OSU Hockey

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE HOCKEY
Pelletier hones skills but still delivers big hits
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
JAMES D . DECAMP DISPATCH Because of his size, Zach Pelletier doesn?t hold back when the opportunity comes to deliver a big hit.
At 6 feet 2 and 220 pounds, Zach Pelletier is the biggest forward on the Ohio State hockey team and its biggest hitter. It is a familiar role.
"Growing up, when I was in sports where you couldn?t hit, I would always have the puck and kind of run through people," he said with a smile. "I would always get big-man penalties."
Upon arriving at Ohio State two years ago, Pelletier earned a reputation as a bull in a china closet. He was an eager bodychecker but less skilled with the puck than his teammates, and as a result he dressed for only three of his first 56 college games.
Injuries to Domenic Maiani, Mathieu Beaudoin and Cory Elkins forced Pelletier into the lineup for 23 of the final 25 games last season, and he took advantage. Coach John Markell praised him as one of the team?s most improved players this fall, and he has dressed for nine of 10 games, frequently playing in place of Sam Campbell and Dave Barton, who were regulars last season.
"I?ve gotten a lot more patient with the puck, and I?ve got my systems down pat," Pelletier said. "I?m just trying to do everything to a T, like Coach says."
He made too many mental mistakes during his first two seasons, so he studied the team?s systems in the offseason to make sure he was in the proper position on the ice. And he spent hours with a tennis ball and a hockey stick, trying to improve his puck control.
But his biggest contribution is the same as it was during his pee-wee days: Pelletier thrives on contact, and his teammates seem to thrive off the adrenaline his hits create.
"He?s great for that," linemate Matt McIlvane said. "Guys really feed off his energy."
Never more so than last month against Minnesota. The Gophers skated circles around the Buckeyes the first night and pulled ahead the second night, before Pelletier leveled Minnesota defenseman Derek Peltier. It was like an adrenaline shot for the OSU bench: For the rest of the night, the Buckeyes played the Gophers even. They skated harder and began winning battles for the puck.
It carried into the following weekend, when the Buckeyes went on the road for the first time and split two games at Northern Michigan. They were the more physical team, particularly the second night.
It is no coincidence that the Buckeyes as a group seem to hit harder when Pelletier delivers a few, and they play better when they hit harder.
"That?s what we want to be known as," Markell said. "You talk about tradition for Ohio State hockey, it?s always been a tough brand of hockey. I don?t care how big you are, you have to be mentally tough and physically tough going into corners and into puck-possession battles."
Pelletier takes pride in setting that tone.
"It?s funny: When all the guys tell me to go out and get a big hit, I never get it," he said. "Whenever I go looking for it, it never happens. But when the chance does come, I definitely take advantage of it. I don?t hold back at all."

[MiamiRedHawks]

don't know if you all saw this... quite disturbing news about former buckeye hockey player dan knapp.

http://www.whiotv.com/sports/10319309/detail.html

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

COLLEGE HOCKEY
Watching TV helps Buckeyes
OSU hopes to learn from its mistakes

Friday, November 17, 2006

Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



Like most college students, Ohio State hockey players have spent plenty of time in front of a television in recent weeks, but their sets haven?t been tuned to ESPN or Comedy Central. The Buckeyes have watched replay after replay of their mistakes on the ice.
Just 10 games into the season, there already have been enough mistakes to wear out a remote control.
Ohio State is 2-6-2 entering a game tonight at Bowling Green, including 2-4-2 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
The defense has been surprisingly porous and the effort inconsistent. Coach John Markell said players are "not thinking the game well" on a consistent basis.
"It?s something we have to visit and revisit every week," he said.
"We have to revisit every situation we play, and we can?t ever expect them to get it. I don?t think that is their fault. I think it?s the fault of any athlete ? including myself when I played ? that you try to take the easy way out, and there is no easy way out.
"One of the things we?re doing is what I think football teams do: they grade themselves and break down video to specifics, where they know exactly if a guy missed a tackle or a guy didn?t finish out a run.
"We have to do the same thing, and then the kids understand what we mean by ?finishing a check? or ?getting back on the defensive side.? We have to explain it to them."
After a disheartening 8-5 loss to Western Michigan last Thursday, Markell kept the players in Value City Arena well past midnight to watch the performance. Not coincidentally, the Buckeyes played perhaps their most complete game the next night, in a 2-2 tie with Western (if not for some questionable officiating, it would have been a 3-2 or 3-1 win).
The refrain afterward was that the Buckeyes played their systems well. Which is to say, they executed the style of team defense Markell and his staff have implemented through the years.
"This game is played with your eyes and your ears, especially as quick as it is. It?s very spontaneous," Markell said. "We have to trust that our guys know exactly what they?re doing in different situations, and we continue to walk them through that."
The team defense is even more important this season, because the Buckeyes are relying on two freshman goaltenders in Joseph Palmer and Nick Filion.
The six-man defensive corps, which includes three seniors and two juniors, figured to be a security blanket but has not. Senior Tyson Strachan admittedly has struggled to get up to speed after sitting out the last half of last season because of a broken wrist; he was scratched for two games earlier this month.
"I was a little slow. It was a little tough getting back," Strachan said. "Coach basically just sat me down, gave me a little break and said, ?You?re a senior on this team. You?re a leader and you need to step up and show the guys where to go.? I think this past weekend I started to get back on track."
He was quick to point out that the season is still young, so there is time for the Buckeyes to turn it around. In the meantime, there will be plenty of time in front of the television.
"At times, it is frustrating," Strachan said. "But at the same time, we see a lot of good things."
spriestle@dispatch.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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

[BuckeyeStu]

Hopefully the road sweep of BG is a sign that this teams is ready to turn things around.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

OHIO STATE MEN?S HOCKEY
Defense-first mind-set works for Buckeyes
Friday, November 24, 2006
Craig Merz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



The Buckeyes (4-6-2) tied the Broncos 2-2 the next night and went to Bowling Green last weekend to take 9-3 and 4-1 victories. Palmer has started the past three games and was even permitted ? gasp ? to speak, after the second.
"The past couple of games we?ve been getting better with our systems," he said.
It was back to the silent treatment this week, but others echoed Palmer?s point.
"We?ve been focusing on our systems," Waddell said. "A lot of guys thought they knew the systems, but we had little breakdowns."
Indeed. The 9-3 rout of Bowling Green afforded Palmer a rare opportunity.
"The big score let him relax. I know he didn?t like giving up three goals, but it was a nice game to play in," Markell said.
Senior defenseman Sean Collins volunteered to be the mouthpiece for Palmer, who has a 4-4-2 record and a 3.11 goals-against average heading into the 4 p.m. game today against Colgate in the Rensselaer/Bank of America Holiday Tournament. Depending on the outcomes, the Buckeyes will face either Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) or Niagara on Saturday.
"I?m sure he?s feeling superexcited about it," said Collins, who hails from another Troy. "I know I?m always excited to go back to Michigan to play in front of my family and friends."

cmerz@dispatch.com

Joseph Palmer is thrilled to be (almost) home when Ohio State plays in a tournament today and Saturday in Troy, N.Y.
At least one can assume he is happy to be within 85 miles of his hometown of Utica, N.Y. He and the other freshman goaltender, Nick Filion, are off limits to the media because coach John Markell wants to deflect pressure from the pair and keep the focus on playing.
"There?ll be a time and a place for interviews," Markell said. "That?s what the seniors are for. The upperclassmen have taken on the responsibility of trying to buffer them a little bit."
The same could be said on the ice. Markell opened the season with an offensive scheme that proved to be the Buckeyes? downfall. It was one thing to rely on senior goalie Dave Caruso last season to clean up the defensive miscues and another to expect two neophytes to step into the fray and excel.
"We were hanging them out to dry a lot," senior defenseman Matt Waddell said. Ohio State allowed six or more goals four times in the first nine games, capped by an 8-5 loss at home to Western Michigan on Nov. 9. Markell had the team view the video afterward