(Photo Credit: Kelsey Lee- Denver Athletics)

Coming into this game, we knew both Denver and Ohio State played a similar type of game. Both teams are structured and do not break ranks in their own end very often. The winner of this one was going to need not to out shoot their opponent as Ohio State did 24-13, but to capitalize on the rare occurrences of bad play in their opponent’s defensive zone. In addition, that team would need perfection in net. Denver got all of that tonight as Filip Larsson,once again, stole a game from a team that did nearly everything better than Denver but put pucks behind him.

On the evening Larsson finished with 24 saves with half of those coming in a frantic first period. In that period and for the majority of the second, the Buckeyes controlled the pace of play and looked to slow down the Pioneers. He utilized his calm demeanor and style to keep the Pioneers tied with the Buckeyes, the moment was never too big for him and he was composed all game.

The game remained tied until the 19:20 mark of the second period. Senior graduate transfer defender Les Lancaster found a rare opening and walked into the void. He took a feed from Emilio Pettersen and lasered a perfect shot through the five-hole of otherwise perfect Ohio State netminder Tommy Nappier. That was arguably the best chance Denver had all day and they capitalized on it.

Throughout the third period, Ohio State threw everything it had at Larsson, not much got through as he only had to make five saves. Denver’s only shot on net came with Nappier pulled for an extra attacker Colin Staub found the back of the net to provide the 2-0 margin of victory with 58 seconds left.

To prepare for tomorrow, Denver needs to improve in its faceoffs. Tonight the Pioneers played defense a lot as they won only 14 puck drops on the evening. The Buckeyes won the other 37. Liam Finlay noted that Denver’s wingers need to help out their centers to win a few more draws tomorrow. If the Pioneers can do that, they will not have to chase as much of the game, and Larsson will not need to make as many grade-a saves as he did today.