1986. That's the last time Ohio State swept its season series against Michigan. It's the only time in program history the Bucks have accomplished the feat. Well, the only other time. OSU exploded with three goals in the second period tonight en route to a big win and the program's second ever season sweep of the Wolverines.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Michigan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| No. 6 Ohio State | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
Both teams netted goals in a contentious, back-and-forth first period. Michigan drew first blood with tally by Jack Becker at the 7:08 mark. Freddy Gerard delivered the Buckeyes’ answer a few minutes later.
Gerard's first period goal - his eighth tally of the year - tied the game at one. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/RbYS97w2bI
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 28, 2018
Gerard further tormented Wolverine goalie Hayden Lavigne in the second period. 26 seconds out of the break the Ohio native cleaned up a rebound and deposited his second goal of the game. Matt Weis started the play by lifting the rubber off the Michigan puck carrier. Tanner Laczynski took the initial shot. With these assists Weis and Laczynski extended their point streaks to ten games each.
Gerard scored his second of the night just 26 seconds into the second period for a 2-1 Buckeye lead. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/LSwBo2Q8wR
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 28, 2018
The Wolverines tied things up near the halfway point of the stanza. A Buckeye miscue led to an odd man chance for Michigan and Niko Porikos stuffed a rebound past Sean Romeo. But the sticky-fingered Bucks struck again. This time John Wiitala relieved the Wolverines of the puck. Ronnie Hein slid it home for a 3-2 Ohio State lead.
Wiitala steals the puck and finds Hein for a 3-2 Buckeye lead in the second period. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/ZndpHlgX40
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 28, 2018
OSU drove the dagger in a little further at the 16:56 mark. Brendon Kearney posted a fourth Buckeye goal. Every score to this point was contributed by either a native Ohioan (Gerard) or Michigander (Hein and Kearney).
Kearney put the Buckeyes up 4-2 at 16:54 of the second, assisted by Ege. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/CfHfn5dxuw
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 28, 2018
The Buckeyes carried a 4-2 lead into the third period. Michigan went on its second power play of the game midway through the frame. However, any hope for a Wolverine comeback swiftly died at the hands of Mason Jobst. The Buckeye captain potted the team's first shorthanded tally of the season.
Mason Jobst scored the Buckeyes' first shorthanded goal of the season in the third period vs. the Wolverines. He has 13 goals on the year. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Lly2xNqUJf
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 28, 2018
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Freddy Gerard (unassisted) | 1 | 9:57 |
| Freddy Gerard (Tanner Laczynski, Matt Weis) | 2 | 0:26 |
| Ronnie Hein (John Wiitala) | 2 | 13:12 |
| Brendon Kearney (Wyatt Ege) | 2 | 16:56 |
| SH - Mason Jobst (Luke Stork) | 3 | 11:48 |
Jobst continued to shine on special teams. On the next shift, and now down five men to three, El Capitan blocked shot after shot after shot after shot. Literally. Four blocks on a single shift. (Influence of JB Bittner for the win.)
Michigan dinged Romeo for one more goal. It did nothing but smudge the goaltender's stats. The Wolverines pulled Lavigne for the extra attacker to no avail.
The salty visitors took their frustrations out on Mason Jobst in the final minute of the game. The hard hit ignited some fireworks but did nothing to alter the outcome. (Though the Buckeye bench, coaches included, had some heated words for their counterparts.) OSU prevailed by a final score of 5-3.
Ohio State (17-5-4, 10-5-1-0 B1G) remains in town next week for a matchup against Michigan State. Both Friday and Saturday's contests are set for 7pm ET starts.
- Michigan outshot OSU 31-29 in the game, including an 18-7 mark in the third period.
- Tanner Laczynski led the Bucks with six shots. Freddy Gerard, Mason Jobst, and Ronnie Hein followed with four each.
- The Bucks blocked 15 shots in the win. Jobst topped the charts with six stops, followed by Tommy Parran’s four.
- Ohio State goalie Sean Romeo is now 14-5-4 on the season with a GAA of 1.99 and a .927 save percentage.
- Buckeye defenseman Wyatt Ege was on the ice for seven of the game’s eight goals, all five of OSU’s scores and two of Michigan’s. He finished with a +3 rating.
- Other Big Ten results: Notre Dame and Minnesota split their series. Wisconsin takes five of six points from Penn State with a win plus a tie and shootout victory. Michigan State was idle this week.
- Updated B1G standings: Notre Dame 42 points, Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 25, Michigan 24, Penn State 24, Minnesota 23, Michigan State 11.
