Ohio State
6-9-2, 1-2-0B1G
Mercyhurst
8-6-3, 6-3-2AHC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mercyhurst Univ. | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Ohio State Skates to 2-2 OT Tie at Mercyhurst – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 3, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s hockey team closed its regular season nonconference schedule with a 2-2 overtime tie at Mercyhurst Saturday afternoon in the Snowtown Throwdown in Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pa. The Buckeyes came back from a two-goal second-period deficit, with senior Matt Johnson scoring in the second period and junior Anthony Greco tying the game with less than nine minutes left in the third.
The Buckeyes (6-9-2, 1-2-0-0 B1G) head back to Big Ten play, starting with a two-game series at Penn State next weekend. The teams will meet at 7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday in State College. Ohio State will then return to Columbus for its only home game in January, hosting Michigan at 7 p.m. Jan. 16.
The teams were scoreless until Mercyhurst (8-6-3, 6-3-2 Atlantic Hockey) converted a power play late in the first period, as Jack Riley tallied with 19 seconds left in the stanza. The Lakers had six shots in the period, with Ohio State putting just two on net. Ohio State had one power play chance and Mercyhurst was 1-for-2 in the period.
Jonathan Charbonneau made it a two-goal lead for the Lakers with a goal just 1:16 into the second period. At 10:50 Johnson cut the Mercyhurst lead in half, scoring off passes from linemates Chad Niddery and Christian Lampasso. The goal was Johnson’s fourth of the series after his first career hat trick Friday, while Niddery and Lampasso both had three helpers in the two games combined. Johnson has a point in each of his last five games (6g, 1a), Lampasso is on a four-game assist streak (5a) and Niddery has a point in five of his last six games (1g, 5a). The Buckeyes and Lakers combined for 24 shots in the period, with Ohio State ahead, 13-11. Ohio State had the only power play in the stanza.
The only goal of the third period came at 11:32 when Greco was able to score off a scramble, assisted by senior Tanner Fritz and junior Craig Dalrymple. Greco and Johnson share the team goal lead with eight each and Greco now has two gamewinners and a gametying goal on the year. Fritz leads the Buckeyes with 13 points (6g, 7a) and now has 96 points in his career with the Scarlet and Gray. Ohio State had nine shots in the period, with Mercyhurst recording seven. Ohio State was unable to score on two power play chances and stopped the Lakers on one early opportunity.
Neither team was able to score in overtime, with Ohio State putting four shots on net and the Lakers getting two on goal.
The Buckeyes ended the game with a 28-26 advantage in shots. Sophomore Christian Frey made 24 saves while playing all 65 minutes for the Buckeyes, while Brandon Wildung had 26 stops in 65 minutes for Mercyhurst. Ohio State blocked 15 shots, led by Fritz, Niddery and Johnson with two each.
In the game, Ohio State was 0-for-4 on the power play, with Mercyhurst 1-for-3.
