Quinnipiac goaltender Justin Eddy tied a record for saves in a game at the Schottenstein Center with 49. Unfortunately for Eddy and the Bobcats, it was Ohio State’s 50th shot on goal, with .2 seconds left in regulation, that mattered most.
After as close as you can get to 60 minutes of hockey without a score, Andrew Schembri’s unassisted one-timer with less than a full second left on the clock became the game winner as OSU defeated Quinnipiac, 1-0.
“So what do we think? Was it in or not?” was how Rand Pecknold, Quinnipiac head coach, greeted the press post game.
It was in, and that was just about all there was to that game. On paper, the Buckeyes seemed to dominate the Bobcats, officially outshooting them 11-1 in the first period alone — although OSU goaltender Dave Caruso covered the puck twice in the first, right in front of the net — and outshooting Quinnipiac 50-14 in three periods. But few of OSU’s chances were grade-A, and Eddy was up for everything that resembled a legitimate threat until being surprised by Schembri’s last-second heroics.
“The defenseman fumbled the puck,” said Schembri, who capitalized on Dan Rossi’s turnover just inside the neutral zone at the OSU blue line. “I heard someone say, ‘Shoot!’ I fired it, it hits the post and it goes in. Lucky.”
OSU head coach John Markell said that he gave credit to his team “for finding a way to win,” but said the game felt like “it might be déjà vu of the Mercyhurst game,” referring to OSU’s 3-2 home loss to the visiting Lakers Oct. 24. Markell said he was disappointed at the way the Buckeyes performed initially after a strong showing at the Everblades College Classic, where OSU beat Maine 4-2 before losing 4-3 in overtime to Cornell in the title match.
“We played well enough to win that game [against Cornell] … so it’s frustrating to come back and not score goals. It should have been an easier night. I can certainly tell you that there are some players I’m not happy with.”
Dave Caruso made 14 stops in the win, his third career shutout. OSU was 0-for-5 on the power play to Quinnipiac’s 0-for-2.
Pecknold said that the Bobcats played “a great road game tonight,” and added that Quinnipiac’s bench was shortened because of illness.
The Bobcats (7-7-2, 3-0-2 AHA) head to Buffalo to play Canisius Jan. 9-10. “It will be interesting to see how the guys rebound after tonight,” said Pecknold.
OSU (13-8-0, 8-5-0 CCHA) heads to Michigan on Jan. 9-10 to face the Wolverines and World Junior gold medallist Al Montoya. Markell said that the Tuesday night game better preparation than a practice for the upcoming league series, and “a bit of a wake-up call.
