Ohio State downed Wisconsin in a shootout tonight, salvaging a mostly solid outing. The Buckeyes started well and controlled play through much of the first two period, but a flat third nearly sunk the Scarlet and Gray. Fortunately a homegrown hero stepped up to send the Bucks out on a high note.
The opening frame was largely whistle-free. The teams established a decent flow and any bus rust OSU had was worked out early. By the midpoint of the first period the Buckeyes established a presence in the Wisconsin end and were getting solid zone time on most of their shifts.
| goals by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
At the end of one of one such shift Sam Jardine drove the net. The puck rolled away from Wisconsin goalie Landon Peterson. Tyler Lundey collected the puck below the goal line, brought it back, and tucked it in the Badger net, giving Ohio State the lead.
With possession and momentum in their favor the Bucks drew the Badgers into two reaching fouls in the game’s opening 23 minutes. However they could not capitalize on either power play. These missed opportunities would eventually come back to haunt OSU.
In spite of forty solid minutes of work, Ohio State only held a slim 1-0 lead heading into the third period. The Buckeyes came out of the break flat and Wisconsin closed that gap in a hurry. The Badgers cashed in on a man-advantage at the 3:15 mark, evening the score.
OSU pulled ahead again with a well executed 3-on-2 rush. Defenseman Justin DaSilva jumped into the play, drove to the net, and backed the Badger defense up. Nick Schilkey dished to a then wide open Matt Weis who wired a shot past a flummoxed Peterson.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (Assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 13:21 | Tyler Lundey (Sam Jardine) |
| 3 | 9:36 | Matt Weis (Nick Schilkey) |
| SO | Nick Schilkey | |
| SO | Christian Lampasso | |
| SO | Tanner Fritz | |
| SO | Clark Cristofoli |
Wisconsin answered with an odd man rush of its own. The Buckeye defenders pushed the puck carrier and his wingman to the outside, but no one picked up the trailer and the Badgers knotted the score once again.
After skating through a scoreless overtime session the teams headed to the shootout. In the initial three rounds Schilkey and Christian Lampasso tallied goals for the Bucks. Wisconsin’s shooters equaled that mark. Tanner Fritz kept things going with a conversion in the extended rounds and in the tenth frame senior defenseman Clark Cristofoli sealed the shootout victory for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes outshot the Badgers 34-24 overall. Wisconsin was 1-for-4 on the power play. Ohio State came up empty in three tries. Goaltender Christian Frey stopped 22 shots in the game and four in the shootout. Three Badger shootout attempts missed the net.
The teams resume their battle in tomorrow night’s season finale. The game is slated to begin at 7pm ET. It will be televised live on BTN, streamed online via BTN2Go, and can heard over the radio at 1460 AM.
