Time to split

It seems everyone split their series this weekend.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Went 1-1 dropping their game in Pittsburgh but storming back to claim an unlikely victory, with unlikely heroes, on Saturday against the NHL's 2nd best squad in San Jose.

Syracuse Crunch
This weekend marked the return of Nikita Filatov to the lineup. It certainly has been a while for this kid as he's battled a "lower body injury" and apparently some flu.

On Friday the Crunch dropped a 3-2 decision to the Lake Erie Monsters. Derek MacKenzie and Aaron Rome collected the assists. Filatov finished with no points, a -2 and drew two penalties.

On Saturday the Crunch looked to get back in the win column against the Toronto Marlies... and win they did by a final of 4-1. Unlike the previous night Filatov did get on the board with a goal as did fellow Russian rookie Maksim Mayorov who collected a goal and an assist. What impressed me more is that goaltender Dahm made 42 stops on 43 shots. The Crunch managed just 14 shots the entire game but made them count.

The Crunch now sit 5th in the North Division with a 24-21-3-2 record.

Mike York continues to lead them in scoring with 34 points in 47 games. Derek MacKenzie is quickly closing the game though with 27 points in just 34 games. Mayorov leads in rookie scoring with 21 points in 43 games.

Hockey Buckeyes
It was a big weekend for the Ohio State Men's hockey team as they took on #2 ranked Notre Dame on Friday and Sunday.

Unfortunately things did not start off well on Friday as the Buckeyes blew a 4-3 with just a second remaining in regulation as Notre Dame tied it and then went on to win in OT.

Zac Dalpe's comments on the game:
On the team after the game
"It was silence. Everyone was speechless. Tomorrow is a new day and tonight just wasn't our night. At times the game got away from us. It was a good effort and we can draw some positives from the loss."

On returning after an injury
"It felt good. It took a minute to get my lungs back. I kept it simple. My linemates helped me. It was an emotional loss, but Sunday we'll come out ready to play."

On the crowd
"I've been here for a year and it was the largest crowd I've ever seen. It helps. They definitely get the blood pumping. "

On Sunday things looked a lot brighter as the Buckeye's rode Dalpe's 3 assists and John Albert's goal and 2 helpers to a 4-1 win over the Irish.

Heck I'm just going to let the video they have posted on their site do the talkin on this one:



The win moves the Buckeyes to 18-9-3 this year and is 11-8-3 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings, tied for fourth with Alaska, two points behind third-place Michigan.

Not to be missed was that both games drew crowds of over 6 thousand which is an excellent turnout for college hockey -- well done Columbus!

-LTL