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Dispatch

COLLEGE HOCKEY: OHIO STATE 4 BOWLING GREEN 1

OSU gets confidence boost from victory

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




BOWLING GREEN, Ohio ? The Ohio State men?s hockey team has been weakened by illness and injury, inconsistent effort and concentration, and the growing pains of two freshman goalies. Success, and the confidence inspired by it, has been fleeting.
In that context, this weekend was a welcome taste of victory, no matter how bittersweet.
The Buckeyes beat Bowling Green 4-1 last night in a game that was more gritty than pretty. They limped out of town with a few more bruises and a few more mistakes to address in practice but also with four points in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings.
The workmanlike win last night came on the heels of a penalty-filled 9-3 win Friday, when Ohio State (4-6-2, 4-4-2) capitalized on shaky goaltending by Bowling Green (3-8-1, 1-7). It was the Buckeyes? first sweep of a conference opponent in 51 weeks.
"That was the best thing that could have happened," freshman goalie Joseph Palmer said. "Confidence-wise, we?ve been building the last couple weeks. To get two wins, it?s definitely a big momentum-builder. We came here knowing we could win and expecting to win. That?s the big thing."
Perhaps most encouraging was Palmer?s steady play. He had 21 saves Friday and 20 last night, stopping three breakaways.
"Consistency-wise, this was my best weekend," he said. "It was nice to play both games and get in a rhythm."
Ohio State killed 18 of Bowling Green?s 20 power plays in the two games, taking some of the sting out of the frequent penalties.
Domenic Maiani led a penalty kill that drained two minutes of a two-man advantage for Bowling Green within the first five minutes of the game. In the next two minutes, Palmer twice stopped the Falcons? leading scorer, Derek Whitmore, on breakaways. With that, the Buckeyes survived an anticipated surge by the Falcons, who were still smarting from the loss Friday.
"The key was the first breakaway," coach John Markell said. "Palmer made a great save and it really lifted our bench."
At 9:39 of the first period, OSU winger Zach Pelletier charged the net and his teammates followed. When goalie Jimmy Spratt stopped Pelletier?s shot, defenseman Matt Waddell knocked in the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
Kyle Hood pushed the lead to 2-0 early in the third period with a well-placed wrist shot from the point. John Dingle and Sean Collins added goals late in the game, sandwiched around Bowling Green?s goal.
Ohio State played without junior center Matt McIlvane and freshman defenseman Kevin Montgomery, who were sidelined by injuries. McIlvane suffered a bruised right knee Friday, and Markell said he likely will miss "at least a couple weeks."
Montgomery suffered a mild concussion.
"The kids who were in the lineup came to play," Markell said.
spriestle@dispatch.com