By Ben Shanahan
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
Ohio State hockey defeated Bowling Green State University 4-2 on Saturday at a sold-out Slater Family Ice Arena to complete the Buckeyes’ weekend sweep
The atmosphere at the Slater Arena was one that BGSU sophomore defenseman Dalton Norris credited the home fans with being among the best in college hockey.
“It is one of a kind here,” Norris said. “You cannot really describe it until you experience it here. I knew when I was being recruited that the atmosphere was good, but you do not expect it to be that good.
“I like to think we have some of the best fans in college hockey. They did an unbelievable job supporting us, and hopefully we can come out with a few wins for them moving forward,” Norris continued.
BGSU coach Ty Eigner’s team, in a crushing close loss, played well, peppering Buckeye goalie Logan Terness with 42 shots, but he saved 40 of them, which was enough for Ohio State to get the win.
“Really good college hockey game,” Eigner said. “Our effort was what we needed to have to be successful. We had a bunch of guys invested and contributing in a positive way for us.
“I thought their goaltender played very, very well. Special teams wise, we had powerplay goals that have not been happening recently, which was nice.”
It did not take long for one of the teams to end up in the penalty box, as the first period saw a combined 12 minutes of penalty minutes, with both teams earning three each. The penalty frenzy started with fifth-year Ohio State senior Dalton Messina sitting for a minor slashing penalty.
A minute, 23 seconds into that power play, the Falcons took a 1-0 lead, with fifth-year senior Spencer Kersten finishing a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play from Tommy Pasanen to Ethan Scadina to Kersten to the back of the net.
BG headed to the box two minutes later as junior forward Owen Ozar was called on a trip, and 20 seconds later, the Falcons were facing a 5-on-3 as freshman Gustav Stjernberg was called for a slash.
On the 5-on-3, OSU alternate captain Cam Thiesing tied things up with 12:56 remaining in the opening period.
As the Stjernberg penalty was winding down, Ohio State sophomore Stephen Halliday headed to the box for a trip, causing both sides to play 4-on-4 hockey. Two minutes later, the scoreboard remained the same as both teams killed off their penalties.
Stjernberg found himself back in the box with 9:04 remaining in the opening 20, this time for a cross-check that was also killed off in favor of the Falcons.
The final penalty of the first was committed by Ohio State fifth-year senior Mason Klee with 3:42 left in the first period, but that was also killed, sending both teams to the locker room tied at one.
The parade to the penalty box continued to start the second period as BG junior defenseman Tommy Pasanen headed to the box for a trip but once again that was killed off.
Five minutes after BG killed that penalty, they would go on the power play when OSU co-captain Patrick Guzzo was called for an elbowing minor, but just like their power play, it was killed off.
With 4:06 left in the middle frame, Scooter Brickey scored his third goal of the series, as his initial shot was saved by returning BG junior goalie Christian Stoever but it later trickled past him, making it 2-1.
BG went on the 5-on-3 advantage with 3:53 left as freshman Ottawa Senators prospect Theo Wallberg was caught holding off the stick, and at 3:13 Thiesing headed back to the box, this time for a slash.
On the two-man advantage, BG tied the game at two as fifth-year senior Josh Noddler’s shot was rebounded right to sophomore Dalton Norris’s stick, who returned last night from injury, bringing both teams to the second intermission tied at two.
Just like the previous two periods, the third period started out with a minor penalty. Brody Water was the one who sat as he was called for a two-minute boarding penalty right in front of the OSU bench.
Just over a minute after BG killed off the penalty, Ohio State senior Joe Dunlap broke the tie, making it 3-2 with 14:30 left in regulation.
Twenty-six seconds later, Dunlap ended up on the stat sheet once again, this time for a minor penalty, as he was called for a high stick. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Buckeyes killed this off, and BGSU was still down one with 11:56 remaining.
Still down one with 5:17, the Falcons got another shot on the power play as Ohio State sophomore Davis Burnside was called for a hook in his own defensive zone, but once again, the Buckeye’s penalty kill unit stood tall and killed off the Falcons’ chance.
Ohio State put the game on ice as Stoever pulled senior Patrick Guzzo, who deflected the puck into the back of the net, giving the Buckeyes a 4-2 win.
