With a two-game road series over, the No. 16 Ohio State men’s hockey team is no longer unbeaten after a tie and loss to then-No. 17 UConn. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The No. 16 Ohio State men’s ice hockey team earned a 3-1 victory against Bentley Friday at Value City Arena.
Junior forward Patrick Guzzo said the Buckeyes expected Bentley to rebound from Thursday’s 9-2 outing and put up a fight, which contributed to the focused mindset and lack of overconfidence by the Buckeyes.
“We knew they were going to come even harder,” Guzzo said. “We really tightened up in the neutral zone and offensive zone.”
After an uneventful first period, Ohio State (6-1-1, 2-0-0 Big Ten) broke the scoreless tie only 40 seconds into the second period. Freshman forward Stephen Halliday took advantage of the early power play, netting his second goal of the season off an assist from junior forward Michael Gildon, giving the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
Much like the Buckeyes did in the second period, Bentley (1-4-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Hockey Association) wasted no time, only needing 2:15 to equalize in the third. Graduate forward Dylan Pitera found the back of the net off an assist from senior forward Lucas Vanroboys, knotting the two teams at one goal apiece.
The Buckeyes quickly recaptured the lead with 14:12 left in the third period. Guzzo scored a one-timer assisted by senior forward Matt Cassidy.
After Bentley failed to capitalize on a five-minute major penalty by senior forward Tate Singleton, Senior forward Kamil Sadlocha put the Falcons away for good by sneaking a fast break goal past Falcon goalie Nicholas Grabko to put the Buckeyes up 3-1.
While the potential of the Buckeye offense was showcased on full display Thursday, Friday was the story of the defense. Most notably, sophomore goalie Jakub Dobeš had a season-high 34 saves while posting a .971 save percentage.
Head coach Steve Rohlik said he hoped to see his defense make positive strides after allowing six goals to Uconn Oct. 15 in Ohio State’s first loss of the season.
“We’re certainly not a finished product, we just have to keep improving,” Rohlik said. “We have to be an even number team. If we can play even numbers we are going to have more success then obviously giving up those unevens, two-on-ones, breakaways and things like that. I thought we did a better job this weekend.”
Ohio State hopes to carry the momentum in its next series as it will host No. 1 Minnesota Friday at 6:30 p.m.
