Begrüssungsthread » strong with the puck

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It was the substitutes turn to step into the spotlight for No. 3 Ohio State. Amedeo Della Valle had 15 points, Marc Loving scored a career-high 13 and the bench provided 38 points as the Buckeyes sprinted past Nebraska 84-53 on Saturday. "We just try to bring a lot of energy," said Loving, a freshman forward. "We feel like our energy off the bench can affect the game in a major way, whether its scoring or rebounding or, like today, Amedeo had a lot of deflections on defence. That added a little extra spark to the game and really got us going." Coach Thad Matta has had several teams that he seldom relied on more than six or seven players. This year he has gone with nine players, all of whom have contributed. "I like this group," Matta said of his second unit. "Because the big thing that you want as a coach is guys to understand what theyre supposed to do when they go in. I think they saw today that maybe we werent as focused as we needed to be in a couple of areas and they brought that to the table." The starters also carried their end of the load. LaQuinton Ross scored 11 points, including two critical 3-pointers as the Buckeyes (15-0, 2-0 Big Ten) pulled away early in the second half. Shannon Scott had 13 and Amir Williams chipped in with 10 points for Ohio State, which shot 54 per cent from the field (27 of 50) and 47 per cent on 3-pointers (9 of 19). A blend of starters and bench players fueled a 7-0 run to close out the half that gave the Buckeyes a 10-point lead. After the lead had swelled, Nebraska (8-6, 0-2) failed to hit a field goal over the last 8 minutes. Della Valle, a native of Italy, helped turn the tide in the final 100 seconds of the first half with a tip-in. He also made plays that led to turnovers as the Buckeyes pulled away. Shavon Shields slashed across the lane and tossed up a shot that cut Ohio States lead to 33-30 with 2:29 remaining. But the Buckeyes defence turned up the pressure. Aaron Craft got things going with a 3 from the right wing at the 1:17 mark -- his first made 3-pointer in four games -- before Scotts deflection and steal led to Della Valle tipping in Scotts missed layup. Ohio State blocked Nebraskas final two shots of the half -- both by David Rivers -- with Trey McDonald batting away the first and Sam Thompson the second. Thompson was then fouled with 2.7 seconds left and hit both free throws to make it 40-30. "I think it was huge going into the half knowing we had a 10-point lead, especially playing the last 4 minutes with that energy compared to the first 4 or 5 minutes (of the game) when we didnt have that energy," he said. "And that led to a great start of the second half." The Buckeyes, leading the Big Ten in scoring defence at 55.1 points a game, limited the Cornhuskers to 38 per cent shooting from the field (21 of 56) while forcing 17 turnovers. Terran Petteway scored 15 points and Leslee Smith had 11 for the Cornhuskers, who have lost 20 consecutive road games to ranked teams since beating No. 22 Texas A&M on Feb. 23, 2008. "I thought Ohio State came out with better pace on offence in the second half," Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. "(Ross) made the consecutive 3s. When we let them go 9 for 19 from 3, youve got a problem on your hands with Ohio State." It was a last tuneup before the biggest test of the season for the Buckeyes, at No. 5 Michigan State on Tuesday night. "Collectively we have a very good mindset going into our next game," Loving said. "Michigan States a very tough team." Matta said he was pleased that the Buckeyes had opened with two victories in the Big Ten to add lustre to the showdown. They won 78-69 before a loud, hostile crowd at Purdue on Tuesday. "Most importantly, we took care of what we needed to do," Matta said. "Tuesdays environment over there in West Lafayette was probably very, very similar to what were going to see on Tuesday night (at Michigan State). Our guys have a great appreciation for how good Michigan State is. Weve got a couple of days here where we have to get ourselves ready." Sports Jerseys Sale .com) - Jimmie Johnson won Sundays AAA Texas 500 while championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski as well as their teams were involved in a post-race fight on pit road after the two clashed in the closing laps at Texas Motor Speedway. 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MONTREAL -- Rookie Matt Fraser got to live a dream he had many times while growing up in Red Deer, Alta. Fraser, called up Wednesday from AHL Providence and playing his first career NHL playoff game, scored 1:19 into overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Thursday night. The 23-year-old jumped into a scramble in front of goalie Carey Prices net and slid the puck under him into the net. "It was bouncing around and I was just swatting at it as hard as I could and hoping it would hit something," said Fraser. "Price is such a good goalie. He doesnt give out a lot of rebounds. I might have got lucky there, but the puck wound up in the back of the net. "Its something I dreamed about many times on the outdoor rinks growing up. Its every kids dream to score in overtime." Johnny Boychuks point shot had taken a high hop off the end boards and Price and defenceman Mike Weaver had trouble controlling the bouncing puck. "It came around on the other side and it bounced over my stick and I lost it," said Price. "Somebody yelled over, so I looked over my left shoulder. Obviously it wasnt there. Then they poked it in on the other side." The victory knotted the best-of-seven series at 2-2, and the Bruins took back home ice advantage heading into Game 5 on Saturday night in Boston. The Bruins outshot Montreal 34-33 in an intense, sometimes nervously played game that was less a goaltending duel between Price and Tuukka Rask as a match of determined, defensive teams. "We knew how tight this series would be," said Boston coach Claude Julien. "It doesnt mean any more than that weve tied the series. Its been tight every game. "It was important to get back in the series, but I dont think weve played our best hockey. Weve played hard, but Ive seen us play better. You hope the win here will help us get better and well go from there." Asked about Rasks play, Julien said: "He was good. We didnt give up three breakaways, that helped." They gave up a partial breakaway in the second period, but Brian Gionta could only shovel the puck at the net and Rask made the save. Canadiens coach Michel Therrien called it trench warfare. He found no fault with his side, either, except that they didnt get a puck past RRask.dddddddddddd "This was a hard-nosed game between two well-prepared teams," he said. "We lost a battle in front of the net on the winning goal, but Im pleased with our teams effort. "All the games have been close and it wont be different next game." There were 21 goals scored by both teams in the first three games, there had not been a period without a goal, but there was little room to move in this one. It marked the first time since 1935 that Boston won a playoff game 1-0 in OT and the first time Boston and Montreal went scoreless in regulation time in the playoffs since 1953, when Elmer Lach got the OT game-winner for the Canadiens. Bostons Carl Soderberg had the best chance in the final minute of the first frame after P.K. Subbans blind back pass was intercepted, but Price looked to get a piece of it as it went off the cross-bar. Another goal-less period followed as shooters misfired, particularly Max Pacioretty on a setup from Thomas Vanek, and both goalies held their ground. Each team went on the power play once, but even that failed to break the deadlock. The Canadiens went on the attack in the third, peppering the Boston net and outshooting the Bruins 14-7. But the Bruins got a power play and Reilly Smith hit a goalpost, only to see Brian Gionta stoned by Rask alone in front of the net at the other end a moment later. Then Fraser ended it in OT. "Words cant even describe that feeling," said Fraser. "I just watched the replay of it and I dont even want to begin to try to explain that because its something I wish that every kid could feel." Fraser skated on Bostons third line with Soderberg and Loui Eriksson and got 14:44 of ice time and two shots on goal. Julien liked what he saw. "It was no doubt a little nerve-wracking for him but to me it didnt show on the ice," said Julien. "He was poised, made some good decisions, he was strong with the puck and in his decision-making. "We were talking about him and I said hes been really good for us tonight and there was no doubt he was going to play in overtime." Notes: Fraser played in place of Jordan Caron. Matt Bartkowski stepped in on defence for Andrej Meszaros. . . Montreal made no changes. . . Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr attended the game. ' ' '