Earlier today the women's hockey Buckeyes finished off St. Cloud State to pick up a series sweep. Tonight the men's hockey Bucks had their brooms out in Amherst. They followed up Friday's power play special with a 3-0 whitewash of Massachusetts.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RV Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Massachusetts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Scarlet and Gray edged ahead midway through the opening period. Kevin Miller struck first. The tally was goal No. 1 on the year for the senior forward. Shots were 11-7 in favor of OSU. Each side went 0-for-1 on the power play.
Special teams were on prominent display in the second period. Ohio State and UMass combined for eight penalties in the frame, six of them coming in the initial 7:40 minutes. Judging from the types of calls (three boarding, one roughing, a slash, etc.) bad blood was boiling between the teams.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Miller (Tanner Laczynski, Dakota Joshua) | 1 | 11:12 |
| Janik Moser (Tanner Laczynski, Wyatt Ege) | 2 | 12:19 |
| Matt Weis (Tanner Laczynski) | 3 | 17:19 |
Despite the chippy, choppy action the Buckeyes managed to pad their lead. Senior defenseman Janik Moser fired home the first goal of his collegiate career. The time stamp on the goal suggests it came right off the draw. In which case, a tip of the cap is due assist men Tanner Laczynski and Wyatt Ege for the faceoff win.
As time wound down in the second period Matt Miller came within inches of a three goal Buckeye lead. The referees reviewed the play at length. However, they determined that goalie Matt Murray’s glove had not crossed the goal line in making the save.
This. @Mattmurray_31 pic.twitter.com/OGyiFMLbCq
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) October 22, 2017
The penalty parade petered out in the third period but the Buckeye offense did not. Matt Weis chipped in with his first goal of the season. OSU finished strong and picked a 3-0 win.
Buckeye goalie Sean Romeo stopped 23 shots in the victory to earn his first career shutout. All three of the team's goals were the first of the season for the scorers. Laczynski was the primary helper on each tally. He and Matt Miller led the Bucks in shots on net with four each.
OSU finished 0-for-6 on the power play. Several of their advantages were abbreviated during the back and forth whistles of the second period. The Buckeye penalty killers played another flawless contest. They fended off all three of the Minutemen's attempts.
Next up for the Bucks is a home-and-home series with Robert Morris. Ohio State hosts its half of the non-conference battle on Friday at 7pm ET. The series shifts to Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday for another 7pm ET start.
Around the Big Ten
It was not a banner week for the rest of the conference. Michigan swept Vermont. Otherwise it was straight series splits for No. 5/6 Wisconsin vs. Northern Michigan, No. 6/5 Notre Dame vs. Sacred Heart, No. 7/8 Minnesota vs. No. 4 North Dakota, No. 11 Penn State vs. American International, and Michigan State vs. Western Michigan.
