The Drought is Over
Caleb Downs scores Ohio State’s first punt return touchdown since 2014.
It was a bad day for the men’s hockey Buckeyes to have a bad day. But that’s what happened as the visiting Gophers edged No. 2/3 Ohio State, 4-3. The loss ended OSU’s win streak at seven games. It also put the Bucks’ conference title celebration on hold. The team must wait until at least one more game before clinching the Big Ten’s top spot.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| No. 2/3 Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
The Bucks looked sharp early in the tilt. Their focus and intensity seemed high. They brought the pain to the Gophers with some tremendous physicality. And the penalty kill was flawless when that physical play led to an early Minnesota power play.
OSU’s PK unit held the Gophers shotless on the advantage. The momentum generated by the successful penalty kill carried on when the teams returned to even strength. The Buckeye defense continued to hold the visitors shotless through the next 13+ minutes.
Then despite the ice tilting toward Ohio State, the puck was suddenly in the back of the Buckeye net. Sean Romeo seemed to misjudge Jack Sadek’s shot, possibly because he’d seen so little rubber to that point. Minnesota went up, 1-0.
Perhaps disappointed on the poor return for the team’s first period effort, Ohio State fell into one of its strange shotless fugues in the second period. The Bucks put a puck on net around the 11:00 mark. That was the only shot they would register in the first 19 minutes of the frame.
The Gophers’ offense began to buzz near the midpoint of the stanza. At the 11:56 mark, Nathan Burke outmuscled Grant Gabriele in front of the net and tipped in a second Minnesota goal. Though clearly not living their best life tonight, the Bucks managed to claw their way back into the game.
With 15 seconds to play in the second period, Carson Meyer won an offensive zone draw. Gordi Myer shuffled the puck to the front of the net where John Wiitala fired it home. It was Ohio State’s second shot of the frame.
Bucks are on the board
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 16, 2019
@John_Wiitala27 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Xm9BPShu9N
While the Buckeyes tried valiantly to rally in the third period, they could never quite close the gap on Minnesota. The Gophers went up 3-1 after sustained pressure resulted in a Ryan Zuhlsdorf goal. The Scarlet and Gray answered. Ronnie Hein slammed a puck off the end wall to Sam McCormick who potted the bounce. It was his first goal of the season.
Fighting our way back.
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 16, 2019
@SamMcCo17 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/1DqBuGDu3K
Minnesota restored its two-goal lead with a power play goal. The Buckeyes pulled Romeo for the extra attacker with four minutes to go. The debris from Matt Miller’s big bomb was collected by Hein. He fed Mason Jobst in the faceoff circle. The captain set up Quinn Preston for a slam dunk.
Buckle your seatbelts...@M_Jobst x @Quinn_Preston20 have us within 1 again.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/3ysO67WSnE
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 16, 2019
Ohio State’s rally stalled as the team killed off a late penalty. The Bucks picked back up with the extra attacker with a little less than a minute to play but couldn’t harness any more magic. They fell by a final score of 4-3.
The loss snaps OSU’s win streak at seven games. The Bucks drop to 19-6-4 overall and 12-4-3-2 in the Big Ten. The good news for Ohio State is that the Big Ten championship challengers didn’t fare any better on Friday night.
Penn State lost to Michigan State, 5-3, effectively removing the Nittany Lions from title contention. The best they can do now is to tie the Buckeyes. Notre Dame also fell, 2-1, to Wisconsin.
This means Ohio State can still clinch the B1G crown this week. The Bucks need a win tomorrow night. Opening faceoff is set for 6pm ET. It’s going to be a packed house. Fans not in attendance can catch the game on BTN or BTN2Go.
- Shots were 24-23 in favor of Ohio State. This included a 15-9 margin in the third period.
- Freddy Gerard led the Buckeyes with five shots on goal.
- Ronnie Hein (0-2--2) was the lone multi-point scorer for the Bucks in the game.
- Minnesota won the special teams battle, going 1-for-4 on the power pay while Ohio State was 0-for-1.
- Defensive cornerstone Sasha Larocque returned to the OSU lineup tonight after missing three games to injury.
