Men's Hockey
Alabama-Huntsville Spoils OSU's Homecoming
By John Porentas

The Ohio State hockey team followed up their five-game road winning streak by coming home and coming out flat. That earned them a 4-3 loss at the hand of Alabama-Huntsville and the ire of their coach, John Markell.

"We're not defending our own turf here very well. We get scared to death on the road and we get complacent here at home. It's getting a little bit old for me," said an obviously miffed Markell of his team's play in taking the loss.

The Buckeyes outshot the Chargers by a better-than two-to-one margin, 55-26, including a whopping 21-7 edge in shots in the third period, but Charger goalie Scott Munroe came up with big save after big save to frustrate the Buckeyes.

"Coach told me coming in I needed to play two good games. When you play a team like this you need good goal tending. That's what he's been stressing all year. I was happy to come up with a big game tonight," said Munroe.

"He's the backbone of our team. He's our franchise. When he plays well we can win games," said Alabama-Huntsville Head Coach Doug Ross.

Munroe's play not only limited the Buckeye scoring, it also helped them to just enough offense to claim the win. With Munroe playing well, the Charger skaters could take a few more chances, particularly in terms of leaving the defensive zone and getting out on the breakaway.

"We've got confidence, we know he can do it. When he's doing it that way our guys play a little more aggressively, maybe forecheck a little bit hard because we don't have to lay back and protect our goalie as much because he can make some big saves for us. A lot of those are big transitions. He makes that save and we grab that puck," said Ross.

Alabama-Huntsville's Steve Canter's (18) breakaway goal with under a minute to play was the difference in the game.
Photo by Jim Davidson

That's exactly what happened late in the third period. With the game tied and under a minute to play, defenseman Mike Salekin gained control of a puck in his own end, then got it ahead to forward Steve Canter who got behind the OSU defense and raced down the ice ahead of the OSU defense on a breakaway. Canter skated right in on OSU goalie Dave Caruso going slightly left to right across the goal mouth and scored a brilliant goal with just 44 seconds to play to give his team the win.

"That guy scored a great goal. Guys were on his back and he scored a goal," said Markell.

Markell credited the Chargers for their play, particularly Munroe, but felt his team could have played better.

"Alabama-Huntsville played with heart tonight. Their goaltending was great. They took care of their opportunities, we didn't, and you end up with a game like that.

"My problem is that the team that I stood behind on the bench last week, that's not the same team I saw tonight. I have a problem with that. It will be addressed," said Markell.

Ohio State never led in the game. Alabama-Huntsville got on the board first with a goal at 12:19 of the first period on a shot from in close that went off a skate and got past Caruso. OSU's Andrew Schembri tied the game in the second when he picked up a rebound off a shot by Mathieu Beaudoin and lifted it over Munroe who had gone down on Beaudoin's shot.

The Chargers came back with two goals in the second period to take what appeared to be a commanding lead heading into the final period, one of those coming on a five-on-three advantage, the other an even handed goal. The Buckeyes made a game of it in the third period, keeping constant pressure on Munroe and tallying two goals in the first five minutes of play of the final period. The first came on an absolute rocket from the blue line by Rod Pelley who saw his first action of the season after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery. The second game on a beautiful scoring play by Dominic Maiani after a nifty diagonal pass by Johann Kroll got the puck deep to Dave Barton, and Barton got it to Maiani for the score.

It was as close to a win as the Buckeyes would get. The Chargers, behind Munroe, held off the Buckeyes long enough for Canter's heroics and claimed the win.

Markell said after the game that his team simply was not as sharp at home as it had been on the road the last couple of weeks.

"Maybe we feel a little bit complacent at home, like teams are going to come in here and be in awe because it's a great building and stuff and let us dictate the game," said Pelley. "That team didn't tonight. They played like they were playing in their rink back home."

"I think they play ten home games a year, so they're not intimidated anywhere," said Markell.

"Lets give them credit. They came and beat the team that was presented to them tonight.We didn't present a very good front. They did what they had to do."

The teams will meet again Saturday night at 7:05 PM at Value City Arena.

Box Score

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