BY: Drew Camposano, Howlings
BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Ohio State Buckeyes not only upset the second-seeded Harvard Crimson but pounded them with an 8-1 win in the semi-final of the NCAA tournament game at Total Mortgage Arena on Friday.
Jake Wise led the Buckeyes (21-15-3) attack with a massive four points, while Gustaf Westlund, Mason Lohrei, and Cam Thiesing each had three points in the shellacking of the Crimson, who finished the season with a record of 24-9-2.
Ohio State will face Quinnipiac in the NCAA Regional Final on Sunday with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line. ESPN2 will televise the game on WatchESPN.
Ohio State dominated from the start scoring the game’s first of a Buckeye school record, eight goals, at 3:22 of the first period, with Thiesing putting it past Crimson’s goaltender Mitchell Gibson. Westlund and Wise got the helpers. The Buckeyes would tally the game-winner with just 1:36 left in the first when Cole McWard scored his first of two goals in the game.
The Buckeyes ran Ted Donato’s team out of the building in the second period. Donato played 796 NHL games, including nine years with the Boston Bruins, two with the New York Islanders, and one with the New York Rangers. They would break the game open with two goals six seconds apart at 3:44 by Westlund and Thiesing tallying his second at 3:50. They were followed by Lohrei (8:24), Dunlap (15:08) and McWard’s second (16:59). The second period came to a close with the Buckeyes leading 7-0.
Donato changed his goaltender to Derek Mullahy. However, Ohio State kept pouring it on as Dunlap sent a beautiful pass across the crease to Patrick Guzzo for the eighth and final goal of the game for the Buckeyes.
The frustration for Harvard became apparent as the game became chippy, with players talking after the whistles and some pushing and shoving.
Harvard avoided the shutout at 16:46 of the third frame when Dunlap was called for tripping and put the Crimson on the power play. They took advantage of that opportunity. John Farinacci took a pass from Sean Farrell and buried it past Jakub Dobes to bring the final score to 8-1.
