The men's hockey Buckeyes fell behind Michigan State early on Saturday night and remained there. The team started flat and struggled to overcome both a persistent lethargy and a determined Spartan squad. The Bucks turned up the juice in the third period but it was too little too late.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| No. 5/6 Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Michigan State led 1-0 before Ohio State registered its first shot attempt. Butrus Ghafari put the visitors on the board at 3:23 of the first period. Buckeye forward Kevin Miller had a shot go wide around the six minute mark. OSU’s first official shot on goal came about a minute later.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| PP- Dakota Joshua (John Wiitala) | 1 | 19:47 |
| PP - Matt Weis (Ronnie Hein, Mason Jobst) | 2 | 14:58 |
| PP - Ronnie Hein (Mason Jobst, Matt Weis) | 3 | 6:02 |
But finally getting rubber on net did not spark the offense. The Spartans added a goal from Austin Kamer midway through the period. Patrick Khodorenko burned the Bucks for a shorthanded score with less than 30 seconds to play in the opening frame.
The Buckeyes did not have a lot of time to respond before the intermission but Dakota Joshua managed to beat the buzzer. He rang up a power play goal with 13 seconds to play. It was the third goal of the series for the big man.
MSU reeled off another pair of goals in the second period. David Keefer and Carson Gatt netted scores three minutes apart to give the Spartans a stunning 5-1 lead. Five goals on 17 shots brought an end to Sean Romeo’s night. He was relieved by freshman Tommy Nappier.
By rights, Ohio State should have been down and out but the Bucks’ productive power play kept a slight hope alive. Matt Weis and Ronnie Hein each tallied with the man advantage. Weis’ goal prolonged his point streak to a dozen games.
The Buckeyes finally found their legs in the third period. OSU outshot Michigan State 9-2 in the frame. But the Scarlet and Gray could not narrow the gap on the scoreboard. Logan Lambdin capped a Spartan victory with an empty net goal.
OSU (18-6-4, 11-6-1-0 B1G) needs to rebound from this one quickly. The Bucks are on the road next week to face Big Ten leader and national No. 2 Notre Dame. That series kicks off at 7:30 p.m. this Friday on NBC Sports.
- Shots were 30-24 in favor of Ohio State. Matt Weis led the Bucks with six.
- Tommy Nappier faced six shots in relief of Sean Romeo and stopped them all.
- Absent from the score sheet tonight, Tanner Laczynski's point streak ends at 11 games.
- Looking for some good news from the ice? Click this way.
- Updated Big Ten standings: Notre Dame 49 points, Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 28, Michigan 27, Penn State 26, Minnesota 23, Michigan State 14.
