Ten months ago, Ohio State came to Denver and surprised the Pioneers with a 5-0 first quarter scoring run at the NCAA quarterfinals. DU responded with a 5-0 run of their own and went on to win the game and advance, 15-13, to the Final Four and become eventual national champions.

Ohio State rolled into Denver Saturday afternoon with a chance to exact revenge. They hung close the first half, again, as both teams played stifling defense but DU’s offense got untracked in the second half. DU coasted to the 15-6 victory at Peter Barton Stadium.

Ohio State drew first blood at 13:51 of the first quarter to make it 1-0. DU eventually tied the contest at 2-2 at 13:02 of the first quarter when Colton Jackson scored a goal for the Pios. Two and a half minutes later, Connor Cannizzaro  gave DU a 3-2 lead – DU would never trail again in the contest. A tight first half contest ended with DU holding a 5-2 advantage.

After half, OSU opened with a couple of quick goals to make it 5-4. Jack Bobzien countered the Buckeye surge by penetrating the Buckeyes interior defense at 6:45 of the third period to make it 6-4, DU. OSU countered after Trevor Baptise won a faceoff and missed his shot –  they quickly counter attacked the length of the field and scored to make it 6-5.

At that point, the offense began to click for the Pios. DU reeled off three straight goals to create some breathing room and a 9-5 advantage. The first was a  Zach Miller to Connor Cannizzaro goal. The second was a Jack Bobzien back door dunk assisted by Zach Miller. The third dagger was a beautiful faceoff fast break goal from by Jack Bobzien, assisted by Trevor Baptiste.

The play of the day occurred when Trevor Baptiste was exiting the field after a faceoff. As he approached the sideline, a Buckeye sub was entering the field in his path. Like a good free safety, a charging Trevor Baptiste lit him up. The hit could be heard at The Stadium Inn on Evans Avenue as the Buckeye crumpled to the ground and his stick went flying. Buckeye coaches went crazy but no flag – both players had the same right to the space. The Peter Barton home crowd was buzzing.

At that point, the Pioneers took full control.

Zach Miller made it 10-6 on an unassisted goal. Colin Wolfred took DU’s advantage to 11-6. A Tyler Pace to Connor Cannazaro missile settled into the upper left corner of the goal to make it 12-6. Brendan Bomberry took a sweet fast break pass from Chris Hampton to make it 13-6. Senior Chris Hampton took possession of the ball following a Denver faceoff win and assisted Bomberry with 5:05 to go. Marano closed out the scoring for the Pioneers, assisting goals by Bomberry and sophomore Jeremy Bosher.  The game ended with DU running out the clock, 15-6 Pioneers.

Jack Bobzine and Connor Cannazarro both ended up with three goals apiece. DU extended their winning streak to 20 games. Trevor Baptiste won 15 of 23 faceoffs. DU’s Alex Ready finished the game with 6 saves and David Windsor had one save on a smothering DU defense.

The next contest for the men is Saturday, March 27th at 11:00 am MT vs. Penn State in Dallas, Texas.