OSU Hockey

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Dispatch

OHIO STATE HOCKEY
Buckeyes allow just two goals but get shut out

Saturday, October 28, 2006




MARQUETTE, Mich. ? Ohio State shored up its leaky defense but could not dent a stingy Northern Michigan defense and fell 2-0 last night for its fourth straight defeat.
OSU had allowed 20 goals in their previous three games before implementing a more defensive scheme for their first Central Collegiate Hockey Association road game of the season.
Although the Buckeyes allowed only 16 shots on goal, Nick Sirota scored at 6:44 of the second period when he beat freshman goaltender Nick Filion to his glove side.
The Wildcats (4-2-1, 1-0) took a 2-0 lead 62 seconds into the third period when Darin Olver converted a turnover by Ohio State (1-4, 1-3) in front of Filion.
The Buckeyes had 22 shots against Billy Zaniboni but were unable to get one past the senior despite having several good opportunities on their fifth power play in the final two minutes of the game. They had a two-man advantage for nearly 90 seconds when Filion was pulled for an extra attacker. Zaniboni had two saves in the closing seconds to preserve his second shutout of the season.
Northern Michigan has allowed just 11 goals in seven games and three while winning four in a row.
The Wildcats will play host to the Buckeyes again at 7:35 tonight in the Berry Events Center and have been the home team in 15 of their past 22 meetings (with one on neutral ice) since rejoining the CCHA for the 1997-98 season. Northern Michigan leads the series with OSU 27-25-3, including 21-8-2 in Marquette. The game tonight will be broadcast on WOSU-AM (820.

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Dispatch

OHIO STATE 4 NORTHERN MICHIGAN 2
Buckeyes pound net with 39 shots in victory

Sunday, October 29, 2006


FROM STAFF REPORTS




MARQUETTE, Mich. ? Jason DeSantis scored two power-play goals and Matt McIlvane added a shorthanded goal and an empty-netter to lead Ohio State to a 4-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association win over Northern Michigan that snapped a four-game skid.
Ohio State (2-4, 2-2) had only 22 shots on goal in a 2-0 loss Friday, but the Buckeyes peppered goaltender Bill Zaniboni with 15 in the first period last night and took a 1-0 lead when McIlvane scored short-handed at 8:53. The Wildcats (4-2, 1-1) had just four shots on freshman goalie Joe Palmer in the first 20 minutes.
The defense continued to smother Northern Michigan at the start of the second period and the Buckeyes made it 2-0 on a goal by DeSantis at 1:56. The Buckeyes had a 20-4 shot advantage at that point. The shots were 30-7 after two periods.
Zaniboni kept the Wildcats in the game and showed why Northern had allowed only 11 goals in the previous seven games and just three in the past four. However, that total was equaled only 14 seconds into the third period when DeSantis scored on a power play with assists from Domenic Maiani and Dave Barton.
Bill Stewart then replaced Zaniboni, and the Wildcats got on the board with Mike Santorelli?s goal 50 seconds later. Northern made it 3-2 with nine minutes left on Blake Cosgrove?s goal before McIlvane iced the win with four seconds remaining after Stewart was pulled for an extra skater. The Buckeyes finished with 39 shots. Palmer had to make just 12 saves.

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Dispatch

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

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Dispatch

MEN?S HOCKEY OSU
At age 24, old guy does whatever it takes
Anderson trying to make most of chance to play

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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At 24, Bryce Anderson is the oldest player on the Ohio State hockey team, seven years older than freshman goalie Nick Filion.
He relishes the role ? from the grandpa-get-your-cane jokes to the life lessons he can impart ? and he came about it honestly.
After graduating from high school in 2000, Anderson played three seasons of junior hockey in his home state of Iowa just to get a chance to walk on at Ohio State.
He paid out-ofstate tuition and his dues on the fourth line as a freshman before getting a scholarship and a bigger role on the team.
"It?s always been that way," Anderson said. "Coming up through juniors, I always was forced to make the team in August and September.
"You learn you have to do those less-than-glamorous things if you want to be a part of the team and get your foot in the door."
Because of that history, Anderson did not flinch when OSU coach John Markell put him on the fourth line to begin this season and used that line sparingly, mostly to kill penalties and for a key defensive shift late in periods. Nor did he balk last Saturday when Markell moved him to defense in place of Tyson Strachan, who was scratched. Anderson played sparingly in five-onfive situations but returned to center on the penalty kill.
"He?s got that versatility that is great for our hockey team," Markell said. "And he doesn?t care where he plays. That?s what we need."
An injury to winger Tommy Goebel has opened more playing time for Anderson as a winger on the third line, but it hasn?t changed his role, nor Markell?s use of his role players.
In an effort to create more offense, Markell plans to rely heavily on his top lines in five-on-five and power-play situations and use his other players for grunt work.
"I?m taking a page out of what Ron Mason used to do when I played at Bowling Green," Markell said. "I never killed a penalty. I would save all my energy for offense, and we were just as proud of the guys going out and blocking shots and killing penalties and all that. That was their job and I had my job. I think when you get that tagging off and guys are fresh, I think we?ll be better for it."
The Buckeyes killed all nine power plays in splitting two games last weekend at Northern Michigan. John Dingle sparked a 4-2 win Saturday with a short-handed goal. Even in the ugly losses to Minnesota a week before, a fourth-line player provided the biggest jolt, when junior Zach Pelletier leveled Minnesota defenseman Derek Peltier in the second period of the second game.
"Sometimes you have to swallow your pride a little bit," Anderson said. "I have been a part of great teams in the past and everybody had their own role, whether it be killing penalties or scoring goals.
"Regardless if it?s me or if it?s another guy in that (fourth-line) role, it?s going to be important that guys realize that is important ?playing well defensively, blocking shots or whatever it may be. Preserving leads is just as important as scoring goals."
spriestle@dispatch.com

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TheLantern

Men's icers feed off confidence of team leaders



Chris Patrick

Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: Sports


After getting off to a less than ideal start to the season, the Ohio State men's hockey team has seemingly found the confidence it had been lacking. This has especially been true for two of the leaders to the team's turnaround, Matt McIlvane and Jason DeSantis.

"Confidence is 100 percent of the game, basically. If you're confident in yourself and your abilities, you're going to go out there and have a great performance," McIlvane said. "That's an area I've really improved on this year."

His confidence was definitely not hurt when he scored two goals in a game for the first time in his career in the 4-2 win over Northern Michigan (4-3-1, 1-1-0 CCHA) Saturday night.

Likely to further boost that confidence was praise from coach John Markell, who called the junior forward the "most consistent" player on the ice last weekend.

McIlvane has worked hard to build that confidence, working with a skating coach all summer as well as honing his skills in hopes to eventually take the step to the professional level.

"That's obviously my biggest goal," said the 2004 draftee of the Ottawa Senators. "Obviously while I'm here I'm trying to win a national championship, but there's hockey beyond that."

While McIlvane has been preparing himself for the next level, DeSantis, has just been trying to get back to playing hockey without being injured. The junior defenseman, who tallied a goal and an assist Saturday, had offseason surgery to repair a severe sports hernia he struggled with in the latter stages of last season. Now he is leading the Buckeyes (2-4-0, 2-2-0 CCHA) in points with seven (1 goal, 6 assists). Not unlike McIlvane, DeSantis credits regaining his confidence as key to his success.

"Last year I didn't have too much confidence with my injury," he said. "But I think that's something I have going for me right now."

The rest of the Buckeyes have also become more comfortable playing in a system implemented from last year in a response to the struggles in the Minnesota series two weeks ago.

"We seem to be prospering under the simpler system," Markell said. "It allows (the players) to expand on their individual skills throughout the game."

"I think we're starting to become more of a transition team," McIlvane said. "Which is playing into my skating style ... I just think that the whole team is more confident with (the system). That's a start towards success."

OSU will be looking to keep the offensive and defensive aspects of the system in balance during both games this weekend.

"I think the difference between game one (on Friday) and game two (on Saturday) was we played really sound on our systems on game one and then maybe we forgot a little bit about offense," McIlvane said.

The Buckeyes dropped the series opener to the Wildcats Friday 2-0 despite only yielding 16 shots on the night.

McIlvane, DeSantis and their OSU teammates will look to use their confidence when trying to snap Notre Dame's four-game winning streak when they begin a two-game series with the No. 10 Fighting Irish (5-1-0, 0-0-0) tomorrow night at the Schottenstein Center.

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Dispatch

Friday, November 03, 2006