SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers were primed for an upset in a battle of two of the top contenders in the 2014 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title chase, but the fourth-ranked Denison Big Red were up to the task in claiming a hard-fought 14-8 road victory.
The loss snapped a modest four-game win streak for the Tigers, who fell to 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the NCAC. Denison remained on track for an unbeaten regular season, improving to 13-0 overall and 5-0 in the league with two games left before the conference tournament.
Denison steadily pulled away as the game went on, outscoring Wittenberg by a 4-2 margin in each of the first three periods. The Big Red pushed the lead to 14-6 before the Tigers scored the game's final two goals over the final 5:16.
Denison held a 34-25 advantage in shots in the game and picked up 23 more ground balls than the host Tigers. The biggest key to the game, however, was Denison's dominance in face-offs as the Big Red held a commanding 22-4 lead in the category.
In goal, junior Jay Dolan (Andover, Mass./Phillips Andover) made eight saves before giving way late in the third period to freshman Aaron Blossey (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River), who made two saves while playing the final 16:03.
The Tiger offense was led by sophomore brothers Andrew Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) and Thomas Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) as each scored two goals. Thomas Fuss added a pair of assists as well, while senior Jordan Shoger (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) chipped in with one goal and one assist, senior Jack Bornhofen (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh), junior Sean Kelleher (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and junior Zach Shy (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) scored one goal apiece and freshman David Strahm (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) rounded out the scoring with an assist.
The Tigers will celebrate their seniors before the final home game of the 2014 season against DePauw at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, and then round out the campaign with a road trip to Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, April 19.