The second seed and national No. 6 Buckeyes sallied into the B1G tournament, hosting seventh seed Michigan State in a best-of-three quarterfinal. Game 1 was close through two periods. Then the Bucks kicked it up a notch in the final frame and cruised to a 6-2 win.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 6 Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
Ohio State gained steam throughout the first period. By the first intermission, the Buckeyes led 11-5 in shots on goal and 1-0 on the scoreboard. Six of these shots were generated by the Bucks' top line players, Tanner Laczynski, Matt Weis, and Freddy Gerard.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| PP - Tanner Laczynski (Wyatt Ege, Mason Jobst) | 1 | 18:42 |
| PP - Matt Weis (Tanner Laczynski, Wyatt Ege) | 2 | 16:32 |
| Mason Jobst (Tommy Parran, Matt Joyaux) | 3 | 1:54 |
| Sasha Larocque (Luke Stork, Sam McCormick) | 3 | 6:36 |
| John Wiitala (Brendon Kearney, Mason Jobst) | 3 | 15:40 |
| PP - Christian Lampasso (Austin Pooley, Brendon Kearney) | 3 | 19:59 |
A late period power play cracked open some space in the Spartans’ conscientious defense. The Bucks were quick to take advantage. The Scarlet and Gray needed just 10 seconds to win the draw and tee up Laczynski.
Michigan State put five shots on Sean Romeo in the first period. These were widely scattered throughout the frame and calmly turned aside by the Buckeye goaltender. MSU didn’t ding him until the second period.
Early in the middle frame, the Spartans leveled the score. Defensive miscues left Patrick Khodorenko wide open at point blank range for not one, but two shots at Romeo. Given enough chances even I could score from that range and, as Khodorenko is far better than me at hockey, he quickly popped the puck past Romeo for a 1-1 tie.
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 3, 2018
Highlights from the Buckeyes' 6-2 win over Michigan State to open up their Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal series. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/NDpPyAo162
But the lethal Buckeye power play soon restored OSU’s advantage. In a sequence similar to that of the Bucks’ first goal, Laczynski connected with Weis on the doorstep. Overall the Scarlet and Gray power play was sensational, going 3-for-5 in the game.
Michigan State entered the third period down only by a goal but Ohio State soon crushed any hope of a Spartan comeback. The Bucks hammered the MSU net with 21 shots and pulled away with four goals scored.
Mason Jobst stretched Ohio State's lead to two early in the stanza. The captain showcased some deft mitts, rerouting Tommy Parran's shot past John Lethemon for a 3-1 OSU edge. Sasha Larocque added a blue line bomb for a 4-1 lead.
This fourth Buckeye goal chased Lethemon from the net. Ed Minney came on in relief. The Bucks showed him no mercy. With less than five minutes to play John Wiitala buried the leftovers from a Brendon Kearney shot and Ohio State led 5-1.
Coach Rohlik, Tanner Laczynski and Wyatt Ege spoke after the 6-2 win in the series opener of the Big Ten quarterfinals. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/f3C3n34XU9
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 3, 2018
The Spartans scored a late goal which smeared Romeo's stats. The netminder finished the game with 18 saves on 20 shots. It didn't affect the outcome, though. Christian Lampasso reset the Buckeyes' four-goal advantage on a power play tally with one second left on the game clock.
OSU claimed Game 1 of the series, 6-2. The Bucks will have a chance to oust the Spartans and advance to the Big Ten semifinals with a victory tomorrow night. Game 2 gets underway at 7pm ET on Saturday night.
- Ohio State outshot Michigan State 40-20 in the game. This included a monstrous 21-7 differential in the third period.
- Tanner Laczynski (8) and Matt Weis (6) led the Bucks in shots on goal.
- OSU was 3-for-5 on the power play and held MSU scoreless on its two advantages.
- Check out the official boxscore from tonight's win here.
- Other B1G results: Fourth seed Penn State topped fifth seed Minnesota, 5-3. Third seed Michigan edged sixth seed Wisconsin, 6-5, in what was, quite frankly, an insane game.
