Whew. A nailbiter to the end, but no OT as Ohio State takes care of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by a a score of 14-11. It truly was a back-and-forth battle, however a goalie change, near perfect Man Up play, and the much maligned upperclassmen carried Ohio State to victory. And how sweet it is!
First things first. I give the older players on the team a lot of grief. I feel much of it is earned, because they (outside of Jack Myers) haven't been the difference makers they should have been. Last week the entire upperclassmen cadre cost the team a win. This week, they won the game. Hands down. Including Skylar Wahlund. Kudos to those men for being dealt a really adverse hand, and still managing to pull out a win.
Jack Myers had 4 goals and 3 assists. Jackson Reid, who is streaky as heck, blew up for 3 goals and 3 assists. Scott Freaking White had the first multi-goal game of his career, I believe. And off the bench, after being replaced two straight years, Skylar Wahlund helped stymie Notre Dame between the pipes. They've taken the blame, now they get the credit for doing great work.
Really, the Buckeye special teams won today's game. It's hard to express in words just how much better the Man Up unit is this year. Especially compared to every other year post-2017. Going into Man Up absolutely expecting a goal, instead of holding your breath, is such a luxury for a team. This group of players is perfectly set up to crush opponents when up a man.
Rather than always looking to feed one player who is moving all over the place, the Buckeyes legitimately have 5 scoring options to work with. And 3 of them are lefties. That balance can't be overstated. Jack Myers with the ball in his stick and a ton of time is diabolical. Today, that unit won the game. Hands down, really. To get get almost a third of your goals on special teams against Notre Dame is a wonderful accomplishment.
And the defense today, after a couple bad games, was stellar. Dropping George Walsh was harsh, but had to be done. Watching Cornell consistently punish his mistakes was rough. Moving Bobby Van Buren down low is a game changer. He needs to experience moving forward to be an eraser. The LSMs are capable already. Turn Van Buren loose, like today, and watch opposing offenses begin to misfire. It was bold, but it worked. Very, very well.
And finally, big credit to Skylar Wahlund. Today is his day. It's been a long, hard road for the Columbus native at Ohio State. Josh Kirson took his job multiple times. Caton Johnson started over him after one off-season. And yet, Wahlund stood ready, and made the difference today. Great job, young man. Now let's see if you can keep it.
All in all, tremendous effort to overcome seriously sloppy play, a wealth of failed clears, and yet more upheaval at goalie. This is a great win. No time to rest on laurels, though. Denver comes to town in a week.
Go Bucks!
