The men's hockey Buckeyes successfully avoided the freaky Friday switch up. Ohio State capitalized on a fantastic performance in net and steady goal production. The Scarlet and Gray beat Michigan for the third time this season.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 6 Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Michigan came out firing. The Wolverines outshot the Buckeyes 8-3 over the first half of the period, but OSU goalie Sean Romeo kept his net clean. Though their chances weren’t as plentiful as the visitors’, the Buckeyes had some very good looks. Matt Weis rang the iron twice.
With a little over three minutes to play, Kevin Miller and Dakota Joshua skated in on a 2-on-1. Miller took the shot himself and beat Hayden Lavigne with his third goal of the season. Have a look.
Kevin Miller put the Buckeyes up 1-0 over the Wolverines with a goal in the first period. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/4IKlDwfASW
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 27, 2018
The teams kept up the back-and-forth action through the second period. Michigan continued to lead in shots. Romeo continued to shut the Wolverines down. Ohio State padded its lead with a power play goal. Tanner Laczynski crushed this sweet set up from Weis.
Laczynski's blast put the Buckeyes up 2-0 in the second period vs. UM. Weis and Jobst assisted on the PPG. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/t2GeLDrZn9
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 27, 2018
The play extended personal streaks for Laczynski and Weis. Both players now boast points in nine straight games. And Ohio State kept rolling. Mason Jobst increased the lead to 3-0 early in the third period. The Buckeye captain collected a pass from Matt Miller and slid a breakaway by Lavigne.
Mason Jobst scored goal No. 12 on the year to put the Buckeyes up 3-0 in the third. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/gIbeK4dVr9
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 27, 2018
Matt Miller helped author another goal later in the frame. He blasted a shot in from the blue line. Dakota Joshua, Wolverine killer, tipped it home for a 4-0 advantage. The goal boosted Joshua's career stats to 12 points in 11 games vs. Michigan.
Dakota Joshua scored the Buckeyes' second PPG of the game in the third period. OSU has 2 power play goals in 3 straight and 5 of the last 6 games. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/a9FyhizwpE
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 27, 2018
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Miller (Dakota Joshua, Tommy Parran) | 1 | 16:40 |
| PP - Tanner Laczynski (Matt Weis, Mason Jobst) | 2 | 18:36 |
| Mason Jobst (Matt Miller) | 3 | 3:28 |
| PP - Dakota Joshua (Matt Miller, Gordi Myer) | 3 | 8:53 |
Four goals was three more than Romeo actually needed. The Buckeye goalie stopped all 32 shots he faced. He earned his thirteenth win and second shutout of the season.
The victory brings OSU's record to 16-5-4 overall and 9-5-1-0 in the Big Ten. It also means, regardless of tomorrow's outcome, the Bucks will win the teams' season series. But it would be nice to make a clean sheet of it. (I don't think the Scarlet and Gray have ever won all four of their regular season games against Michigan before. I'll check.) The puck drops on the series finale tomorrow night at 8pm ET.
- Michigan outshot Ohio State 32-20 in the game. Dakota Joshua led the Buckeyes with four shots.
- The Bucks went 2-for-3 on the power play. The penalty kill iced Michigan completely with a spotless 4-for-4 mark.
- Eight different Buckeyes blocked a total of 11 shots. Wyatt Ege, Gordi Myer, and Matt Miller showed the way with two each.
