For the first time in seven years, The BGSU Hockey team (9-5-4, 6-3-3) defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes (6-11-1, 2-6) by a 5-3 margin in front of a sold-out home crowd on Saturday.
After a tie to the Scarlet and Gray on Friday night, BG was looking for a get-right win against a B1G opponent.
The Falcons drew first blood, as junior forward Tyler Hotson scored just one minute and 17 seconds into the game. Hotson was assisted by fellow junior forward Brody Waters.
Just three minutes later, though, Ohio State fired back with a power-play goal from freshman forward Jake Karabela.
Nine minutes and 24 seconds in, junior Buckeye forward Riley Thompson scored another power-play goal, helping Ohio State take the lead.
Twenty minutes of game time later—midway through the second period—Hotson came up with a power-play goal of his own, leveling things out at 2-2.
Later in the period, junior defenseman Sam McGinley scored to put the Buckeyes ahead once again. The goal was one of just three even-strength goals scored by either team throughout the contest.
Entering the third period, Ohio State was on a power play. But despite being shorthanded, the Orange and Brown found the back of the net just 11 seconds into the period, with a goal from senior forward Jaden Grant. Senior forward Quinn Emerson and junior defenseman Breck McKinley recorded the assist.
The game remained tied for over twelve minutes, the longest such stretch of the contest. Senior forward Brett Pfoh scored an even-strength goal to break the lull, with an assist from Hotson and freshman defenseman Ty Higgins. The assist was Higgins’ first of the season and his first point as a Falcon.
The Buckeyes had little time to adjust defensively. Less than two minutes later, Waters scored a power-play goal, with an assist by Hotson (his second of the night) and junior forward Ben Doran.
Neither team scored for the rest of regulation, and BG took home a convincing win against a power-conference opponent.
Hotson had a dominant night with four total points, while McKinley and Waters each logged two. Nine BG skaters recorded at least one point.
Each team had 13 penalties, and Falcon skaters served 45 total minutes in the penalty box. Each team had seven power plays, with both squads scoring two power-play goals.
“I thought our power play unit tonight looked really well,” Hotson said. “Anytime you play a team like Ohio State, it’s obviously a rival, and it’s really big for us to get a win against a Big Ten team.”
The Buckeyes led in faceoffs as they had the previous night, winning 36 of them compared to 28 for BG. But the Falcons established control defensively, with 19 blocked shots compared to just four for Ohio State.
“I feel like once I got a couple of saves under my belt, it was just routine for me,” junior goalkeeper Cole Moore said. Moore made 25 saves, with a .893 save percentage on the night. “We came into this weekend with the mindset that our seniors are 0-6 against these guys, so we wanted to send them off feeling good.”
The Falcons also shot more accurately than their opponents, with 39 of their 51 total shots (77%) being shots on goal. As for the Buckeyes, 28 of their 56 shots (50%) were on goal.
“Tonight was a lot of fun to be a part of. A big thanks to all those who came out to support the club. It was electric playing an old CCHA opponent, a current Big Ten opponent,” head coach Dennis Williams said. “We had some big goals in there, the fans were great, the band was great. We ended up with a tie last night, but for our seniors, we were able to muster up three goals in the third period and get the win.”
Hotson credits the home crowd at the Slater Family Ice Arena for assisting in the victory.
“We’ve got the best fans in the league, so we thrive with them, and they bring the energy every night,” Hotson said.
The Falcons travel to take on the Ferris State Bulldogs on Friday, Jan. 9, at 6:07 p.m. Coverage can be found at bgfalconmedia.com and on WBGU 88.1 FM.
