The OSU men’s hockey season has come to an end after last night’s tough 4-2 loss to Minnesota in St. Paul, but the future is bright for the program. The team found a way to gut out wins down the final stretch of the season, learning to win close games, and only forwards Anthony Greco and Tyler Lundey, and defenseman Craig Dalrymple were seniors on this year’s squad. Goaltenders Christian Frey and Matt Tomkins were juniors.
Fourteen players on this year’s team were freshmen and sophomores. The team’s top four scorers — Nick Schilkey, David Gust, Matthew Weis, and Mason Jobst — are two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman, respectively.
After losing the first seven games of the season, and 11 of the first 14, the hockey Bucks found new life at the Florida College Classic, beating Boston College and Cornell to capture the tournament. The latter game was an 8-0 laugher. That kicked off a five-game stretch without a defeat for the Buckeyes.
After another swoon, during which Ohio State went 2-6, the Buckeyes went on a 6-0-2 run that included overtime wins vs. Michigan and at Michigan State. Ohio State also knocked Sparty out of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday night with another overtime win over Michigan State.
The team could have had a much better draw in the tournament if it could have completed some near misses. Ohio State lost four games in overtime, including three games against the league's regular-season champion, Minnesota. It bodes well for the future that such a young team was a tough out, even against the Big Ten's best. That resiliency will serve the Buckeyes well moving forward.
