A small but vocal crowd schlepped out to the Schott for an early evening battle between the hockey Bucks and the No. 15 Golden Gophers. They left disappointed as Minnesota cruised to a 4-2 victory.
The teams were slow to get going (not unexpected with a 5pm start) but a largely whistle-less first period helped them into a decent flow. The Gophers found their legs and the back of the net first. They caught Buckeyes running around in the defensive zone. An uncovered Justin Kloos popped a rebound by Christian Frey.
| Goals by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 15 Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Ohio State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Ohio State's response was not long in coming. On the very next shift Craig Dalrymple threaded a point shot through Matt Johnson's screen. The goal was the big Ontarian's first of the season.
Minnesota pulled ahead again at the 17:05 mark. The Gophers again took advantage of out of position Buckeyes. This time Travis Boyd sent a long pass to Sam Warning who was lurking below the face off dot. Warning one timed the pass, giving Minnesota another lead.
It lasted six seconds longer than the first one. Luke Stork and Anthony Greco forced a turnover in the Gophers' end. Tyler Lundey received the puck in the slot and wasted no time plunking it past Adam Wilcox.
In the next period the ice took a decided tilt in Minnesota's favor. Fortunately for OSU, Frey put up a valiant defense of the Buckeye net. The sophomore goalie made several quality stops, particularly on the penalty kill, but the Gophers nicked him twice.
| Pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13:16 | Craig Dalrymple (Tanner Fritz) |
| 1 | 17:23 | Tyler Lundey (Anthony Greco, Luke Stork) |
Both Minnesota goals were the result of the Buckeyes allowing Gopher players unimpeded access to prime real estate. Kyle Rau waltzed down the slot after a face off win and potted Minny's third tally. Gopher defenseman Ryan Collins roamed low through the circle to the left of Frey before setting up a deft deflection by Seth Ambroz.
Ohio State applied a bit more pressure to Minnesota in the final twenty minutes. The Bucks had more sustained shifts in the offensive zone than in the first two period combined. Unfortunately they didn't get anything else past Wilcox and the Gophers claimed the win by a 4-2 score.
On the positive side OSU managed to shut down Minny's lethal power play. The Buckeye penalty killers withstood two man-advantages without allowing a single goal. The Bucks also had half a dozen odd man rushes in the game, including a breakaway chance for Greco. Unfortunately the Scarlet and Gray were unable to convert on any of those opportunities.
On the negative side of things OSU did very little to frustrate or disrupt Minnesota at either end of the ice. The Buckeyes did not significantly disturb Wilcox with traffic or difficult shots. They weren't very physical with the Gophers skaters either, which is odd considering that is a recently proven way to rattle Minnesota.
Ohio State looks to rebound from this so-so outing tomorrow night in their home finale. Opening faceoff is set for 6pm. The Buckeyes' right seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony. ESPNews is supposed to air the game live.
Other Notes...
The injury bug struck again. Nick Oddo left tonight's game with an upper body injury. Steve Rohlik said he will be out for tomorrow's contest.
