Derek Edwardson’s 10th goal of the season at 18:31 of the third period broke a deadlock to give Miami a 2-1 win in hostile territory over intrastate rival Ohio State, but Mike Betz’s postgame summation stole the show.
“I don’t get a chance to see who’s having a good game out there and who’s not, minute to minute, but I wish I did, because I’d point them out to you,” said the Buckeye senior goaltender.
“We have four captains, and they’re not doing that.”
After Betz said that his frustration “from one to 10” was “maybe 11,” he let loose a list of reasons why the Buckeyes lost.
“Not preparing all week. Not having the right attitude. Not having the championship attitude. Having guys on the team that won’t hold themselves accountable. Guys that only show up for half of a game. Not taking advantage of a team that might have been a little bit rusty taking a week off.”
His coach, John Markell, summed OSU’s play in similar fashion.
“We did not play with edge. Miami did, took advantage of their opportunities, and we basically had too many guys take a night off.
“I was upset after the first period. You get outshot 16-6 in your home building and you’re trying to defend your home. … I still thought we had opportunities. Give [Miami goaltender Brandon] Crawford-West congratulations. He played well. So did Mike Betz.”
For his part, Miami head coach Enrico Blasi saw the game for what it was: an unbalanced effort by two evenly-matched teams.
“I thought in the first period we played pretty well,” said Blasi. “The second period, they took it to us a little bit, but in the third, they had some chances and we had some chances. It really came down to an overtime goal. That’s what that was.”
Todd Grant capitalized on the Miami power play early in the first to give the RedHawks a 1-0 lead, beating OSU goaltender Mike Betz backdoor at 4:01. Edwardson and Marty Guerin picked up the assists.
Rod Pelley tied it for the Buckeyes at 3:09 in the second, even strength, poking the puck from underneath Crawford-West’s glove, a second-effort goal on Bryce Anderson’s rebound.
Crawford-West and the rest of the RedHawks earned their keep through the remainder of the second, down two men for a significant period of time. Taylor Hustead went out in the first, aggravating an existing injury, and Matt Davis was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for checking from behind at 11:01.
Killing that penalty was “important for the psyche” of the RedHawks, said Blasi. “It was 1-1 going into the third, right there where you want to be on the road with the best team in our league.”
In the end, it was Edwardson from Ben Tharp and Guerin for the game-winner.
“I was breaking to the net,” said Edwardson. “Tharp here laid one out, I got lucky and put it over his [Betz’s] shoulder.”
In spite of the lateness of the goal, Edwardson said that the RedHawks never felt the game was over until they heard the final buzzer. “It was still a minute and a half left. They have an explosive offense.”
Crawford-West had 32 saves in his third consecutive win. The freshman, who has been splitting time in net with classmate Steve Hartley, seems to be settling into the starting role for Miami.
“I think that Brandon has proven himself to be his number-one guy,” said Tharp. “That’s just my opinion. We feel comfortable with whoever is in the net.”
Miami went 1-for-7 on the power play to OSU’s 0-for-6.
The loss was the first for OSU in five games. Markell said that the Buckeyes are still learning how to live with success.
“I warn guys every week. Our 7-0 success in Bowling Green set us up for this tonight. Going from what we’ve done in the last six games to having one line [working] was a little bit shocking.
“It’s somewhat shocking and surprising because they didn’t play with maturity. They didn’t show their maturity.”
The Buckeyes (11-6-0, 8-4-0 CCHA) and RedHawks (9-6-2, 7-3-1 CCHA) meet again in Oxford’s Goggin Arena Saturday night. The puck drops at 7:35.
