Junior R.J. Umberger scored two goals and added two assists to lead Ohio State to a 6-2 victory over Waterloo in an exhibition game Friday at CoreComm Ice Haus. Junior Daymen Bencharski had a goal and two assists and freshman Dan Knapp recorded a goal and an assist in the victory.
The first period ended with the teams tied at one. Umberger opened the scoring with a power-play goal 8:46 into the game, assisted by Paul Caponigri and Bencharski. The Warriors tied the game on a Nick Landry power-play marker at 12:42. OSU held a 9-8 edge in shots on goal in the period.
The Buckeyes shut out the Warriors in the second stanza, holding them to two shots on goal. The Buckeyes had 17 shots in the period. Dave Steckel added OSU’s second power-play goal of the game to put the Buckeyes in the lead for good at the 3:23 mark, assisted by Umberger and Bencharski. Freshmen Nate Guenin (assisted by Umberger and Knapp) and Knapp (with a helper from Miguel Lafleche) then scored back-to-back goals to put the Buckeyes up, 4-1.
The Warriors’ Richard Scott scored an unassisted shorthanded goal just 14 seconds into the third period to draw UW within two. Umberger, who scored on a deflection of a Scott Titus shot, and Bencharski closed out the scoring with tallies at 10:26 and 17:41, respectively, for the final 6-2 score. The Buckeyes outshot Waterloo, 17-3, in the third stanza.
For the game, OSU junior goalie Mike Betz played 48:45 and recorded nine saves. Freshman Dave Caruso finished the game, playing the last 11:15 and making two stops. Waterloo goalie Jeff Johnston had a solid game, posting 37 saves on 43 OSU shots.
The Buckeyes were 2-for-7 on the power play and held Waterloo to one goal on six chances with the extra skater.
Ohio State opens its regular season Saturday, Oct. 12, when it travels to St. Paul, Minn., to face defending NCAA champion Minnesota in the Hall of Fame Game in the Xcel Energy Center.
