Ohio State men’s hockey put together one of its most complete games of the season tonight in a defeat of Michigan State. Every Buckeye line generated chances. The defense was solid and sophomore goaltender Matt Tomkins turned in the first shutout performance of his collegiate career.
| goals by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
The first period was a scoreless one. Though neither team was able to find the back of the net, a quick pace and sharps saves by both goalies made for an entertaining 20 minutes. OSU held the advantage in shots (14-11), faceoffs (13-5) and chances (no official stat for that, you’re just going to have to trust me) in the frame.
In spite of their slight edge and being awarded the stanza’s only power play, the Bucks couldn’t dent Spartan netminder Jake Hildebrand. Tomkins was no less stellar at the other end of the ice, shutting down several Michigan State assaults.
The Buckeyes’ slight advantage became a major one in the second period. The Lampasso-Niddery-Johnson line put OSU on the board at the 2:16 mark. Chad Niddery deftly evaded a Spartan defender and shoved a shot in front that Matt Johnson was able to knock by Hildebrand. The puck popped back out of the net and play continued, but an official review at the next stoppage soon corrected the score.
Ohio State continued to roll. Sophomore Nick Schilkey struck on the Buckeyes’ second power play of the evening, redirecting a Drew Brevig past with his skate. The referees went to the review once again, but needed only a few moments to determine the goal was legal.
The Bucks let off the gas a little toward the end of the second period. The last five or so minutes weren’t crisp ones. Sloppy play could easily have let Michigan State back into the game, but fortunately for Ohio State nothing was getting by Tomkins tonight. The brick wall stopped a total of 29 Spartan shots in the game.
Darik Angeli put the nail in the coffin for OSU early in the third period. Nick Oddo, providing some traffic in front of Hildebrand, was knocked into the MSU net during the play. The goal was, of course, looked at by the officiating crew. Like the previous reviews, the decision was in the Buckeyes’ favor. Angeli’s tally was the senior’s third goal of the season, assisted by Schilkey and Sam Jardine.
With the series split both teams pick up three conference points this week. The Buckeyes play in Notre Dame’s Shillelagh tournament next week before closing out their first half schedule at Michigan.
