The No. 10 men’s hockey Buckeyes took care of business on Friday night, defeating the Arizona State Sun Devils by a final score of 6-1. Ohio State had about as good a first period as is possible. The Bucks tallied four goals in a little over five minutes.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| No. 10 Ohio State | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Dave Gust led off with his twelfth score of the season. Nick Schilkey and Miguel Fidler followed up with back-to-back power play goals. Kevin Miller put another nail in the Sun Devils’ coffin midway through the frame, striking unassisted.
Arizona State bounced back with a better effort in the second period. ASU peppered Buckeye goalie Christian Frey, outshooting OSU 17-8. The visitors finally got on the board at the 8:28 mark. Brinson Pasichnuk capitalized on a man-advantage for the Sun Devils.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4:58 | Dave Gust (Luke Stork, Tanner Laczynski) |
| 1 | 6:59 | PP - Nick Schilkey (Matt Joyaux, Mason Jobst) |
| 1 | 7:52 | PP - Miguel Fidler (Dave Gust, Matt Joyaux) |
| 1 | 10:03 | Kevin Miller (unassisted) |
| 2 | 15:51 | PP - Nick Schilkey (Dave Gust, Mason Jobst) |
| 3 | 16:26 | Ronnie Hein (Freddy Gerard, Gordi Myer) |
But OSU’s four goal cushion was soon restored by captain Nick Schilkey. He converted the Buckeyes’ third power play in as many chances, bringing his personal goal total to 17 for the season. Freshman Ronnie Hein capped the scoring with a sixth Buckeye goal late in the third period.
This wasn’t a pristine win for Ohio State, but it is still a solid victory. Gust led the team with three points (1-2--3). The Bucks went 3-for-4 on the power play while holding Arizona State to 1-for-5 with the advantage. Frey logged 35 saves in his fifth win of the season. Tonight’s result bumps OSU’s record up to 11-4-4 overall.
The teams have a quick turnaround. They are back on the ice to conclude their series tomorrow at 2pm ET. Fans not attending in person can watch the game on ESPNU or stream it online with access to Watch ESPN.
Buckeye Women Hold Off Bemidji State
The women’s hockey Bucks also started off on the right foot tonight. Julianna Iafallo and Rebecca Freiburger staked the team to a 2-0 advantage in the first period. However Bemidji State put a dent in that lead with seconds to play in the opening frame. Emma Terres netted a power play goal for the visitors.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bemidji State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Besides cutting the lead in half, Terres’ score ended an impressive streak for the Buckeye penalty killers. Before surrendering this man-advantage tally, Ohio State’s PK unit had not allowed a power play goal against in an impressive 16 contests. (It is not terribly surprising the streak should end at the Beavers’ hands. The Buckeyes have now given up a whopping six PPG all season. Four of them have been surrendered to Bemidji State.)
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13:40 | Julianna Iafallo (Maddy Field) |
| 1 | 18:22 | PP - Rebecca Freiburger (Jessica Dunne, Lauren Boyle) |
The Beavers’ goal seemed to take some of the wind out of the Bucks’ sails. BSU outshot Ohio State 33-10 over the final two periods. However goaltender Kassidy Sauve turned away each attempt to preserve a 2-1 victory for the Scarlet and Gray.
With the win the Buckeyes improve to 11-10-2 overall and 5-10-2 in the WCHA. They square off against Bemidji again tomorrow at 3pm ET. The game marks the final time the Bucks and Beavers will meet in 2016-17 (barring extreme upset in the conference playoffs).
