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OXFORD, Ohio — Though the game had been entered into the NCAA records as a 1-1 tie just minutes earlier, in-state rivals Miami and Ohio State continued to battle in front of a near-capacity crowd at Steve “Coach” Cady Arena into Saturday evening.
It all came down to a single-goal shootout. Matt Tomkins stood tall at his end, which opened the door for Tanner Laczynski. A quick, forehand step and wrist shot later and the Buckeyes walked away with a “win” in their 150th meeting with the RedHawks.
Ohio State came into Oxford this weekend with a shiny, new No. 19 ranking after upsetting then-No. 3 Denver at its Ice Breaker Tournament Oct. 7 and tying Air Force in a game the following evening. Miami skated to a series split last weekend in Providence. Though this was the second week of regular season action, both teams had this contest circled on their respective calendars.
“We respect the rivalry,” Miami head coach Enrico Blasi explained. “You get up for these games. I thought the crowd was great tonight. It’s a special time when you’re playing your in-state rival.”
Though the Miami faithful fell silent when Ohio State took a first period lead off the stick of David Gust, they roared back to life on a Louis Belpedio power-play slap shot that tied the game in the second frame. It was apparent they, too, fed into the heated history between these two schools, especially as play got chippy – but not out of control – in the latter 30 minutes.
“Any time you come down here it’s going to be a tough game,” Ohio State captain Nick Schilkey said. “The building’s crazy and it’s a lot of fun to play in. There’s not going to be any blowouts down here … it’s been a tough few years coming down here. It’s nice to come down here and win the first part of this rivalry this season.”
Recent trips to Oxford have indeed been difficult for Schilkey’s Bucks. Miami held a 12-2-1 advantage in the past five seasons heading into Saturday’s contest to add to a 75-61-13 overall edge in a storied rivalry that was forged over 33 years of competition in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Though both colleges claim new conference allegiances, they still find time on the schedule to square off each season.
“In college hockey, the parity is off the charts,” Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik said. “We knew we had to be at our best coming in here, and it’s not going to get any easier heading into the next [time we face Miami]. As I said, the parity is great across the board and I thought they played well. Both teams had their chances.”
For the time being, both teams will have to settle with an official tie as they settle into the the early bulk of 2016-17 season. The RedHawks host Maine next weekend and No. 20 Bowling Green the following one, while the Buckeyes will travel to face the very same Falcons next weekend before heading to Niagara in the days before Halloween.
Both teams will take this year one weekend at a time, and rightly so. But that doesn’t mean the coaches and players don’t have one eye on New Years Eve, when these in-state rivals cap their regular season series.
Other NCHC scores:
No. 10 Denver 3, No. 2 Boston University 1
Henrik Borgstrom’s three-point Saturday was the icing on the cake of No. 10 Denver’s weekend sweep. The Pioneers took both from No. 2 Boston University at home.
No. 5 Notre Dame 3, No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth 1
A top-five matchup between Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame ended in a series split. The Bulldogs’ Adam Johnson registered three goals on the weekend, including Friday’s game-winner.
No. 14 Minnesota-Duluth 6, No. 7 St. Cloud State 4
No. 7 St. Cloud State dropped both games to No. 14 Minnesota State. The Mavericks had 12 players register at least one point on the weekend.
No. 8 UMass-Lowell 4, Colorado College 0
Massachusetts-Lowell’s offense came alive this weekend to bury Colorado College. The No. 8 River Hawks put up 12 points in two games, winning by scores of 8-5 and 4-0.
No. 1 North Dakota 5, RPI 2
Top-ranked North Dakota bested Rensselaer 5-2 Saturday evening. Joel Janatuinen earned the hat tricked and got the game-winning goal in the process.
Western Michigan 8, No. 20 Bowling Green 2
Western Michigan and No. 20 Bowling Green might have skated to a tie Friday, but the Broncos unleashed eight goals in a routing of the Falcons the following evening. Six players in black and gold tickled twine and Matheson Iacopelli put three in for the hat trick, two of which came on the power play.
