Ohio State and Minnesota locked horns in another thrilling hockey game tonight. The teams battled back and forth, trading leads. Ultimately 60 minutes weren’t enough to decide a victor.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | ot | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
The teams picked up right where they left off last night. Within the first two minutes Minnesota had a lead. Fallen Buckeye defenders and a clogged crease provided an easy goal for Tyler Sheehy.
Ohio State slowly climbed back into the game. The Bucks held the Gophers to that single goal during the first period. Then, in the early minutes of the second, Drew Brevig pulled the Scarlet and Gray even. The blue-liner took advantage of a retreating Minnesota defense and buried his first goal of the season.
A few minutes later Josh Healey put the Buckeyes ahead. The goal came on the Josh Healey-est of shifts. The junior defenseman blew up Minnesota’s leading scorer, Leon Bristedt, with an open ice hit. Then, taking a pass from hard working Nick Schilkey and Luke Stork, Healey slung the puck past Schierhorn.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1:24 | Drew Brevig (Mason Jobst, Sasha Larocque) |
| 2 | 4:34 | Josh Healey (Luke Stork, Nick Schilkey) |
| 3 | 13:14 | Mason Jobst (Luke Stork, Josh Healey) |
| 3 | 19:33 | PP-EA Anthony Greco (Drew Brevig, Dave Gust) |
The Buckeyes could not make the lead stick. Before the end of the frame Justin Kloos got loose behind the OSU defense and picked the corner on Christian Frey. The teams were all square headed to the final period.
At the outset things looked bad for Ohio State. Minnesota reeled off another two scores just over a minute apart. The Buckeyes looked defeated until secret weapon Healey struck again.
The Hurt-a from Alberta carried the puck to the net, confounding the Gopher defense with his offensive engagement. (Or so I assume.) This allowed Mason Jobst time to circle the net and bank the puck in off a Minnesota defender’s skate.
Now trailing by a single goal, the Bucks (well, aside from Brendon Kearney) caught a lucky break when Ryan Collins was whistled for a boarding major. For four minutes the Scarlet and Gray tried to work the puck around to the stick side of Schierhorn only to be foiled by the netminder and defenseman Steve Johnson. But in the final minute Ohio State finally got the look it wanted. Captain Anthony Greco didn’t miss, knotting the score and forcing overtime.
For the second consecutive night Minnesota and Ohio State needed bonus hockey to decide the game. For the second consecutive night the Gophers netted the game winner. Frey gave a valiant effort as they swarmed the net but he needed some defensive support to fend off the horde and he didn’t get it. Bristedt finally poked the puck past a flailing Frey.
This was a weird series for Ohio State. I think they actually played better last night, though that blown lead was more egregious. For better or worse I suspect this back and forth action, narrow margin of victory type of game will be the norm in the Big Ten this season. While those games make for thrilling victories, they’re extra lousy defeats.
The Buckeyes have a few weeks off now for the holiday break. They return to action in the Florida College Classic where they'll face No. 2 Boston College on Monday following Christmas. Depending on the outcome of that contest they play either No. 1 Providence or No. 15 Cornell on Tuesday.
- Other Big Ten results: Penn State completes the sweep of Michigan State with a 6-1 win while Michigan tops Wisconsin in wild one, a 6-6 tie with the shootout victory going to the Wolverines.
