Way back in mid-October, the OSU men’s hockey team got off to a promising start by posting back-to-back wins at the season opening Lefty McFadden College Hockey Tournament held at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. An opening round win over Mercyhurst, followed by a win over perennial power Wisconsin gave fans, and those associated with the hockey program, reason for optimism heading into the regular season schedule. Unfortunately, that promising start quickly fizzled out, as it was followed by an eleven game winless streak (ten losses and one tie.)
Coming down the stretch, however, the team seemed to find its legs, and more importantly, found the net a bit more often, in posting some good wins, and playing all their opponents tough. That improved play, once again, gave those around the program some basis for optimism heading into a best-of-three postseason matchup at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. The Buckeyes even had a revenge factor working in their favor as it was these same Northern Michigan Wildcats who knocked the Buckeyes out of postseason play at Value City Arena the previous year.
When the Buckeyes grabbed the opening game of the series on Friday night 4-3 behind seniors Tommy Goebel and Jason DeSantis who each had a goal and two assists, momentum certainly seemed to be on their side. The only dark cloud hovering over the Buckeyes after their opening night win was the memory of opening the playoff series last year with a win before falling the next two games to close out their season. Would history repeat itself? Sadly, it did.
The same weakness, which has plagued the Buckeyes throughout the season, an inability to finish scoring chances, led to 4-2 and 6-1 losses and yet another promising start came crashing down around the Buckeyes. Tommy Goebel and seven other seniors including Tom Fritsche, John Dingle, Kyle Hood, DeSantis, Johann Kroll, Phil Lauderdale, and Captain Matt McIlvane closed out their careers in disappointment.
The final numbers for the season, just twelve wins against twenty-five losses and four ties, are not pretty. And coming on the heels of two more losing seasons, 15-19-5 in 2005-2006 and 15-17-5 in 2006-2007 the obvious question is, “Where is the men’s hockey program headed from here?” Given the fact that the Buckeye icers play in the finest on-campus college facility in North America, and the fact that the program has had a high level of success in the not-too-distant past, frustration levels are quite high, and many people are asking “What changes, if any, are in the works to remedy the situation?”
If on-line reports are correct, head coach John Markell and his staff will return for another season after the coach met with AD Gene Smith recently. With one talented recruiting class now poised to become sophomores, and the second ranked recruiting class in the nation, with seven recruits coming on board next season, the athletic administration seems content to see if all this infusion of talent can change things around. How long Smith will remain content, remains to be seen, so we can only hope that the coming season is a sharp turn upward for the program, and happier times for all of us who want to see the program excel year in and year out.

Popularity: 42% [?]

After a successful weekend foray into the land of the Golden Domers, February 22 and 23, in which the Buckeye icers played well in winning 3-1 on Friday and tying Notre Dame 2-2 on Saturday, the team returned home to play their in-state rivals, Miami University, Tuesday February 26th. The final home game at Value City Arena pitted the improving Buckeyes against the Redhawks who were ranked 5th nationally going into the contest. The crowd of 3,871 appeared to be equally split between Buckeye and Redhawk fans, and each side had plenty to cheer about, but in the end, Miami prevailed 2-1.

Just 59 seconds into the game, after OSU goalie Joseph Palmer stopped one point-blank shot from the Redhawks, and another shot hit the goalpost, Buckeye freshman John Albert took a pass from fellow freshman Peter Boyd down the right side, skated around a Miami defender, and beat Miami goalie Jeff Zatkoff top shelf for his fourth goal of the season.

The lead held up until 15:53 when Miami’s Justin Vaive’s wraparound attempt was stopped by Palmer, but the rebound found the net off the stick of Alexandre Lacombe.

There were no goals in the second period, which was an evenly-played stanza, and the two teams skated to their respective dressing rooms anticipating who would be the first to blink in the tightly-played contest.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, Miami’s Jarod Palmer capitalized on an OSU turnover behind the Buckeye net at 5:25 of the third period, and the Redhawks, behind the stellar goaltending of Zatkoff, shut down the OSU skaters for the remainder of the game. The 2-1 victory was Maimi’s fourth straight over the Buckeyes this season, and when the Redhawks prevailed on Saturday night in Oxford, Miami ended the regular season with a 5 game sweep of OSU. Despite beating the Buckeyes home and home, the Redhawks finished the regular season in second place behind the Michigan Wolverines.

Even though the Buckeyes finished the regular season a disappointing 7-18-3 in CCHA Conference play, good for 11th place in the conference standings, they head into the first-round of the playoffs playing their best hockey of the season. Whether this team can make some noise in the post season, and put together a playoff run, will go a long way toward determining if they can send off the senior class with something to remember of their final year at OSU. It could also go a long way toward giving the young Buckeyes some reason for optimism heading into next year.

Popularity: 44% [?]

After playing three solid periods of hockey Friday night against the Northern Michigan Wildcats, yet being shutout for their efforts, it looked as if another good effort Saturday evening might result in another frustrating loss for the Buckeyes when they entered the final four minutes of play down 2-1. But instead of more frustration, OSU managed to find a way to win as they have few times this season when trailing late.

It all began with one of OSU’s best three-period games Friday night in Value City Arena. The Buckeyes came out skating and hitting as hard as they have all season, but despite amassing a lopsided shot advantage, they couldn’t get a single puck past Wildcat netminder Brian Stewart. The tall, agile goalie came up with one great save after another as the Buckeyes constantly kept the pressure on. At the other end of the rink, OSU goalie Joseph Palmer was just as stingy until NMU’s Matt Siddall found the net through traffic just past the halfway point of the second period. Undaunted, the Bucks continued pressuring the wildcats in their own end firing shot after shot at Stewart - all to no avail. Each team traded disallowed goals, but the 1-0 score stood until NMU netted an empty net goal by Mark Oliver, his second point on the night, to close out the scoring at 19:09. The final tally stood Wildcats 2, OSU 0. The barrage of shots, 46 in all, by the Buckeyes told a tale of thorough territorial advantage, but the bottom line was the ability of the Wildcats to score, while the Buckeyes could not.

The win was NMU’s first ever in Value City Arena, and kept their chances alive to secure home ice for the first round of the CCHA conference playoffs. OSU, on the other hand, continued to lose at home, which has been a recurring trend throughout the season.

The Buckeyes maintained their high level of intensity Saturday night in front of one of the largest crowds of the season – 8,099. This time, they got an early reward for their strong play when freshman Peter Boyd scored on a nice wrap-around at 19:38 of the first period with assists from defensemen Johann Kroll and Corey Toy. Unlike so many other times in recent seasons when the Buckeyes have been victimized by late goals in a period, the hockey gods were smiling on OSU this time.

With the one goal advantage, the Buckeyes continued to skate well in the second period, but NMU scored twice, Gregor Hanson at 12:01, and Mark Oliver on a power play at 16:06 to take a 2-1 lead into the locker room at the second intermission. When the Buckeyes failed to exhibit the same jump through the first half of the third period, it appeared that they were heading for the same old, same old. But just when hope seemed lost, Peter Boyd lit the lamp again at 16:08 on a power play off assists from Nick Biondo and Shane Sims. The goal energized the Buckeyes and their fans, who strapped themselves in for the wild ride to the finish that would ensue on this night featuring race cars and a racing theme.

Despite a determined effort by the Buckeyes, the minutes dwindled down until only a few precious seconds remained. When freshman John Albert gained control of the puck along the boards in the Wildcats’ end, it seemed that it was too late to do any good. But Albert quickly fired the puck toward the Wildcats’ goal. Just at that moment, team leader in goals, Tommy Goebel, flashed by from behind the net and managed to redirect the puck into the net and past the startled NMU netminder. Simultaneous with the puck entering the net, the buzzer sounded the end of the regulation. The Buckeye players and fans collectively held their breath as the referee skated to the scorer’s table to check the replay to determine if time had expired before the puck crossed the goal line. After several minutes, that seemed like an eternity, the referee stepped back on the ice and signaled that the goal was good. Fans exploded into cheers and Buckeye players piled on Goebel in a wild celebration. In a season in which very little has gone right for the Bucks, they finally had something to feel good about. Best of all, was the fact that Tommy Goebel scored the winning goal on Senior Night to give all the Buckeye seniors something that they will surely remember for years to come.

The Buckeyes hit the road now for the remainder of the season except for a home game on February 26th against in-state rival, and nationally number 2 ranked Miami University. That game, despite being on a Tuesday night, should be well attended because of the intensity of the growing rivalry. Who knows, maybe OSU can skate into the CCHA playoffs with a little momentum after all.

Popularity: 50% [?]

Just when it looked like the Ohio State men’s hockey team might be ready to control a hockey game from the opening puck drop at the Value City Arena Friday night, the bottom fell out resulting in a 5-2 loss. Starting play with a hard skating, determined mindset against the Bowling Green Falcons, the Buckeyes had several early scoring chances, but couldn’t manage to put the puck behind Falcon’s netminder Nick Eno. The Bucks were able to press the action in the Falcon’s end until they were forced to kill off two penalties before the nine minute mark of the period. From that point on, they appeared to lose whatever fire they had and Bowling Green took control. The change in momentum resulted in a goal by Derek Whitmore at 13:01, which seemed to further damage the fragile psyche of the young Buckeyes. When the Buckeyes gave up yet another late goal with just 41 seconds remaining in the period, the game was all but over for Ohio State and the decent crowd of 5, 002 began to sense that they had seen this show before.

Despite a goal by OSU’s Nick Biondo at 15:19 of the second period, with assists to Tom Fritsche and Jason DeSantis, that brought the Buckeyes within one at 2-1, the Buckeyes’ level of play never inspired confidence that they could get back into this one. And when Jacob Cepis scored on a breakaway at 18:37, hope was all but lost. OSU head coach John Markell vented his frustration with his team’s lackluster effort by calling an unusually early time out near the halfway point of the period, but his words apparently fell on deaf ears as there seemed to be no appreciable increase in the Buckeyes’ level of play after the time out.

Cepis’ second goal of the game for BG just 49 seconds into the third period, pretty much sealed the deal for the Falcons. When Whitmore found the empty net in the final seconds of the game for his second tally of the night, the third period goal at 16:34 by OSU defenseman Corey Toy, assisted by Tommy Goebel and Kyle Reed, was rendered too little, too late. With the loss, the Buckeyes abysmal home record dropped to 1-9 in league play for the season. Following the loss, coach Markell made his displeasure with his team’s effort clear, and the only question was whether or not his stinging comments would elicit a response from his team the following night.

Saturday’s rematch with the Falcons started much the same as the game had the previous evening with the Buckeyes playing fast-paced, spirited hockey from the opening faceoff. This night, however, the Buckeyes were able to put the puck into the net when Nick Biondo scored his second goal in as many nights at 4:33 of the first period, with assists to Todd Rudasill and Tom Fritsche. Even though the Buckeyes dominated play throughout the period, they skated off the ice with only a 1-1 tie as BG managed to score on one of their few really good scoring chances for the period on a goal by James Perkin at 9:37. But unlike the previous night, the goal did not slow the Buckeyes down, much to the delight of the boisterous crowd of 7,450.

Even after OSU goalie Joseph Palmer let a long range shot by Tomas Petruska elude him to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead at 3:19 of the second period, the Buckeyes showed the resilience and perseverance that has been sorely lacking for most of the season. They continued to press the action and their high level of play was rewarded when Tommy Goebel netted the equalizer at the 18:05 mark, with assists to John Albert and Todd Rudasill. For one of the few times this season, the Buckeyes left the ice after back to back solid periods of hockey, and the only remaining question was whether or not they could sustain the energy level for one more period.

The question was answered right from the start of the third period as the Buckeyes continued to skate hard and make plays. When Peter Boyd flipped a backhander into the BG net for the first of his two third period goals at 15:39, off of assists from Jason DeSantis and Sergio Somma, fans were witnessing a rare sight – the OSU hockey team playing three solid periods of hockey in the same game. Boyd’s second goal at 17:49, his seventh goal in this his freshman year, with an assist from Todd Rudasill, his third of the game, added an exclamation point to the evening’s festivities, and showed, in no uncertain terms, what these Buckeye hockey players are capable of when they put their minds to it. Now, with just a handful of games remaining in the season, can they keep it up for multiple games and make a late season push for a home ice birth in the league playoffs? Unfortunately, OSU will play all but one of its remaining games on the road, with the lone home game against NCAA #1 Miami Red Hawks on February 26th. Let’s hope that that game has some real meaning for the Buckeyes and they respond with an effort similar to the one they put forth Saturday night.

Popularity: 43% [?]

The Ohio State men’s hockey team continued its season-long trend of losing hockey games at home this weekend when they were swept by the defending national champion Michigan State Spartans 4-1 and 4-0. The freshman-dominated Buckeyes came out a step slow Friday night and quickly found themselves behind in the contest when the Spartans scored a power play goal just 2:06 into the game. The score stood 2-0 when former Spartan Tommie Gobel scored the Buckeyes only goal of the weekend. It was Gobel’s 12th goal of the season, which leads the team, with assists going to Jason DeSantis and Kyle Reed. Despite a season high crowd of 9,195, the Buckeyes only controlled the puck for brief periods of time, and when they did have opportunities to score, they could not manage to get the puck into the Spartans’ net, even when the net seemed to be open. Overall, the game primarily consisted of the Michigan State players cycling the puck in the Buckeyes’ zone, as the Buckeye players chased the Spartans for long stretches of time. It was an impressive performance for the Spartans, ranked 6/7th nationally, but a disappointing effort by the Buckeyes.

Those Buckeye fans sturdy enough to brave the freezing temperatures (a crowd of 6,780) Saturday night were rewarded in the first period with the best hockey the Buckeyes played on the weekend. Ohio State came out with a passionate and energetic game that kept Michigan State pinned in its own end for much of the first period. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, the Spartans escaped the period with a 1-0 lead that set the tone for the home team’s futility on this night. Over the next two periods, the Buckeyes only matched their first period energy level occasionally, and their inability to get anything going offensively, especially on their power play chances (including a number of power play advantages without a single shot on goal), made it a relatively easy day at the office for the Spartans. To be fair, the Spartans goalie, Jeff Lerg, appeared to be at the top of his game, and the Spartans are a veteran bunch compared to the young Buckeyes. But turnovers, and missed opportunities to score, can only be attributed to inexperience for so long as the team moves into the later stages of their schedule. One has to wonder if the light will go on for enough of these kids in time to salvage something of the season, or if it’ll be another “Wait till next year” cry ringing in the ears of the Buckeye faithful.

Popularity: 35% [?]

Once again this past weekend, the OSU men’s hockey team showed its Jekyll and Hyde personality against CCHA Conference foe Alaska in a two game series at Value City Arena. To say that the team showed its youth and immaturity in a disappointing 4-2 loss to the Nanooks on Friday night would be kind. After their inspired play during the Ohio Hockey Classic the previous weekend against Harvard and Miami University, fans could be forgiven for wondering if the Buckeyes had expended all their energy and enthusiasm battling those ranked (and in the case of Miami, top ranked) opponents. To be truthful, it appeared as if the Buckeyes were the team that had just stepped off the plane following a long, overnight trip from Alaska. They seemed to be suffering severe jet lag, as they sleepwalked through most of the game Friday. After giving up an early goal to start the first period, and trailing the Nanooks 1-0 at the end of that stanza, fans watched the Buckeyes come out flat to start the second period, leaving one to wonder what it takes to motivate this group. In the second period the Buckeyes did manage to get on the board with a power play goal by Matt McIlvane assisted by Shane Sims and Peter Boyd. But most of the period was a copy of the first and ended with OSU trailing 2-1.

In the third period, after the Nanooks had scored two goals by the 4:30 mark, the Buckeyes finally showed some fire, and played the remainder of the game with a passion that had been missing earlier. Unfortunately, the vastly improved play by the home team was too little, too late. Despite almost constant pressure on Nanooks’ goaltender Wylie Rogers, and a textbook perfect tick-tack-toe goal by Nick Biondo off assists by Peter Boyd and Patrick Schafer at 11:47, the Buckeyes lost once again on their home ice. With the loss, the Buckeyes fell to 1-8 at Value City Arena, and those in the meager crowd of 2, 698 were left to wonder which OSU team would show up for the second game of the series Saturday night.

Anyone who saw the lackluster effort put forth by the Buckeye icers Friday, yet were brave enough to return the following evening, must have been rubbing their eyes in disbelief. From the opening face-off the Buckeyes skated with the kind of passion and energy that they had played with in the Ohio Hockey Classic, but which had been AWOL the previous night. The Buckeyes were so dominant during the first period that the Nanooks did not get their first shot on goal until less than five minutes remained in the period. When they did finally get on shot through to the OSU goal, however, goaltender Dustin Carlson gave up a rebound, and the Nanooks put it in the net. That goal tied the game as Tom Fritsche had scored his fourth goal of the season with assists to Matt McIlvane and Johann Kroll, earlier in the period. Despite only being tied after outshooting the Nanooks 10-2, the Buckeyes carried over their spirited play into the second and third periods. When Mathieu Picard found the empty net with a minute fifty-six remaining in the third, for his second score of the night, the Buckeyes put the finishing touches on a 5-2 win that gave fans a glimpse of how good these Bucks can be when they put their minds to it. Sergio Somma and Jason DeSatis also scored in the third when the Buckeyes turned a closely fought contest into a comfortable lead.

If the Buckeyes can somehow bottle the energy and passion they played with on Saturday night, they can play with anyone in the country. But until that level of effort becomes the norm, night in and night out, this team will continue to lose games that they have the ability to win. Given that the Buckeyes’ next opponent is the U.S. National Under-18 team, sprinkled with future NHL stars, and the Bucks seem to play their best against better teams, it should be a good game January 11th at Value City Arena. Hopefully, a lot more than the 3,623 fans who went home happy on Saturday night, will be in attendance for the game with the U.S. National team.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Coming into the Ohio Hockey Classic this past weekend, at Value City Arena, the Ohio State men’s hockey team was looking for signs of continuing progress against nationally ranked opponents. After all was said and done, there is no doubt that this team has made significant improvement from its play earlier in the season with a solid 4-2 win Saturday night against #15 Harvard, and a tough one-goal loss against #1 ranked Miami in the tournament championship game on Sunday.

The Buckeyes trailed 2-1 after twenty minutes against Harvard the opening night. Sloppy defensive zone play by the Bucks led to the first goal of the game by the Crimson’s Michael Biega off of a rebound of a shot by Jimmy Fraser at the 4:32 mark. The lead held up until freshman Kyle Reed scored his fourth goal of the season at 19:06 as he netted the rebound of a shot by fellow freshman Patrick Schafer. Another freshman, Corey Toy, picked up the second assist on the play. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, the tie was short lived as Brian McCafferty scored for Harvard just 2 seconds before the buzzer sounded to end the period. Assists on the play went to Doug Rogers and Jon Pelle. Shots were even for the period at 12 apiece.

A mere 33 seconds into the second period the Buckeyes showed their determination to get back into the game as senior Jason DeSantis scored on a shot that appeared to bounce off two Harvard players before finding its way into the net. Tom Fritchie got one of the assists on the goal, which marked his 100th point as a Buckeye. Tommy Goebel also assisted on the play. The only other goal of the period went to OSU’s Shane Sims who fired a low shot past the Harvard goalie with assists from freshman John Albert and Jason DeSantis. The goal was the freshman defenseman’s first as a Buckeye, and gave OSU a 3-2 lead heading into the final stanza. Harvard had the edge in shots at 11-6 for the period.

The Buckeyes maintained their thin one-goal advantage until the 18:18 mark of the third period when senior captain Matt McIlvane scored on the power play to ice it for the Bucks. Harvard outshot the Buckeyes for the game 37-31, but freshman goaltender Dustin Carlson shut the door after the first period to record his first victory as a Buckeye. The win, against a quality opponent, gave OSU some momentum heading into the championship match Sunday evening against #1 ranked Miami. After the RedHawks eaked out a 2-1 overtime win over St. Cloud State, the stage was set for a rematch of last year’s championship game between Ohio State and Miami.

In the opening minutes of the OSU-Miami game, the RedHawks speed and maturity were in evidence as the Buckeyes scrambled to keep up with the nation’s top ranked hockey team. When the Bucks’ Jason DeSantis was whistled for hooking at 4:50 of the period, the RedHawks put on a dazzling display of passing that led to a point blank power play goal for Ryan Jones. The goal was Jones’ 17th of the year with assists from Carter Camper and Pat Cannone. The Buckeyes looked as if they might be in trouble, but they got right back into it when Kyle Reed fired a shot that managed to dribble through the pads of Miami goalie Jeff Zatkoff just 57 seconds after Jones’ goal. It was Reed’s second goal of the weekend and it pulled the Buckeyes even at 1-1. Despite playing the RedHawks even at equal strength, the obvious difference between the two teams was in power play efficiency and that advantage for the RedHawks would ultimately prove to be the difference in the hockey game. The Buckeyes went on the power play at 13:24 of the period, but a turnover in the neutral zone gave the RedHawks a 2 on 1 break and tournament MVP Jarod Palmer found the back of the net for a shorthanded goal with an assist from Justin Mercier at 14:33.

Down 2-1 entering the second period, the Buckeyes pressed the action and at 2:08 John Albert took a drop pass from Tommy Goebel and converted for his second goal of the season to tie the score at 2. The score remained tied throughout the period as both goalies, Dustin Carlson for the Bucks and Jeff Zatkoff for the RedHawks, made key saves to prevent any further scoring.

Both teams had golden opportunities to break the deadlock as the third period played out. End to end action kept the crowd on the edge of their seats, but neither team could put the puck in the net. Just when it looked as if the game might be decided in overtime, the RedHawks took control of the puck in the Buckeyes end of the ice, and with 1:38 remaining in regulation, Gary Steffes had a shot go airborne and into the Buckeyes’ net for what would prove to be the game winning goal. Nino Musitelli and Mitch Ganzak picked up assists on the goal. While OSU outshot the RedHawks 12-5 in the period, it was Ohio State’s inability to convert on a two-man advantage for almost a minute and a half early in the period that came back to haunt the Buckeyes at the end.

On the plus side, the Buckeyes beat the #15 team in the country one night, and played the #1 team even for most of the game the following night. The young Buckeyes are starting to hit their stride, and should only get better as they continue to adjust to playing top flight competition. First year players like Kyle Reed, who made the all-tournament team along with senior Jason DeSantis, and goalie Dustin Carlson are just two more young Bucks looking to make their mark as collegiate players.

On the minus side, Ohio State needs to dramatically improve on the power play and scoring in general, but in that regard they seem to be showing signs of improvement. As I mentioned in my last blog, the support for OSU men’s hockey is still nowhere near where it should be. Attendance for each sessions ran a little over 4,000, and when you consider that almost half the crowd appeared to be RedHawks fans, turnout by Central Ohio sports fans in support of the Buckeyes is disappointing at best. The game is fast and exciting, the team is steadily improving, and now it’s time for Buckeye fans to cheer on this team. Why not check out the action this coming weekend when the Bucks battle Alaska on Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th at Value City Arena.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Dr. John Becker has combined careers in education, wildlife conservation, writing, and speaking. While an undergraduate, he played ice hockey, and was an alternate captain on Ohio State’s first varsity hockey team. He received his Bachelor’s degree in 1964 from The Ohio State University in the field of physical education, and taught in the elementary schools of Pontiac, Michigan. After returning to Ohio State and receiving his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees, he taught at Macalester College, where he also served as head coach of the ice hockey team. In 1971 he became an assistant professor at the University of Florida in the teacher education program.

In 1978, Dr. Becker became an administrator of the Columbus, Ohio, Zoo and worked at the zoo for nine years. In 1986, he was named Director of Program Development for Coastal American Field Studies. He then became a consultant with The Wilds, a 9000 acre endangered wildlife preserve in Ohio. In 1988, he was a founder, and Executive Director, of the International Society for Endangered Cats (ISEC). He served in that capacity for seven years.

Since 1978, Dr. Becker has given over 2,500 presentations across the United States and Canada. The majority of the presentations have been at elementary schools, but he has also spoken at 45 zoos and nature centers, given papers at 15 zoological conferences, spoken at over 30 colleges and universities, and has been a presenter at several writer’s conferences.

Dr. Becker published a fictional picture book, Mugambi’s Journey, with Gingham Dog Press in 2005. He has also written a series of nonfiction books for children entitled “Returning Wildlife” for KidHaven Press. Books in the series include; North American River Otters, North American Beavers, Bats, Bald Eagles, Wild Turkeys, The North American Bison, Manatees, Florida Panthers, Grizzly Bears, Gray Wolves, American Alligators, Green Sea Turtles, California Condors, Gray Whales, and Northern Elephant Seals. He has also written a series of nonfiction children’s books for Seedling Publications including; Cheetahs, Hawks, Snow Leopards, Camels, Kangaroos, Giraffes, Owls, and Scarlet Macaws. He also co-authored a college textbook, Perceptual-Motor Learning - Theory and Practice, for Peek Publications. He has written for Highlights For Children, Hopscotch For Girls, Wild Outdoor World, Chickadee, Animals, Boys’ Life, Georgia Wildlife, ZooLife, and Wildlife Conservation magazines.

Dr. Becker is now a full-time freelance writer. He teaches writing at the Thurber Writing Academy. He is also an artist with the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s “Artist-in-Schools” program, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Watching the OSU men’s hockey team this past weekend, as they split two games with the St. Lawrence Saints, I was reminded of just how far the team has come from its early season doldrums, and how far the team still has to go to reach the lofty expectations of previous seasons. Having already endured an agonizing eleven-game winless streak, the team seemingly had nowhere to go but up when it recorded a 3-0 victory in the second of two games at Western Michigan on November 24th. When they topped the nationally ranked # 1 Wolverines in Ann Arbor the following weekend, things definitely started looking brighter for the Buckeye icers. Heading into the two-game home series with nonconference foe St. Lawrence, therefore, I was curious to see if the recent upturn in play would continue, especially in light of OSU’s abysmal 0-6 home record, and the double-whammy of coming off finals week with a roster top heavy with freshmen.

Coming out sluggish in the opening stanza Friday night was not the way to start the weekend. The uninspired play quickly put OSU in a 2-0 hole, after back to back rebound goals by the Saints’ Mike McKenzie, on a power-play at 4:40, and an even-strength goal at 8:57 by Jordan Hack. It certainly must have appeared to the smattering of fans in attendance that they were in for the same old, same old at that point. But unlike earlier in the season, when a first period deficit would have doomed the young Buckeyes to most certain defeat, this night would see another important step in the right direction in terms of maturity and resolve for this team. Picking up their pace a bit in the second period, the Buckeyes cut the lead in half when Tommy Goebel converted a slick pass from Tom Fritsche just 4:10 into the period. The goal demonstrated that the team still has some dynamic senior leadership as the duo from Parma, Ohio, with another assist from Solon, Ohio freshman Chris Reed, gave the Buckeyes a much needed jolt of energy. Although they were still outshot 11-5, the Buckeyes were able to keep the Saints at bay thanks to some excellent goaltending from Joseph Palmer who did a much better job of limiting the Saints rebound opportunities throughout the period. Going into the second intermission the Buckeyes had good reason for optimism, as they were only down by a goal, and had yet to play their best hockey.

The Buckeyes came onto the ice for the third period with the mindset of attacking the Saints goal, but despite the added pressure, had nothing to show for it as the clock ticked away the final minutes of the game. Once again, Palmer stifled the Saints attempts to stretch the lead, while giving his team a chance to battle for the tying score. Finally, at 17:34 of the period, freshman Kyle Reed netted his own rebound, off assists from freshman Patrick Schafer and Chris Reed, to knot the score at 2. The partisan fans in the crowd roared their approval as time expired, and well they should have with the Buckeyes heading into the sudden-death overtime period with momentum on their side.

The Buckeyes came out buzzing in overtime. With less than a minute gone by, and the referee signaling a delayed penalty on the Saints, yet another freshman, Peter Boyd, converted a rebound off a shot from the point by lifting the puck into the net for the game winner. Freshman Sergio Somma, and senior Matt McIlvane assisted on the play. For the game, Joseph Palmer had 22 saves, none in overtime.

Once the Buckeyes had recorded a breakthrough home win, in comeback fashion no less, the next hurdle would be to see if they could win back-to-back games on home ice. The second game of the brief home stand would provide the answer on Saturday night.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, the magic the team generated Friday evening, quickly dissolved into another home loss 5-4 on Saturday dropping the buckeyes to 1-7 in Value City Arena, and 5-12-1 overall. The Saints benefitted from the Buckeyes’ porous defense in the second and third periods after trailing at the end of first period 2-1. In that period, the Buckeyes took an early lead on a goal by junior Corey Elkins at 1:07, as he redirected a shot by defenseman Corey Toy. Defenseman Jason DeSantis was also credited with an assist on the goal. The Buckeyes were able to maintain the lead until the Saints Aaron Bogosian connected at 12:46 of the period. His shot was not initially ruled a goal, because it entered and exited the net so quickly that play continued for several seconds before a stoppage in play gave the referees an opportunity to review the play. Video replay confirmed that the puck had indeed hit the net and the Saints were credited with equaling the score at 1-1. The Buckeyes again took the lead, as the period drew to a close, when Hilliard, Ohio freshman Patrick Schafer found the back of the net off a rebound of a shot from the point by freshman Shane Sims at 18:20. When the horn sounded to signal the end of the period, the Buckeyes skated to the dressing room with a lead, which in hindsight may have given them a false sense of security based on the low scoring, defensive struggle the night before.

In any event, the Saints’ players came out to start play in the second period with an added jump in their step, and quickly tied the score with a goal by Jordan Hack at 2:30. The score remained tied until the Saints took the lead with another tally at the 15:36 mark by Jared Ross. With no further scoring, the period ended with the Saints holding a 3-2 lead. The Buckeyes managed only 8 shots on goal for a two period total of 15, while the Saints put 11 shots on goal, for a two period total of 21. Clearly the momentum of the game had swung in the Saints favor, so it would be up to the Buckeyes to see if they could mount another third period comeback to give themselves a chance to sweep the series.

The Saints, on the other hand, were just as determined to head home with a split, and they upped their lead to 4-2 on a shorthanded goal by Zack Miskovic at 2:15 of the third period. Senior John Dingle answered for the Buckeyes at 6:10 netting his own rebound off of assists from Peter Boyd and Shane Sims. But a power-play goal by the Saints Casey Parenteau at 10:28 once again pushed the lead to 2 goals, and put the Buckeyes into desperation mode for the remainder of the period. When Tommy Goebel found the back of the net with a laser shot on a Buckeye power-play at the 12:39, with an assist by goalie Joseph Palmer, the Buckeyes were once again within one at 5-4. But despite increased pressure throughout the remainder of the game, and pulling Palmer with 1:18 left in the period, the Buckeyes couldn’t tally the equalizer. The Buckeyes outshot the Saints 17-7 in final stanza, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the team from suffering its seventh defeat in eight home games this season.

Some observations:
Taking in the weekend series with the Saints left me some vivid impressions of this year’s Buckeye hockey team, and some thoughts about where this team might end up. First of all, despite the presence of seniors such as Tom Fritsche and Tommy Goebel the Buckeyes are a very young team with 14 freshmen on the roster, and as many as 10 or 11 of those starting on a given night. While they are prone to make typical freshmen mistakes, there is no mistaking that there are some talented kids in this group who can make spectacular plays at times and should only improve as they learn to play the game at the collegiate level.

Are they worth watching right now? By all means, this team is quite entertaining, and with wins already this season over nationally ranked # 1 Michigan and a win over perennial power Wisconsin earlier in the season, the team has shown flashes of what it is capable of doing. As a former Buckeye hockey player, the most distressing part of watching the current team play was to sit in an almost empty building to take in the fast-paced action of top quality college hockey. There is no question but that Value City Arena is the premier hockey venue in all of college hockey.

For those of us who labored in the “old ice rink” this facility alone is worth the price of admission, and having been in the arena when it has been packed (usually against U of M of course), there is no doubt that the atmosphere is unmatched by any other on-campus facility in North America. During this past weekend, 2,686 fans attended the game against the Saints on Friday night, and 2,479 attended Saturday evening. When you consider that the arena can accommodate 17,500 for a college hockey game, the disparity becomes obvious. Given the fact that on Saturday night the Blue Jackets were in town, and they drew over 15,000 fans, it is understandable that some of the fan base for the Buckeyes might have opted for the NHL that night. But I have been at an OSU hockey game in Value City Arena when the Blue Jackets were playing downtown, and both facilities had good crowds, so it is possible for the central Ohio community to support both teams.

To me, and I admit to being biased, OSU hockey is one of the best entertainment values in Columbus. If you haven’t been to a game yet, give it a try. The games are exciting with the end-to-end action typical of good hockey, you can take your family for a fraction of the cost of going to most other entertainment attractions in town (you can even park for free), and you get to support OSU athletics all at the same time. Just maybe, if attendance picked up, Value City Arena might actually become a tough place for opposing teams to play, and the home team might benefit from the “home ice” advantage once again. A great time to become acquainted with this year’s OSU hockey team would be during the upcoming Ohio Hockey Classic, which is being held in Value City Arena this year rather than Nationwide Arena, on the weekend of December 29-30. The Buckeyes will play Harvard on the 29th, and could play CCHA Conference foe and nationally #2 ranked Miami, on Saturday if both squads win on Friday. I will be there - I hope you will be, too!

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