It wasn't pretty but the Hockey Bucks got the job done. With tonight's overtime victory over Michigan State, Ohio State clinched fourth place in the Big Ten and gave itself an opportunity to finish with a winning conference record. Here's how it went down.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | ot | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Michigan State | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
The Spartans controlled the opening period and took a 1-0 lead. Ohio State’s defenders were crossed up by Michigan State’s attack leaving Ryan Keller enough time and space to beat Christian Frey upstairs. The Bucks’ quality chances were limited in the first, though the stat sheet claims they outshot MSU 14-11. For the most part, the Spartans neutralized the Buckeyes’ speed and protected the ice around goalie Jake Hildebrand.
Michigan State continued its dogged offensive charge in the second period. The Spartans added two more goals. Both were easy rebound shots which bounced directly to MSU players. One caromed off Frey. One rang the post. Both ended up in the back of the net.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2:38 | Dave Gust (Nick Schilkey, John Wiitala) |
| 2 | 6:01 | Luke Stork (Dakota Joshua, Brendon Kearney) |
| 2 | 14:50 | Anthony Greco (Josh Healey, Tommy Parran) |
| 2 | 16:05 | Dave Gust (Drew Brevig, Kevin Miller) |
| 3 | 6:14 | Brendon Kearney (Dakota Joshua, Luke Stork) |
| 4 | 4:34 | Matt Weis (Nick Schilkey, Freddy Gerard) |
The middle frame was a productive one for the Bucks as well. Ohio State’s offense roared to life. Nick Schilkey set Dave Gust up with a surgically precise pass across the ice from deep in the corner. Luke Stork hustled after a loose puck, wrangled it in, and tucked it behind Hildebrand.
Anthony Greco knotted the score at 3-3, firing past a pile of Spartans in the crease. As Hildebrand was on the bottom of that pile, Michigan State protested the goal. However, after a brief review the refs upheld their original call.
Gust gave the Bucks their first lead of the game late in the period. Again the junior found some open ice near the net. He made quick work of another heads up pass, this one coming from blueliner Drew Brevig.
Michigan State worked hard to erase OSU’s advantage. Four minutes into the third period the Spartans succeeded. J.T. Stenglein poked another rebound past Frey.
But the Buckeye freshmen had an answer. Dakota Joshua got the puck to Brendon Kearney on the doorstep. The Northville, Michigan native stuffed his third goal in as many games.
Time wound down with Ohio State clinging to its one goal lead. Tom Anastos called Hildebrand off in favor of the extra attacker. The Buckeyes took a couple of shots at the empty net but couldn't ice the victory.
The Spartans stormed back up the ice and crashed the net hard. With just over a second left on the clock they appeared to jam the puck over the goal line. The officials signaled a goal. They reviewed the play, but did not reverse the call on the ice.
This did not prevent a Buckeye victory, only delayed it a little. Late in the overtime session Nick Schilkey slipped the MSU defense and put the puck on net. A hard charging Matt Weis followed up the shot and shoved it past Hildebrand for the game winning tally.
Highlights from the Buckeyes' 6-5 overtime win at Michigan State. #GoBucks https://t.co/jyaskQ8uy4
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 12, 2016
Shots in the game were dead even at 34 a side. Each team earned two power play opportunities. Neither scored with the man advantage.
This was not a particularly pretty outing for Ohio State. Michigan State dominated the faceoff circle and didn’t commit many egregious turnovers. Consequently the Buckeyes spent an awful lot of time and energy just trying to gain possession. But ultimately they did find a way to get the job done and that's what counts.
With the victory Ohio State improves to 13-17-3 overall and 8-8-3-1 in the Big Ten. The Bucks clinch fourth place in the conference. Michigan State settles for fifth spot.
The teams meet again tomorrow in the regular season finale. Opening faceoff is slated for 7pm ET. There is local radio coverage of the tilt via 1460 AM. An online stream is available with a BTN Plus subscription.
- Other Big Ten results: Michigan rattled off seven unanswered goals to defeat Penn State, 7-1. The Wolverines secure a first round B1G tourney bye and draw within a point of conference leading Minnesota. The Gophers fell to Wisconsin on Friday by a final score of 4-3.
- Here's the standings rundown going into the season's final day: Minnesota, 39 points; Michigan, 38; Penn State, 32; Ohio State, 28; Michigan State, 19; Wisconsin, 15.
