-point game, with two goals and an assist, Saturday at Canisius. It was his second career two-goal game and first since Oct. 25, 2013 vs. Robert Morris.
- Sophomore Josh Healey had two assists at Canisius in the second game, his first career multiple-point outing.
- In game two vs. Canisius, Drew Brevig, Oddo, Niddery and Healey were all +3. Oddo leads all current Buckeyes with a +32 career rating.
The Buckeye Rookies
- Seven freshmen joined the Buckeye roster this season – Victor Björkung (Stockholm, Sweden), Nicholas Jones (Edmonton, Alberta), Christian Lampasso (Amherst, N.Y.), Janik Möser (Mannheim, Germany), Kevin Miller (Stony Plain, Alberta), Luke Stork (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Matthew Weis (Freehold, N.J.). All seven Buckeye rookies have seen game time this season.
- Matthew Weis leads the freshmen in scoring with five points, recording a team-high tying five helpers. He had three assists in the season opener vs. Providence. He is fourth in scoring among B1G freshmen.
- Luke Stork scored vs. Providence Oct. 11 to record the first goal for a Buckeye freshman and added his second goal at Canisius Oct. 31. He is one of four Big Ten freshmen with two or more goals.
- Miller had a goal and an assist in the win Saturday at Canisius for his first collegiate points.
- Björkung and Möser could become just the second and third Buckeye letterwinners to hail from a European country, joining Finland native Mark Kreus, who earned a letter in 1989.
Up Next
- The Buckeyes will play a road game at Bowling Green Nov. 14 before returning home to host the Falcons Nov. 15. The home game is Mid-Ohio Foodbank Night. Fans who donate canned goods will receive a voucher for a buy one, get one free ticket offer for that game. For each can donated, fans will receive $1 off vouchers (up to a maximum of $5 off) that can be used that night at the concession stands. Script Ohio on Ice will be performed and there will be a postgame skate (fans must bring their own skates).
- The next week is the Big Ten opener vs. Michigan State,when the Buckeyes and Spartans meet in a Thursday-Friday series Nov. 20-21. Game two is Youth Hockey Night and children wearing a youth hockey jersey receive a free popcorn and access to a postgame lockerroom tour and meet and greet with the team.
