Colorado Springs – Unlike the new NHL, college hockey still has 1-0 games.
A thrilling one-goal game took place Saturday night at the World Arena, where No. 6 Colorado College got the long-awaited first goal of the season from defending NCAA scoring champion and reigning Hobey Baker Award winner Marty Sertich to beat No. 5 Ohio State 1-0.
The Tigers (3-1) salvaged a nonleague split of the two-game series. The veteran Buckeyes (1-1), picked to win the Central Collegiate Hockey Association by the league’s coaches, won 4-2 Friday night.
“That’s as good of a team that you’re going to see come into this building this year,” CC coach Scott Owens said of Ohio State, which outshot the Tigers 60-48 for the series. “One of our goals was just to battle and compete more, and we did. We won a lot of little battles and played with desperation and urgency, and got a break or so and bounce or two and were able to win.”
Sertich led the country with 64 points as a junior last season and became CC’s second Hobey Baker winner in three years. But he only had two assists in his first three games as a senior and team captain.
“Finally, I got my first one this year,” said Sertich, who tapped in the puck off a Brett Sterling rebound amid a scrum atop the crease late in the first period. “I’ve been struggling a little bit. Maybe I just needed a garbage one to get me going.”
CC goalie Matt Zaba stopped 34 shots for his fourth career shutout. The junior withstood a litany of anxious moments, including six Ohio State power plays.
“This was a huge series for us, right off the bat,” Zaba said. “(Winning) is going to be big for us down the stretch with rankings and stuff, and we knew that. We came out hard – with a better effort than (Friday) night.”
Ohio State held a 34-23 shots advantage and controlled the tempo for much of the game.
“We’re disappointed with the loss,” Buckeyes coach John Markell said. “We had a chance to win two games this weekend. We held a good Colorado College team to one goal in their building, but we couldn’t get the puck by them. We needed a bounce and didn’t get it.
“But it was a good series. We wanted a series like this to prepare ourselves for conference play.”
Denver Post’s three stars
1. Matt Zaba. CC goalie stopped 34 shots for his fourth career shutout.
2. Marty Sertich. Second effort from the Tigers’ captain resulted in the game’s only goal.
3. Dave Caruso. Buckeyes senior goalie deserved a better result.
What you might have missed
Avalanche executive Michel Goulet was in the press box watching Ohio State sophomore Tom Fritsche, one of three NCAA forwards taken by Colorado in the top three rounds of this year’s NHL draft.
Next
Notre Dame, Friday at the World Arena.
Ohio State 0 0 0 – 0
Colorado College 1 0 0 – 1
First period – Colorado College, Sertich 1 (Sterling, Patrosso), 16:54. Penalties – Guenin, OSU (cross checking), 2:37; McCulloch, CC (cross checking), 2:37; Hood, OSU (cross checking), 6:21; Sertich, CC (hooking), 10:18; Kroll, OSU (roughing), 18:45; Patrosso, CC (roughing), 18:45; Straub, CC (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:40; Fritsche, OSU (tripping), 19:48.
Second period – No scoring. Penalties – Salcido, CC (tripping), 1:16; Bernard, OSU (interference), 3:30; Caruso, OSU (interference), 7:17; Patrosso, CC (high sticking), 14:44; Bernard, OSU (hooking), 15:01; Waddell, OSU (cross checking), 16:49.
Third period – No scoring. Penalties – Hillen, CC (interference), 2:18; Sterling, CC (interference), 5:18; Waddell, OSU (slashing), 5:18; Maiani, OSU (diving), 6:13; Hillen, CC (tripping), 6:13; Cox, CC (charging), 9:27.
Shots – OSU 14-11-9-34. CC 10-7-6-23.
Power plays – OSU 0 of 6. CC 0 of 5.
Goalies – OSU, Caruso (1-1) 23 shots-22 saves. CC, Zaba (3-1) 34 shots-34 saves.
A – 6,403.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
