OSU men's hockey team eliminated from the CCHA tourney

The OSU men's hockey team lost a heart breaker in the final seconds of the 3rd and deciding game in the 2nd round of the CCHA tournament.

From their web site:

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Ohio State and Alaska were scoreless through more than 59 minutes but Alaska’s Ron Meyers scored at 19:10 of the third period to lift the Nanooks to a 1-0 win over the Buckeyes in game three of the CCHA quarterfinal series Sunday in the Carlson Center. The Nanooks (17-13-6) advance to face Michigan in the CCHA semifinals next weekend. Ohio State (23-14-4) is eliminated from the CCHA tournament.

The winner of the tourney get an automatic bid in the the NCAA Frozen Four tournament. Ohio State, who is considered a bubble team, will likely miss out on its chance to get to its 6th Frozen Four appearance with this 2nd round loss.

I'm sure they are all asking themselves a lot of "what ifs" this morning. What if we hadn't allowed #2 ranked Notre Dame to tie the score with 1 second remaining in regulation and then go on to lose in OT? What if we could have won at least a game against unranked Michigan State down the stretch?

Regardless of if they make it or not this team has nothing to hang their heads over. This team is primarily a collection of freshmen and sophomores and nobody picked these guys to do anything this year. They came out and made a statement and this will be a team to watch closely over the next couple years.

Speaking of Ohio State. Michael Arace has an excellent blog entry about the Jackets game ops staff forcefully and needlessly incorporating Buckeye traditions into a Jackets game:

At this stage, the Jackets have their own identity, their own fans and their own budding traditions. Granted, there is no reason for the Jackets to alienate themselves from the great state university. But nor is there a reason to intrinsically tie themselves to the Buckeyes. The NHL can stand on its own two feet in Columbus.

Ohio State has a long and glorious football tradition and it is part and parcel of Columbus’ identity. But Columbus is no longer a university, a state house and a cornfield. It outgrew that picture decades ago. The Jackets are a piece of a bigger, more diverse city, and they can concentrate on hockey. Throw the OSU score up on the Jumbotron, fine, but don’t go overboard – and at least get the score right. In actuality, Purdue had a lead on Ohio State for most of the second half, and the Boilermakers won the game, 65-61.

Well said Mr. Arace.

My stance... respect it but don't kiss its ass.

-LTL