After defeating Boston (8-6) for the second time in three weeks, Ohio (9-5) will ride a three game winning streak into the playoffs as the Machine beat the Cannons 17-16 on Saturday night in front of 2,731 fans at Selby Stadium in Delaware, Ohio.
Five goals from five different Ohio players put the Machine up 5-3 after 15 minutes of play.
Ohio’s Marcus Holman, along with Boston’s Joe Nardella and John Glesener, all tallied two goals in the second frame.
Both Holman and Glesener carried hat tricks in their back pockets as the game was tied 9-9 at halftime.
The Glesener train continued to roll into the third quarter as he opened up the scoring to give the Cannons the lead at the 2:32 mark.
The former Army Black Knight led all scorers with five goals, two of which were two-pointers, and he added an assist as well to cap off an eight point night.
The third quarter proved to be a stalemate with each team scoring three times, and the two teams were knotted up at 12 entering the fourth quarter.
Ohio’s Jimmy Bitter scored a hat trick goal, and Steele Stanwick added on another as the Machine hopped out to a 14-12 advantage after the first 3:30.
Boston would respond with two goals of their own, one being a two-pointer by Glesener and the other by Kevin Buchanan to take a 15-14 lead.
Ohio’s Tom Schreiber and Buchanan would trade goals, and Schreiber would power home another goal at the 12:59 mark to tie the game at 16.
With 1:26 left in the game, Stanwick took a feed from Jimmy Bitter, zipping the ball past Adam Ghitelman for his fourth goal of the night, sealing the win and more importantly, the second seed in the playoffs for the Machine.
Stanwick’s four goals were complimented by four assists. His 30 assists this season ties him with his teammate in Schreiber and New York’s Rob Pannell for the league lead.
Ghitelman made 19 saves on 36 shots as he was pelted pretty consistently throughout the evening.
Ohio’s Brian Phipps brought his A game once again, stopping 15 of 29 shots sent his way.
When it came to the faceoff battle, Boston’s Joe Nardella held the edge over Greg Puskuldjian. The former Rutgers standout won 21-35 draws.
The most telling stat of the night came in the special teams department, as Boston’s inability to convert on the power-play was their downfall. The Cannons went 1-7 with their man-up opportunities.
Ohio will now get set to host its first playoff game ever as they take on Rochester at Selby Stadium.
Boston will travel to New York to take on the first-seeded Lizards in their playoff contest.
Both games are next Saturday, with the Ohio-Rochester matchup beginning at 4 p.m. and the New York-Boston contest set for a 6:30 opening faceoff.
