By: Kalamazoo Gazette via MLive.com — KALAMAZOO — After dueling for 65 minutes Saturday night with Western Michigan University counterpart Riley Gill, Ohio State goaltender Dustin Carlson made the save of the game at Lawson Ice Arena.

Carlson’s pad save on Trevor Elias — the Broncos’ sixth shooter of the shootout — came on the heels of a goal by Peter Boyd and allowed the Buckeyes to escape Kalamazoo with the extra standings point in what is officially recognized as a 3-3 Central Collegiate Hockey Association tie.

Gill put on another stellar display between the pipes for WMU, stopping 34 of the 37 shots he faced heading into the shootout. Carlson matched Gill with 34 saves of his own.

“He’s been exceptional all year long,” WMU head coach Jim Culhane said about Gill.

Said Gill: “What can I say? I didn’t get it done. We’ve had trouble scoring goals all year and it showed again in the shootout. I put my best effort forward, but I guess it wasn’t enough.”

Skating with abundant energy, the Broncos sandwiched a pair of first-period goals around a power-play tally by the Buckeyes’ Sergio Somma.

Senior Cam Watson put the host Broncos on the scoreboard first, pushing the puck past Carlson just 3:39  into the contest.

Following the goal by Somma, the Broncos netted a power-play goal of their own on the second marker in as many nights by junior Max Campbell.

On the play, Campbell gained control of the puck to the left of Carlson, skated in and sent a low wrist shot that trickled through the netminder’s skates.

Gill kicked away 15 second-period shots by the Buckeyes, but the one that eluded him marked the lone goal of the middle stanza.

Skating on the power-play, OSU (12-15-5, 10-11-4-3 CCHA) penetrated deep in the Broncos zone, where Zac Dalpe’s wrist shot from between the circles was stopped by Gill. But Dalpe’s teammate, Hunter Bishop, played the puck off Gill’s pads and rifled the rubber into the net at the 9:03 mark.

Carlson was equal to the challenge of a dozen shots in the second period by the Broncos, setting the stage for an exciting third period.

Senior Jared Katz scored the go-ahead goal for the Broncos just 5 minutes, 12 seconds into the third period on a nifty pass from sophomore linemate Greg Squires.

“Squires made a great play,” Katz said. “I think he split like four guys, dished it off to me and I just tried to give it right back to him, because I saw him open,” Katz said. “The puck went off one of the Ohio State player’s sticks. I got lucky.”

The Broncos (8-18-6, 4-17-5-1) stymied three third-period power-play chances by the Buckeyes and were seemingly on their way to victory before Dalpe changed all that with 1:36 left.

“It’s just heart-breaking with a buck and a half to go that they were able to counter back on us and get the tying goal,” Culhane said. “We played hard.”

Dalpe took a pass from teammate Ian Boots and beat Gill to force a five-minute overtime period.

“He is a first-round draft choice of the Carolina Hurricanes and he was a difference-maker this weekend for the Buckeyes,” Culhane said about Dalpe, who scored two goals in Friday’s 3-1 win by OSU.

Prior to stopping Elias, Carlson thwarted Derek online meds without prescription Roehl, Campbell, J.J. Crew, Squires and Kyle O’Kane.

“It was a great effort (by Carlson),” OSU head coach John Markell said. “He came prepared to play and he did well in the shootout.”

Gill stymied Bishop, Dalpe, John Albert, Somma and Taylor Stefishen before Boyd wristed the puck past the WMU goaltender.

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