The Ohio State men’s ice hockey team showcased its ability to rally late Saturday night against Bowling Green, but the Falcons returned the favor Sunday, as the two teams skated to back-to-back ties over the weekend.
The No. 2-ranked Buckeyes tied Bowling Green, 1-1, Sunday in the second game of a two-game set. OSU went on to lose the shootout, 2-1. The night before, the Buckeyes got two late goals in the third period and forced a 2-2-overtime tie before losing in a shootout, 2-1, to the Falcons.
Freshman led the way for OSU in both games.
Max McCormick put the Buckeyes on the board first on Sunday. The freshman forward scored his second goal of the weekend, putting OSU up, 1-0, at the 11:31 mark in the second period. Sophomore forward Chris Crane had an assist on the goal.
Bowling Green would remain scoreless until the final minute of regulation.
With less than two minutes to play, the Falcons pulled their goalie and scored a power-play goal at the 19:04 mark in the final stanza, and the game went to overtime for the second-straight night.
The extra session was scoreless, but Bowling Green managed to score twice in the shootout. The Buckeyes only netted one, and OSU lost to the Falcons, 2-1, in a shootout for the second-consecutive game.
On Saturday, OSU fell behind early.
The Falcons took a 1-0 lead at the 2:29 mark in the first period. Bowling Green scored again less than three minutes into the second stanza, and took a 2-0 lead into the third period.
OSU continued to trail for most of the final period, but two goals by Buckeye freshman in the final 3:48 of regulation forced overtime.
Freshman defenseman Al McLean scored his first-career goal at the 16:12 mark in the third on a one-timer off an assist by McCormick. Less than two minutes later, McCormick tallied a power-play goal, sliding the puck past Bowling Green junior goalie Andrew Hammond. McCormick’s goal tied the game, 2-2, and forced overtime.
In the extra session, neither team was able to score. The Buckeyes had just one shot on goal and Heeter made four saves, increasing his save total for the game to 35.
The Falcons went on to win the shootout, 2-1, earning an extra point in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings.
The Buckeyes are now 14-4-3 overall and remain in first place in the CCHA with a 10-3-3-2 conference record.
Bowling Green improved to 6-13-5, 1-11-4-3 in the conference.
OSU returns to action on Friday against No. 16 Michigan at 7:35 p.m. in Columbus. The Buckeyes will travel to Cleveland after Friday’s game to play the Wolverines in the Frozen Diamond Faceoff at Progressive Field on Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
