Saturday brought a rough road and mixed results for the hockey Bucks. The men managed to wrap up four out of a possible six conference points against the Gophers. Then the women teed off on Abigail Levy but wound up on the wrong end of a shutout at Minnesota State.
Men Settle for Tie and Extra Point at Minnesota
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final | 3v3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Ohio State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| RV Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
The Buckeye men did almost everything they needed to defeat Minnesota. They outshot the Gophers 45-16, won the special teams battle, and scored in overtime. Unfortunately, they still had to settle for a tie and conference bonus point.
Back-to-back goals from Brendon Kearney and Mason Jobst staked Ohio State to a two-goal lead with 4:14 to play in the first period. But the Bucks gave one back before the horn and held only a 2-1 edge at the break.
Kearney opens the scoring with his fourth goal of the season. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XRCXSKT3nw
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) December 1, 2018
Despite OSU having much better looks in the second period than the Gophers, Minnesota was the only team to score in the middle frame. Brent Gates Jr. outhustled the Bucks to a puck and knotted the game at 2-2.
Mason Jobst scored his 10th goal of the season on the power play in the first period.
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) December 1, 2018
Assists to Westlund and Laczynski. Westlund's 10th assist this year, Laczynski's 9th.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/LpWMLGCXnl
Ohio State controlled the action in the third period, outshooting the Gophers 13-2. They were even more dominant in the 5-on-5 overtime, posting six shots and allowing Minnesota exactly zero. Tanner Laczynski drew a power play for the Buckeyes midway through the extra session. Jobst banged home his second PPG of the night for the win.
Or at least he seemed to. The officiating crew, which had a unique view of things throughout the series, ruled otherwise. After a very lengthy review, they waved off Jobst’s game-winner, saying it was played with a high stick.
Did the officials cost Ohio State the game? Kind of. I don’t think Jobst played the puck with a high stick. The replay certainly didn’t seem to show anything like definitive evidence to overturn the original decision on the ice. And that decision did effectively ensure the game ended in a tie.
However, the Buckeyes put the power to determine the outcome in the refs’ hands by not cashing in on more of their many scoring chances throughout the game. Mat Robson played well in the Minnesota net. But several times when he should have been called upon to make a big save, the Buckeye shooters whiffed on a pass or clunked a shot off the end wall or had the puck roll off their sticks.
With a little more finish this game could have, and really should have, been a comfortable 4-1 or 4-2 victory. The officiating wouldn’t have been a factor. On the bright side, the Buckeyes did minimize the damage. They buckled down and got the job done in the 3-on-3. Jobst, clearly a man on a mission after the disallowed goal, set up this Quinn Preston score.
GOAL! Jobst sets up Preston for a goal in the 3x3 overtime.
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) December 2, 2018
Buckeyes pick up the extra B1G point. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/O4GSuwlAlF
The Bucks have yet to be on the losing end of a Big Ten series this season, a fact which keeps them at the top of the B1G standings and provides a solid springboard for a second-half title run.
Ohio State wraps up the first half of the season with a 9-4-3 overall record. The Bucks are 4-2-2-2 in the Big Ten. That’s good for 16 points and first place. Now OSU men’s hockey goes on its long holiday break. The next time the Buckeyes take the ice is Dec. 28-29 when they host Mercyhurst.
Women Foiled by Levy in Series Opener
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota State | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
It was tough sledding for the Buckeye women in Mankato on Saturday night. They squared off against Minnesota State’s No. 4 defense and one of the best goalies in the country in freshman Abigail Levy.
Two scoreless periods passed before MSU’s Anna Wilgren put the Mavericks up 1-0 with a power play goal. The Mavs would add two more scores, the last an empty-netter, to defeat the Buckeyes, 3-0.
Although the Bucks peppered Levy with 41 shots (Emma Maltais posted a whopping 11 shots of her own) over the course of the game, the netminder proved uncrackable. Levy is only the second goalie to shut the Buckeyes out this season.
For head coach Nadine Muzerall the reason for the Bucks’ loss was obvious. “We lost to a goalie. She’s sensational.” The area her team needs to improve in tomorrow’s rematch was equally clear. “It was a hard-fought effort and it’s unfortunate that the shots for, and 21 minutes of O-zone time that we had, and 63% CORSI aren’t statistics that matter. What matters is the loss. We have to learn to score, especially when we put 41 shots on net.”
Ohio State has another go at Levy and the Mavericks tomorrow afternoon when the teams conclude their weekend and season series. Game time is set for 3pm ET. A live video stream is available via FloHockey.tv ($).
