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Men's Hockey
Boston U. Makes Quick Works Of Buckeyes In NCAA Tournament
By Craig Merz

Ohio State got a swift lesson in what it takes to skate with the elite in college hockey.

The Buckeyes, in their first NCAA Tournament since 2005, faced top seeded and Frozen Four favorite Boston University in Manchester, N.H., on Saturday. The Terriers left no doubt why they are the No. 1 in the nation and the young Buckeyes still have a ways to go.

Boston (32-6-4) put three goals on the board in the first; led 6-0 after 34 minutes then watched OSU score the next three goals before getting two late empty-netters for a convincing 8–3 victory in the Northeast Regional semifinal.

Ohio State (23-15-4) has lost its last six tournament games since winning its first two in 1998 when it reached its only national semifinal. BU got points from 11 players, led by two goals by Zach Cohen and Jason Lawrence and four assists from Matt Gilroy.

“I want to congratulate BU, they're obviously a great hockey team. We got behind three quick goals and it's obviously tough to recover with a team they have. All the credit goes to BU, they're a great hockey team,” OSU coach John Markell said.

“I want to thank the seniors and their competitive level. It was awfully tough on them, but we got to this position and now it’s up to us to continue to build.

“I want to congratulate our kids on the season they had. The competed very hard. It’s not the way we wanted it to end. It wasn’t the game we’re capable of playing.

“I thought their defensemen were tremendous. They had great gaps, good puck movement. They were banking the puck off the boards, using the place like a pool table. It's a credit to them, they're good defensively.”

Tough Way To Go

Senior Zach Pelletier, one of three Buckeye seniors, scored in his last game as did sophomore Hunter Bishop and freshman Matt Bartkowski. Sophomore goalie Dustin Carlson allowed five goals on 14 shots before being pulled after 27 minutes. Freshman Cal Heeter stopped six of seven and was not responsible for the two goals into open nets.

“We didn't have the start that we wanted to,” Bishop said. “When you get down 5-0, that's a pretty big hole to climb out of. I think our team really fought back and never gave up until the end. I'm definitely proud of us for that. It's definitely a learning experience.”

Nick Bonino – not to be confused with OSU senior Nick Biondo – put BU ahead at 8:49 of the first on the power play and Lawrence made it 2-0 just 45 seconds later and the rout was on before a crowd of 6,883 in Verizon Wireless Arena. Cohen completed the first-period scoring at
13:16.

“I think we have pretty good balance. I think we have two first lines and two second lines and that’s a pretty good combination to have,” BU coach Jack Parker said.

Slow Out Of The Gate

It was not the kind of start the Buckeyes had hoped for after being given a second life. They lost a three-game series at Alaska in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinals and their NCAA hopes depended on other teams in their league championships. OSU barely qualified but drew BU, who has won 21 of its past 22 games heading into Sunday’s regional final against host New Hampshire. The winner advances to the Frozen Four in Washington, D.C.

Ohio State had three straight power plays at the end of the first period and into the second with an opportunity to stem the Terriers’ momentum but the Achilles heel for the team all season reared its ugly head again as the Buckeyes failed to score.

“This year we've kind of struggled on the power play,” said Bishop. “It's frustrating when you get that many power plays and you're down four, five-nothing, a power play goal is what you need. So when it wasn't coming it was definitely frustrating.”

Boston made the Buckeyes pay by getting a goal from Corey Trivino at 5:57 of the second; Brandon Yip at 7:01 and Lawrence for the second time at 13:34.

“The game was over pretty quickly but Ohio State kept working. In general I thought we played a pretty good game,” Parker said. “The puck just jumped in for us tonight. Credit to them [OSU] they kept working. Overall you win a tournament game 8-3 you have to be very happy.”

Never Giving Up

Maybe it was fear of being skated out of the building or a case of Boston relaxing, whatever the case the Buckeyes showed some life once it was down 6-0. Bishop took a feed from senior Corey Elkins at 15:12 and beat netminder Kieran Millan. Pelletier followed at 18:45 with assists going to Kyle Reed and Patrick Schafer. Then goal came three seconds after a BU penalty had expired. Bartkowski, a defenseman, made it 6-3 at 11:12 of the third for the Buckeyes’ first power-play goal in seven tries. Ian Boots and Bishop assisted.

OSU had visions of its comeback against Miami in the regular-season finale went it trailed 6-2 in the third period. The Buckeyes scored a goal then pulled its goalie with about five minutes left and got two more to pull to within one before the RedHawks got an empty-netter to complete the 7-5 win.

There was no such luck this time. Shortly after Bartkowski’s goal, Cohen scored while Heeter was on the bench. Chris Higgins completed the scoring with an empty-net, short-handed tally at 17:12.

“The guys came ready to play,” BU’s Gilroy said. “It was a lot of fun. It’s been our goal all year to win the National Championship. We’re ready to compete.”

BU led in shots 27-25 and was 1 of 4 with the man advantage.

For the Buckeyes, it’s on to next season. Markell had 22 freshmen and sophomores on the 27-player roster. He said this tournament experience, despite the outcome, will be beneficial.

“We have a pretty young team,” he said. “We now have a chance to lay a foundation knowing what it takes to get in and how important non-conference games are, how important league games are.”

Added Hunter, “For the guys returning, this is going to be a big edge.”

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