Ohio State should have won that game. Full stop. There's no good reason that the Buckeyes should have lost that game. They did everything necessary to win. Unfortunately, the offense sputtered just enough in the first half to make it an L instead of a W on the schedule. It's really, really unfortunate, given how well the defense played.
Let's give credit where it is due. The Buckeye defense held Rutgers to its second-lowest output of the season. In 2021, holding the Scarlet Knights to 10 tallies is an incredible job. Maryland got them down to just 9 a week ago, but has not struggled defensively anywhere near the level Ohio State has. I criticize harshly, but Travis Crane and the defense he coaches deserve a ton of credit for keeping the Buckeyes in this game. A ton of credit.
Rutgers managed 10 goals, but needed 38 shots to do it. Holding the Scarlet Knights to 26% shooting is an incredible feat, especially given how much the defense was eviscerated in the previous meeting. Certainly, Ryan Terefenko's return is a big deal, but the defense as a unit really got its act together. Too bad the offense didn't bring their A-game.
While the defense was playing the best they have all year, the offense decidedly did not. The Buckeyes shot a miserable 3-for-19 in the first half. Shooting 15% is just really, really bad. The second half wasn't much better. Ohio State went 6-for-25, good for 24% shooting. For the game, Ohio State scored 9 goals on 44 shots, at just over a 20% rate.
The biggest culprit was Tre Leclaire. He went 1-for-11 on the day, taking 25% of Ohio State's shots and scoring 11% of their goals. Jack Myers was an astounding 4-for-8, while Griffin Hughes had 3 goals on 5 shots. As Leclaire goes, so go the Buckeyes. Certainly, any number of other players could have scored on one of their shots to get the Buckeyes level and to OT. But Leclaire is a 5th year. He has to be better than 1-11 in tight games. Even a 25% day gets the Buckeyes home with a W. Instead, they're back under .500 for the year.
Justin Inacio did everything in his power to get the Buckeyes a win in Piscataway. Winning 77% of his faceoffs, Inacio controlled the game all day, giving Ohio State the ball repeatedly. It was a banner day, and hopefully he can keep that momentum going.
In goal, Alec van de Bovenkamp really played well. He had 11 saves, a save percentage of 52%, and helped the defense be at its best. There's finally a strength for this team rounding into form. Hopefully it's not too late.
Ohio State actually scored 2 of their 4 Man Up opportunities, while shutting out Rutgers on their 2 opportunities. That's a refreshing change from the last couple of years.
Ohio State should have won today. That much is clear. It was a remarkable improvement from game 1, but there are no easy wins in the Big Ten. To lose out on an opportunity like this, especially when outplaying your opponent so thoroughly in every statistical category save one, it's very gut-wrenching. The defense is making me a believer. But there has not been a complete performance from Ohio State this year. Maybe it will happen soon.
Go Bucks.
