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Dispatch

COLLEGE HOCKEY OHIO STATE 9, BOWLING GREEN 3
OSU?s Elkins gets hat trick in easy win
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



BOWLING GREEN, Ohio ? Corey Elkins scored on a rebound in front of the net. He charged down the slot and scored with a wrist shot. Then he settled a loose puck and scored with a backhand into the top of the net.
The Ohio State coaches have implored the talented sophomore to shoot more often, but as the clock ticked under 30 seconds last night, there was no need for a voice in his ear. Elkins? eyes went straight toward the net, as did the puck.
"I saw that the goalie was off to the left, and I was like, ?I?ve definitely got to shoot.? It just went off the post," he said.
He could take the moment of misfortune with good humor, because most of the preceding 59? minutes were a laugher. The Buckeyes routed host Bowling Green 9-3 in a Central Collegiate Hockey Association game, and Elkins recorded the first hat trick of his college career.
John Dingle and Tommy Goebel each had a goal and two assists. Tyson Strachan had a goal and an assist. Domenic Maiani, Kevin Montgomery and Sean Collins scored goals.
Bowling Green used three goalies and each was dinged for at least one goal. Jimmy Spratt was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals in 85 seconds. Eddie Neville was scratched in the third. Elkins scored once off each, then beat freshman Phil Greer for the hat trick.
"When you get one early," he said, "it kind of takes a little of the pressure off."
While Elkins was sizing up a potential fourth goal in the final seconds, OSU coach John Markell was looking ahead to the rematch tonight, with some trepidation.
The Buckeyes (3-6-2, 3-4-2 CCHA) have had a tendency to play hard and smart only once in a weekend, and they might be without junior center Matt McIlvane, who limped out of the arena with an undisclosed leg injury. But Markell was more worried about his players being distracted: He has expressed concerns throughout the week about playing a game after the OSU-Michigan football game.
"Whether we like it or not, the football game is going to affect us," he said. "It concerns me. We?ll have to see how we address it."
Markell also was not pleased that his players took 13 penalties. Bowling Green (3-7-1, 1-6) had failed to convert on 42 straight power plays, but it had plenty of chances to work out the kinks last night and scored twice.
Between whistles, the Buckeyes moved the puck with creativity and conviction, cleared rebounds from around freshman goalie Joseph Palmer and kept the pressure on the trio of shaky Bowling Green goalies. It was their second straight solid performance.
"They?re starting to trust each other," Markell said. "We didn?t have that previously."
The players will gather today to watch the football game and then attempt to sweep a weekend series from a conference foe for the first time in 51 weeks.
"We haven?t put a whole weekend together yet," Elkins said. "That?s something we want to do here."
spriestle@dispatch.com