The BG hockey team could not reproduce the same outcome in its second and final matchup with the Ohio State University Buckeyes Tuesday night, as it lost 5-3 in front of a thin crowd at Value City Arena in Columbus.
“I think Ohio State got exactly what they deserved tonight and so did we,” head coach Chris Bergeron said. “I thought the first 10 minutes of the game was good. I was a little bit concerned with the first 10 minutes because I thought [Ohio State] was a little bit more game sharp because they’d just played this past weekend, and I think it looked the opposite.”
BG started the game off on the right skate with a goal by center Dan DeSalvo two minutes and 39 seconds into the first period. DeSalvo’s second goal of the season was assisted by defenseman Rusty Hafner, his third assist of the season.
The Falcons kept the Buckeyes off the board for the majority of the first period, but Ohio State tied the game up at one with a goal by left winger David Gust, who was assisted by right winger Nick Oddo and center Ryan Dzingel with 2:23 left on the clock.
BG went into the locker room with a 14-10 shot lead on the Buckeyes, but the second period became a defensive battle for both teams.
For the first 10-and-a-half minutes, the scoreboard remained unchanged and not much had happened until defenseman Sean Walker was disqualified from the game for an illegal hit.
Following the unsuccessful, five-minute power play, the Buckeyes took the lead with a goal by Dzingel, who was assisted by left winger Darik Angeli. The goal occurred just after the 17-minute mark in the second half and the Falcons went into the locker room after the second period trailing the Buckeyes, 2-1.
BG was held to five shots in the second period in comparison to Ohio State’s 10 they recorded during the period.
The third period was the complete opposite of the second.
BG equalized the score with less than two minutes into the third period thanks to right winger Ben Murphy. He was assisted by Williamson.
Ohio State came back and scored a goal 42 seconds later from the stick of Oddo by means of defenseman Craig Dalrymple and Gust.
BG answered less than five minutes later with a power play goal by Murphy once again and was assisted by Williamson for the second time in the period.
Murphy scored his fifth and sixth goal of the season during the third period, and Williamson recorded his fourth and fifth assist as well.
However, to the Falcons demise, Ohio State scored two goals following Murphy’s goal.
The first goal came from left winger Chad Niddery and was assisted by left winger Matt Johnson and defenseman Drew Brevig.
The Buckeyes final score was an empty-net goal from Angeli with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.
“Most of the second they took it to us,” Bergeron said. “I felt like we showed some resiliency and fight in the third, which we’ve kind of developed over the past couple of years.”
After the loss, the Falcons fall to 2-2-2 and the Buckeyes advance to 3-3 in the early season.
BG will be back on the ice this weekend when they face the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves in a home weekend series at the Ice Arena. Both games are slated for a 7:07 p.m. match on Friday and Saturday.
