Good defense is a rare commodity in the Big Ten this season. The conference is ripe with high flying, high scoring squads, but plain old shut down defending is seldom seen. It's a sight that Ohio State fans would've happily done without on Friday, as they watched the visiting Spartans smother the Buckeye offense en route to a 4-2 victory.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Michigan State dictated the pace from the opening faceoff. The visitors slowed the game down, bottled up the Buckeye scorers, and clogged the ice around their net. The few clean shots the Bucks had, they sent straight into the logo of MSU goalie Jake Hildebrand.
The Spartans managed only one shot in the opening seven minutes of the contest, but it was an effective one. Dylan Pavelek chucked the puck toward the goal. It caromed off Ohio State defenseman Drew Brevig and into the net.
MSU stretched its lead to 2-0 at the 10:40 mark. Michael Ferrantino won a puck battle along the wall. He wheeled off with nothing but open ice between himself and Christian Frey. One quick snipe later, Michigan State had a two goal advantage.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17:45 | Nick Schilkey (Matt Weis) |
| 3 | 3:07 | Mason Jobst (Dave Gust) |
Nick Schilkey put Ohio State on the board in the waning minutes of the period. Matt Weis won an offensive zone faceoff back to Schilkey. The rifleman ripped home his team leading thirteenth tally.
Schilkey was one of few Buckeyes to consistently manufacture offense in the contest. He drove to the net a handful of times, on one occasion drawing a penalty on the Spartans, and rang the iron early in the third period. MSU didn’t allow him any room to operate or the outcome of the game would’ve been very different.
Michigan State’s game only strengthened in the second period. Though the Buckeyes came out of the break with a noticeable increase in energy, it was soon quashed by the Spartans. MSU kept the Bucks hemmed in their own end for extended lengths of time. OSU did not put an even strength shot on goal until the final four minutes of the frame.
Meanwhile the Spartans increased their lead yet again. In a play very similar to his team’s first goal, Brennan Sanford put a shot on net. Frey got a piece of it, but Buckeye defenseman Tommy Parran kicked the puck back in. This would turn out to be the game winning score.
The frustrated Bucks regrouped over the final intermission and came roaring back to life in the third period. In no time at all they cut into the Michigan State advantage. Mason Jobst wove through just about every Spartan defender on the ice, and then rang the puck past Hildebrand. Dave Gust earned an assist on the play, extending his point streak to twelve games.
Unfortunately the power surge was too little, too late for Ohio State. The cordon around the MSU net was solidly in place. Hildebrand sucked up any rubber that found its way through the green and white defenders. Mackenzie MacEachern potted an empty netter with 1:47 remaining to seal the win.
The Spartans outshot the Bucks 29-21 in the game, including a 14-5 margin in the second period. Neither team converted a power play try. Each side went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Michigan State benefited from some puck luck in the victory. However the deciding factor in the game was really the visitors’ commitment to a clogged up, locked down, aggravatingly effective defense. The Spartans will likely bring the same game plan tomorrow night. The Buckeyes have to find a way to break through. Opening faceoff is set for 7pm.
