BOOM
2025 cornerback Jordyn Woods flips from Cincinnati and commits to Ohio State.
Ohio State and Notre Dame squared off in South Bend on Saturday night with the Big Ten hockey tournament title on the line. It promised to be a highly entertaining game between the conference's top two seeds, rosters stacked with talent and backstopped by two of the B1G's best in Irish goalie Cale Morris and Buckeye netminder Sean Romeo. And so it was.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4/5 Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| No. 3 Notre Dame | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
The Fighting Irish were all over the Bucks from the opening faceoff. Notre Dame's hustle led to two first period goals. First, Bo Brauer fended off a pair of Buckeye defenders in the paint to tip in Jake Evans' set up.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Brendon Kearney (Matt Miller, Gordi Myer) | 2 | 6:21 |
| Matt Miller (Tanner Laczynski) | 3 | 1:07 |
Then the Irish hustle lured OSU into a penalty. Perimeter passes killed time while the interior men set up screens on Romeo. The goalie had little chance at stopping Matt Hellickson's blast. Late in the frame, the ice opened up and ND generated some odd-man chances but these Romeo handled with aplomb.
Down two goals to the regular season champs, the outlook was bleak for the Scarlet and Gray. Fortunately whatever Steve Rohlik said during the first intermission lit a fire under Ohio State. The Buckeyes came out with more jump in the second period. They turned the tables and outhustled the Irish over the next two periods. OSU outshot Notre Dame 29-19 in the final 40 minutes of regulation and leveled the score at 2-2.
Brendon Kearney tallied the first Buckeye goal. The junior forward started the rush, pursued the puck in deep, and battled to the front of the net. He was then perfectly placed to deflect a blue line bomb from Matt Miller.
Brendon Kearney put the Buckeyes on the board with his fifth goal of the season. Assists to M. Miller and Myer. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/9Wm1theaTm
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 18, 2018
Kearney continued to lead the Buckeye charge, along with captain Mason Jobst. Dakota Joshua and Tanner Laczynski had terrific attempts in the middle frame. However, Morris made some brilliant stops to shut them down.
OSU continued to outhustle the Irish in the third period. Just over a minute into the stanza, relentless puck pursuit by Jobst and Laczynski set up the game-tying goal. Their hard work allowed Matt Miller to unleash another long, screened shot on Morris. Not even the B1G Goalie of the Year can stop what he can’t see. The game was all tied up, 2-2.
Matt Miller tied the game at 2 with his seventh goal of the year, scoring off a pass from Laczynski. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/b7PcwyrvDg
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 18, 2018
Notre Dame jolted back to life late in the game. The Irish seemed to have no desire to play into overtime. They launched a furious assault in the final minutes of regulation that kept the Bucks penned in their own end for an extended length of time. But Romeo stood tall (with an assist from defenseman Wyatt Ege) and saved the Bucks' bacon.
This intensity carried into the extra session. The Buckeyes were just as eager to end things early. Both Romeo and Morris were busy and brilliant in thwarting would-be game winners.
But you wouldn't be reading this right now if someone hadn't managed to find a chink in one's armor. 9:23 into overtime, ND’s Cam Morrison took advantage of a hiccup in the Buckeye defense. With acres of clean ice to work with, he teed up a doozy of a shot that zipped by Romeo and brought Notre Dame its first Big Ten tournament championship.
With the title, the Irish claim the B1G’s auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. Ohio State will get in with an at-large berth but the Buckeyes may not snag a No. 1 seed now. After Denver's NCHC tourney championship win, the updated PairWise rankings show the Bucks and Pioneers tied for the fourth overall spot.
OSU's seeding, as well as the team's regional placement and its first-round opponent, will be announced during tomorrow's NCAA men's hockey tournament selection show. The bracket is revealed live on ESPNU at noon ET.
- Mason Jobst, Tanner Laczynski, and Matt Miller were all named to the Big Ten's All-Tournament team.
- Ohio State outshot Notre Dame 43-38 in the game. Laczynski and Jobst (five each) led the Bucks.
- The Irish won the special teams game by going 1-for-2 on the power play and holding the Buckeyes scoreless on their only man-advantage.
