Ohio State men's hockey led Saturday's contest in Ann Arbor for all but seven minutes. The Bucks scored first, built a sizable lead, and worked themselves out of a couple bad situations en route to a second (if we're only counting the on ice ones) victory over Michigan. Here's how it went down.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 15 Ohio State | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| No. 17 Michigan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
The Buckeyes led 1-0 after the first period. Brendon Kearney collected the puck in the defensive end and sped through the Michigan skaters. He dished to fellow grinder Christian Lampasso who beat Jack LaFontaine from a funky angle.
Christian Lampasso opened the scoring in the first period with his third goal of the year. Assisted by Kearney and Joyaux. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/U7Z8urGtRF
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) November 26, 2017
(It is my firm belief this tally was a gift from the hockey gods for Kearney and Lampasso’s hard, yet unrewarded work on last night’s game winner.)
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Lampasso (Brendon Kearney, Matt Joyaux) | 1 | 5:52 |
| Tanner Laczynski (Matt Weis) | 2 | 8:38 |
| PP - Mason Jobst (Tanner Laczynski, Matt Weis) | 2 | 18:17 |
| Matt Weis (unassisted) | 3 | 10:28 |
| PP - Christian Lampasso (Sam McCormick, Sasha Larocque) | 3 | 19:59 |
The Buckeyes dominated the middle frame, outshooting the Wolverines 16-7. It was Michigan lighting the lamp next, though. Joe Cecconi took advantage of a screen in front of OSU goalie Sean Romeo. The goal knotted the game at 1-1.
It did not remain tied for long. Steve Rohlik sent his red hot line of Freddy Gerard, Matt Weis, and Tanner Laczynski over the boards to answer for the Bucks. Less than a minute after Michigan tied it, the trio regained the Bucks’ one goal lead. Bearing some similarity to the line’s first score last night, Weis centered from behind the net. Laczynski wasted no time in crushing the group’s third goal of the series.
Weis set up Laczynski for his fifth goal of the year 49 seconds after UM tied the game in the second period. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/5aiZC6GjBS
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) November 26, 2017
Weis and Laczynski continued to harass the Wolverines. Late in the period, they set up Mason Jobst on a power play. The Buckeye captain blasted his seventh goal of the season.
Jobst put the Buckeyes up 3-1 with 1:43 left in the second with his team-best 7th goal of the year. Weis and Laczynski assisted on the PPG. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/svYedqgI8k
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) November 26, 2017
The Buckeyes were in good position, heading into the last period with a 3-1 lead. Two OSU penalties in the opening minutes threatened to undo the Scarlet and Gray. The Wolverines began the frame nearly two full minutes of 5-on-3.
Fortunately for Ohio State, Romeo did his best impression of a brick wall and stoned shot after shot. The netminder continued to be both brilliant and key to the Bucks' success throughout the stanza. Michigan chucked 21 shots on net in the third period, but Romeo turned them all aside.
OSU added some insurance to the scoreboard midway through the third. The goal was another product of the Gerard, Weis, Laczynski line. This time, though, it was a solo effort. Weis won a faceoff, fired on net, and celebrated his third point of the game.
GOAL! Weis scores off his own faceoff for a 4-1 lead. 7:41 left/3rd. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/dLhWOR1D5W
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) November 26, 2017
Lampasso delivered a final dagger, scoring a power play goal with just a second left on the clock. The Buckeyes win going away and improve to 8-3-3 overall and 3-3-0-0 in the Big Ten. They stay within the conference next week, hosting Penn State.
Other Big Ten Results
No. 4 Notre Dame sweeps its series against No. 6 Minnesota with a 5-2 win. Penn State rallied to force overtime with Michigan State. The game ended in a tie. The Spartans salvaged the shootout win and the extra B1G point. In non-conference action, No. 9/10 Wisconsin surrendered a third period lead and dropped a 3-2 decision to unranked Mercyhurst.
Women’s Hockey Falls to No. 9 Robert Morris in OT
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| No. 9 Robert Morris | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Ohio State’s women skated another penalty laden contest against the Colonials on Saturday. This time, though, Bobby Mo came out on top. RMU rallied to tie the game in the third period, then won it in overtime.
Bobby Mo came to play today. The Colonials peppered Kassidy Sauve with 20 shots in the opening period. Yet it was Ohio State getting on the board first. Buckeye captain Julianna Iafallo notched her eighth goal of the season.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Julianna Iafallo (Jincy Dunne, Emma Maltais) | 1 | 4:43 |
| Emma Maltais (Lauren Boyle, Lisa Bruno) | 2 | 9:30 |
RMU drew even with a goal at the 11:59 mark. A second period tally from Emma Maltais restored the OSU advantage. But the Colonials’ leading scorer, Brittany Howard, knotted the game early in the final frame. Howard struck again in the extra session, netting a power play goal for the win.
Robert Morris did give OSU a more challenging game tonight, but the Bucks also made a difficult task harder by taking a slew of penalties. They were whistled for six in the contest. They even stacked them, twice creating 5-on-3 penalty kills. In fact the overtime game winner came on or directly after a two man advantage.
Overall the split isn’t a terrible result. Two wins would have spruced the tournament resume up a little more. An overtime loss doesn’t tarnish it beyond repair, though. Ohio State is back in Columbus next week to wrap up their season series with WCHA foe St. Cloud State.
