Wolverines drop 2-1 decision to Buckeyes

By Michael Caples –

ANN ARBOR – Sometimes, one bad bounce is all that is needed to decide a hockey game.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines, they were on the wrong side of the “puck luck” Friday night.

At the 7:53 mark of the third period, Buckeyes freshman forward Darik Angeli took a shot towards the Wolverines’ net from along the goal line.  The puck hit Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick’s leg, bounced between his legs, and slid into the net.

The goal broke a 1-1 tie, and the No. 14 Buckeyes held on for the final 12 minutes to post a 2-1 win over No. 7 Michigan at Yost Ice Arena Friday night. The win bumps OSU’s record to 9-3-1 (6-2-1-1 in the CCHA), and Michigan’s down to 7-4-2 (3-4-2-1 in the CCHA).

“Well we knew it would be a close game and goals were precious,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “Getting the first goal was huge and giving up that late goal was disappointing and then the third goal was a tough goal to give up. It was an unearned goal, but they all count. We just couldn’t respond, we hit the post; we had a couple of good chances. It was a hard fought game that could have went either way, but it went the other way.”

Sophomore defenseman Mac Bennett gave the Wolverines the first lead at 15:26 of the first period, firing a one-timer from the top of the circle into the top-right corner of the Buckeyes’ goal. Chris Brown and Travis Lynch recorded the assists on the play.

However, the Buckeyes managed to tie it up just two minutes later, with Angeli recording his first goal of the night. The freshman forward managed to beat Hunwick on a rebound try.

The teams played to a scoreless second period, and Angeli’s strange goal in the third was just enough for the Buckeyes.

Michigan was 0-4 on their power-play opportunities, including a five-minute major opportunity halfway through the second. Yet Berenson said he saw good things from his team on special teams.

“I thought we had some good offensive puck control on the power play,” Berenson said. “[Chris] Brown had a great chance and [Phil] Di Giuseppe had a great chance. We had some chances, and I thought the penalty was better. But tomorrow night is another game. The tough thing is when you think you did some good things in the game and you still end up losing the game.”