BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The relentless forecheck, accompanied by shutdown defense and unstoppable breakouts, brings the Buckeyes one game closer to a Frozen Four appearance.
“First and foremost, I’m just really proud of my group,” head coach Steve Rohlik said. “We played a really good hockey team there tonight, and we were just relentless, and they believed, and when you put that stuff together, it’s pretty powerful.”
Ohio State dominated from the first puck drop, scoring within the first four minutes to begin its takeover. Cam Thiesing perfectly placed a snap shot over the glove of Mitchell Gibson.
Despite several high-danger chances for the Buckeyes, including a shot that rang off both posts before findings its way underneath Harvard goalie Mitchell Gibson’s pads, the second Ohio State goal didn’t occur until the last 90 seconds of the period.
Cole McWard shifted his weight along the blue line to create room to rip a shot, and it found its way past Gibson. Harvard head coach Ted Donato challenged the goal for goaltender interference, but the officials deemed it a good goal.
“We’ve been able to come back a couple times this year, and like coach said, they did their job,” said Harvard’s John Farinacci, who had the only goal of the night for the Crimson late in the third period. “They’re up two and didn’t give us much chance to kind of get back in. There are some things we could’ve done better, but all the credit goes to them.”
The first period ended with the Buckeyes leading the shot department 17-3, but that was only the start.
“Everything was clicking,” said Ohio State captain, Jake Wise. “I think we all know that when we play like that, it doesn’t really matter who we play. We’re still confident that we could play and even dominate teams.”
Ohio State opened the second frame with a bang, scoring less than four minutes in as Wise wrapped around Gibson, sliding the puck to Gustaf Westlund for the tap-in. Westlund, who hadn’t played since Oct. 14 because of an injury, finished the game with a goal and two assists.
“There [were] a lot of tears four-and-a-half, five months ago,” Rohlik said. “He came back for his fifth year and, as a captain, obviously a very good player. It says a lot about our team to continue to move forward. He didn’t miss meetings. He didn’t miss video. He didn’t miss practice. He worked really hard to be in this position tonight, which we didn’t think could be possible, and [I’m] just really proud of him.”
Six seconds later, Thiesing netted his second by securing the faceoff, storming into the Harvard zone and beating Gibson blocker high on the backhand.
Mason Lohrei and Joe Dunlap each redirected shots into the net, adding two more goals to the Ohio State lead.
McWard notched his second goal of the game on the power play before the end of the second to extend the Ohio State lead to seven.
Just 70 seconds into the final period, Patrick Guzzo put the Buckeyes up 8-0.
“It’s a career-ending loss,” Farinacci said. “That was probably the worst loss I’ve had in my hockey career so far, and you know, not one that I’m necessarily used to being down that many goals. It’s a tough one.”
Harvard did manage to nullify the shutout, as Farinacci chipped one over Jakub Dobes.
“This is a really special group,” Donato said. “Coaches say that kind of thing normally, but I think this group it’s probably as close a group as I’ve been able to be around as a coach.”
Ohio State is set to take on Quinnipiac on Sunday, March 26, at 4 p.m., with the winning team securing a spot in the Frozen Four.
