Last Friday night Ohio State hockey rallied to defeat No. 6 Michigan. The Wolverines tried to flip the script on the hockey Bucks on Sunday. They erased an early deficit and forced overtime. But OSU’s leading scorer Nick Schilkey had the last laugh in extra time.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Michigan | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Ohio State | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
The first period of the tilt was all Ohio State as the Buckeyes outshot Michigan 10-5 and potted three goals. Dakota Joshua led off the scoring with a power play tally. When his pass attempt was knocked aside by the Michigan defender, the freshman collected the puck and beat Wolverine netminder Steve Racine himself.
Brendon Kearney pinballed a shot off the post, off Racine, and into the net to extend the Bucks’ lead. Nick Schilkey added a third score, cleanly targeting the top corner. Ohio State’s three goals came in the team’s first six shots on goal.
Zach Werenski put Michigan on the board at 15:59 of the second period. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect took advantage of a power play opportunity to fire into traffic. Buckeye goalie Matt Tomkins, making his thirteenth start of the season, had little chance at stopping the heavily screened shot.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10:15 | PP - Dakota Joshua (Drew Brevig) |
| 1 | 15:45 | Brendon Kearney (Craig Dalrymple, Tommy Parran) |
| 1 | 17:06 | Nick Schilkey (Matt Weis, Freddy Gerard) |
| 2 | 10:14 | Mason Jobst (Dakota Joshua, Anthony Greco) |
| 2 | 13:11 | Craig Dalrymple (Nick Schilkey) |
| 4 | 2:54 | Nick Schilkey (Drew Brevig) |
Ohio State regained control with a pair of goals three minutes apart. Mason Jobst exploited soft defense by the Wolverines, lifting the puck over a fallen Racine. Then Craig Dalrymple’s bomb made the score 5-1 Buckeyes.
The Bucks saw their lead shrink dramatically in the final minute of the period. Everyone’s favorite pugilist, Cutler Martin, stuffed the puck past Tomkins with 45 seconds to play. Josh Healey was whistled for hooking on the goal. On Michigan’s ensuing power play Tony Calderone netted his third tally of the series and cut OSU’s lead to just 5-3.
The teams skated through ten tense minutes of the third period. Then Werenski struck again. The blueliner netted a second power play marker in much the same manner as his first. Cooper Marody erased Ohio State's lead completely with less than five minutes to play, capitalizing on a Buckeye turnover.
Justin Selman appeared to give Michigan the lead at the 17:56 mark, swatting the puck in out of midair. The officials waved the goal off. After a lengthy review, the call on the ice stood. An illegal hit by Alex Kile meant Ohio State closed out regulation time on the power play. The Bucks couldn’t find the game winner, though, and the game headed to overtime.
Midway through the extra session, with the teams skating 4-on-4, Nick Schilkey slipped behind the Michigan defense and sped in on a breakaway. Racine fended off Schilkey’s initial shot, but the Buckeye sniper stuck with the play. He beat Racine to the loose puck and deposited his team-leading nineteenth tally of the season to secure a 6-5 OSU victory.
With the win Ohio State moves to 12-17-3 overall and 7-8-3-1 in the Big Ten. This is the first Buckeye sweep of Michigan since 2011 and the first time OSU has claimed victory in the teams’ regular season conference series since the 1998-99 campaign. Matt Tomkins made 26 saves to earn his fifth win of the season. Four of the Bucks' six goals were scored by Michigan natives (Joshua, Kearney, and Schilkey's two).
The Buckeyes close out the regular season next week with a road trip to Michigan State. Games are scheduled for 7pm ET starts on both Friday and Saturday.
WATCH: Highlights from the Buckeyes' victory over UM, including the OT winner. #GoBucks https://t.co/weNjCQJe6y
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 7, 2016
Big Ten Hockey Update
It was splitskies in both of the B1G’s other series this week as Friday’s losers emerged victorious on Saturday. Michigan State shut out Minnesota by a final score of 5-0. Wisconsin held off Penn State for a 4-3 win. The Big Ten Hockey standings with two games remaining in the regular season are as follows: Minnesota, 39 points; Michigan, 35; Penn State, 32; Ohio State, 25; Michigan State, 19; Wisconsin, 12.
