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January 23rd, the Buckeyes traveled to the University of Buffalo
in Buffalo, NY
for a pair of games against the UB Bulls. Back in November, the two met at the 2009 ACHA Women's Division 1 Showcase in Wooster,Ohio with the Buckeyes prevailing by the score of 3-0. The
11th ranked Buckeyes looked to repeat that effort at the Coca Cola Center in New
York.
After a 5 hour trip, the Buckeyes came out slow, but opened up the scoring on a goal by number 20 Laura Buntemeyer,
assisted by Amanda Damrath and Amanda Schneider. The Bulls answerd just one minute, 30 seconds later on a power play goal by Tiffany Vinette
Assisted by Chelsea Eppolito with Amanda Robinson in the penalty box for High-Sticking.
UB then took a 2-1 lead 4 minutes into the second period after OhioState turned the puck over at their own blue line to UB’s Jennifer Hill who passed it to Tiffany Vinette for her
second goal of the night.
With 8:34 remaining in the second
period, Buckeye left winger Meredith Motz capitalized on a pass from Abby McAtee who was fed by Elizabeth Franke,
tying the game at 2-2.
Junior goaltender Allie Mackerty shut down the remainder of the game which saw the Buckeyes miss on numerous
scoring opportunities. With 1:33 remaining, Jaclyn Hepfinger was called for hooking, putting OhioState short-handed for the remainder of the game. As the Buckeyes had dominated the puck possession for most of the
game, they pressed the Bulls point players and Amanda Robinson knocked the puck free for a breakaway. She deked UB goalie, AJ Sliwinski
and wristed the puck into the net for the game-winning goal with just 14 seconds remaining.
“There
weren’t many shots by either team, but when you outshoot the opponent 2
to 1, you hope to come out on top," OSU coach John Damrath said
afterwards. “Robbie (Amanda Robinson)
made no mistake on it and I’m really happy for her. She’s extremely
hard-working and it’s nice to see her succeed.”
Unfortunately, Sunday’s game saw the Buckeyes spot the Bulls two goals in the first period and another at 7:57
of the 2nd period, giving Buffalo
a 3-0 lead on only 10 shots. Lindsey Roshon was replaced in goal by
Allie Mackerty as the Buckeyes tried mixing up the line-up. Though OhioState managed several good scoring chances, they could not get one past Bulls goaltender, AJ Sliwinski
and the period ended with Ohio State
trailing 3-0.
The Buckeyes overpowered Buffalo
again in the third period and were finally rewarded when Meredith Motz
scored with a wrist shot, assisted by Jaclyn Hepfinger and Abby McAtee
at 11:22.
Ohio
State continued to dominate the period with scoring chances, though
Buckeye goalie Allie Mackerty came up with a big breakaway save,
preventing the game from getting out of reach.
At 15:42,
Senior
Amanda Keeton scored on a play assisted by Jennifer Brannon and Emily
Moersdorf, making it 3-2. With time running down quickly, OhioState pulled goalie Mackerty for a sixth attacker in an effort to tie the game. The Buckeyes
managed several chances, coming close to scoring, but time expired handing Ohio State
its 8th loss of the season.
The loss brings OhioState’s record to 5-8-1.
Regarding the Buckeyes 3rd
period rally, Coach Damrath remarked, “Between periods, we just decided
we could come
back. We just ran out of time. I thought our forwards played extremely
well, getting quality chances. We needed a bounce, or two to go our
way.”
The Buckeyes will again be on the road in two weeks (Feb 6 & 7) at #3 MichiganState for a pair of games. Both games are Noon EST starts at Munn Arena.
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