Celebrate the Legacy Team of the Week
December 12, 2012 10:15 AM
2004 CCHA Champion Ohio State Buckeyes
Led by senior forwards Paul Caponigri, Dave Steckel and Scott May, junior forward JB Bittner, sophomore forward Rod Pelley, senior defenseman Doug Andress, sophomore defenseman Nate Guenin, senior goaltender Mike Betz and sophomore goaltender Dave Caruso, Ohio State finished the 2011-12 regular season in fourth place (16-12-0) in the 12-team CCHA standings, six points behind first-place Michigan, five points behind second-place Miami and four points behind third-place Michigan State.
The John Markell-coached Buckeyes didn’t have a player on the CCHA All-League teams, but the veteran-laden squad got hot at the end of the season, winning six of their last nine regular-season games. Ohio State then swept ninth-seeded Bowling Green, 3-2 and 5-2, in a best-of-three first round playoff series to earn a trip to Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA Super 6. In the CCHA Quarterfinals, the Buckeyes defeated fifth-seeded Notre Dame, 6-5 in overtime, with Tyson Strachan scoring the overtime game winner and Matt Beaudoin leading the way with two goals and a career-best four points.
Against second-seeded Miami in the semifinals, the Buckeyes came from a goal down three times before Bittner scored the winner just 23 seconds into overtime to give Ohio State a 4-3 win and send the Buckeyes into the championship game for the first time since 1998. In the title game, the Buckeyes defeated two-time defending champion and top-seed Michigan, 4-2, to become the first school from outside the state of Michigan to win the league title since 1988. Caponigri received the Bill Beagan Trophy as the tournament’s MVP, while Andress, Pelley, Caruso and were named to the all-tournament team.
The Buckeyes lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, 1-0, to Wisconsin and ended the season 26-16-0, tying for the third-highest win total in program history. It marked the third 20-win season in a row, the first time the team had at least 20 wins in three consecutive years since 1979-81.
Individually, Andress picked up CCHA Best Defensive Defenseman honors, the first Buckeye to be so honored. Andress and Guenin were honorable mention All-CCHA selections, while Andrew Schembri was a league all-rookie team honorable mention pick. Betz set the program records for career saves (3,328) and career shutouts (11), while three Buckeyes broke the 100-point mark for their careers - Caponigri (132), May (117) and Steckel (105).
As part of the ‘Celebrate the Legacy’ final season, the CCHA is looking for all the players who have their name engraved on the Mason Cup, the CCHA’s playoff championship trophy.
We need your help!
Check out the roster of the 2004 Buckeyes’ championship team at CCHA.com as part of the CCHA’s ‘Search for Mason Cup Champions’ and call us (248-888-0600) or email us at: pcolvin@ccha.com, if you have an update about any of 2004 Buckeyes.
2003-04 Ohio State Buckeyes
Head Coach: John Markell
Associate Head Coach: Casey Jones
Assistant Coach: Steve Brent
Volunteer Assistant Coach: Kurt Brown
Bryce Anderson
Doug Andress
Dave Barton
Matt Beaudoin
Daymen Bencharski
Kenny Bernard
Mike Betz
JB Bittner
Paul Caponigri
Dave Caruso
Sean Collins
Nate Guenin
Kelly Holowaty
Dan Knapp
Scott May
Chris Olsgard
Rod Pelley
Andrew Schembri
Lee Spector
Dave Steckel
Tyson Strachan
Matt Waddell
Thomas Welsh
Reed Whiting