Well, that was…odd. Ohio State and Michigan squared off on the ice and didn’t score forty eleven goals. Nobody kind of accidentally-on-purpose punched anyone. Special teams were a non-factor in the game. The final regular season meeting between the Buckeyes and Wolverines lacked the fireworks of their previous three tilts.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| No. 12 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Perhaps this was Michigan’s diabolical plan all along because the low scoring, largely 5-on-5 game worked to the Wolverine’s advantage. They claimed a 1-0 win and handed OSU’s high-flying offense its first shutout of the season.
The first period passed in a quick and weirdly calm manner. The physicality usually abundant in an Ohio State-Michigan game was nowhere to be seen. Few whistles blew and no penalties were called.
Continuing the trend of strangeness, the Wolverines got on the board first. A Michigan player intercepted a vague Buckeye pass along the wall. He chucked it at the net where it was redirected past Christian Frey for a 1-0 lead.
That wasn’t the last turnover the Buckeyes would commit in the opening frame. They came down with a bad case of the giveaways midway through the period. That, coupled with the Wolverines’ developing strategy to shoot the puck from all angles (and, hey, why wouldn’t they), kept Frey busy for a stretch. He made a couple sharp saves to preserve the 1-0 score.
The good ship Puck Control righted itself somewhat in the second period. The Buckeyes did not turn the puck over as frequently. Instead they battled to wrangle the bouncing rubber. Several scoring chances went unfulfilled due to these struggles, though Ohio State did create a few good looks at Wolverines goalie Zach Nagelvoort.
Nick Schilkey had the best chance of the frame for OSU. Mason Jobst sprang him loose with a lofty pass over the neutral zone. Schilkey was untouched from the blue line in, but couldn’t settle the puck. It rolled away from him into the corner and the breakaway passed without a shot on goal.
The third period featured more of the same for the Bucks. They couldn’t find the back of the net despite outshooting Michigan 20-7. In the best if-only play of that period, Matt Weis just missed connecting with John Wiitala for what would have been an empty net tap in.
Ohio State skated with the extra attacker for the final two minutes of the game. However, the Bucks didn’t put any more challenging shot on Nagelvoort in that time than they had throughout the game. Michigan played well. The Wolverines were tighter defensively tonight than in any other game I’ve seen them skate this season. But in the end, this is going to go down as a tale of opportunities lost by the Buckeyes.
The Bucks regroup and remain at home to host their final home series of the 2016-17 next week. Michigan State visits for a pair of games. Ohio State will honor its seniors during the series.
- OSU outshot Michigan 42-23 in the game.
- There were only two penalties called in the game. Neither side converted its lone power play chance.
- Tanner Laczynski and Mason Jobst led the Buckeyes with six shots on goal each.
- This loss may be a mortal blow to Ohio State’s PairWise standing. In addition to losing to a poorly ranked team, several of the Bucks’ nearest competitors earned quality wins this week.
