Ohio State
13-6-0
LIU
4-11-3
No. 17 Ohio State Shuts Out LIU, 6-0
12/31/2021 8:51:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In its first game coming out of the December break, the No. 17 Ohio State men's hockey team defeated LIU, 6-0, Friday, with all six goals scored in the third period.
Ohio State moved its winning streak to four and is now 13-6 this season, with a 9-3 record at home. The Buckeyes and Sharks (4-11-3) will meet at 3 p.m. Saturday to close the nonconference series. The game will be streamed through B1G+.
The Short Story
There were no goals through the first 40 minutes, with the Buckeyes outshooting the Sharks 7-4 in the first period and 14-6 in the second. Ohio State scored twice in less than two minutes early in the third, as Georgii Merkulov tallied at 2:54 and at 4:36 Jake Wise found the back of the net. Merkulov netted his second of the night at 11:31, scoring on a major power play, for a 3-0 advantage. Gustaf Westlund scored three seconds after the major ended and Patrick Guzzo tallied less than a minute after that. Cam Thiesing scored the final goal with 8.2 seconds remaining. Shots were 44-15 in favor of the Buckeyes, with Jakub Dobeš stopping all 15 for his second career shutout.
Merkulov led the Buckeyes with two goals, while Mark Cheremeta, Eric Cooley and Grant Gabriele each had two assists. In all, 14 Buckeyes had at least one point.
Quoting head coach Steve Rohlik
"We were a little sluggish to start and it took us a little while to find our stride. Once we got the first one in the third we kind of got the jump. It was a good win coming out of break. We need to be better tomorrow."
Quoting senior co-captain Gustaf Westlund
"It took us a while to get started. Doby (Dobeš) saved us a couple of times. We are happy for him that he got the shutout, but we need to be ready from the first drop of the puck. If we do that we can be a really good team and that's what we need here going into the second half."
Six goals – all in the third period – for the Buckeyes tonight. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/4YoiDwDfmM
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) January 1, 2022
How it Happened
- The Buckeyes outshot the Sharks, 7-4, in the first period and LIU had the only power play in the first 20 minutes.
- In the second, Ohio State put 14 shots on net, limiting LIU to six. Ohio State was 0-for-3 on the power play in the stanza.
- In the third, Georgii Merkulov opened the scoring, converting a pass from Grant Gabriele from below the faceoff circle. Kamil Sadlocha, who started the play with a breakaway, had the second assist on the goal, which came at 2:54.
- Jake Wise redirected a shot from Dominic Vidoli at 4:36 for a 2-0 Buckeye lead. Mark Cheremeta had the second assist on the tally.
- At 9:40 a Shark was assessed a major for contact to the head after video review. Ohio State converted once on the chance, which included two minutes of 4-on-4 play because of a Buckeye slash.
- Merkulov had the power play tally, splitting the defense and scoring on a backhand, assisted by Mason Lohrei and Gabriele, at 11:31.
- Just three seconds after the major ended Gustaf Westlund scored, with a shot from the high slot off a pass from Will Riedell, with Cheremeta picking up the second assist.
- Patrick Guzzo put in the rebound of a Jaedon Leslie shot at 15:26 and the final goal came at 19:52, with Joe Dunlap sending Cam Thiesing on a breakaway as he came out of the penalty box. Eric Cooley had the second assist the last two goals.
- Ohio State had the shot advantage, 23-5, in the third, and ended the game ahead, 44-15.
- Jakub Dobeš stopped all 15 shots he faced for the shutout win.
- The Buckeyes were 1-for-5 on the power play, with the penalty kill 2-for-2.
Buckeye This and That
- The last time the Buckeyes scored more than five goals in a period was Dec. 12, 2008 vs. Bentley, when they tallied seven times in the third. The last five-goal period was Feb. 23, 2018 against Wisconsin.
- Ohio State has gone on runs of three or more goals in 11 of 19 games this season.
- The Buckeyes are outscoring opponents 36-12 in the third period and 38-12 in the third period and overtime combined this season.
- Merkulov is first on the team with nine goals and 19 points. He is on a five-game point streak, with five goals and three assists for eight points in the stretch. He has five points (3g, 2a) in his last two games combined. It was his first career two-goal game as a Buckeye.
- Gabriele had his second straight two-point night and the fourth of his career, while it was his second two-assist game in the Scarlet and Gray. He has a point in each of the last five games (2g, 5a, 7p).
- Wise is on a five-game point streak, with two goals and five assist for seven points in the five games combined.
- Cooley had his second two-assist and two-point game in the Scarlet and Gray.
- Lohrei is first on the squad with 14 assists and second with 16 points.
- Merkulov, Wise and Gabriele are all tied for second with 10 assists each. Wise is third with 15 points, with Gabriele fourth with 13.
- Dobeš also shut out UConn Oct. 16. He is 13-5-0 this year, with a 2.10 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.
- The Buckeyes have scored three or more goals in 14 of 19 games and are averaging 3.53 goals per night. The team has held opponents to two or less goals in 13 outings and is allowing 2.21 goals per game on the year.
