The final scoreline is a double edged sword. Ohio State was nowhere near good enough offensively today. The Buckeyes were well ahead of Cleveland State all day in raw numbers of shots, shots on goal, etc., but failed to convert so many chances it would make anyone physically ill.

Early on, Cleveland State couldn't miss, either. The Vikings poured in 4 goals in the opening frame just a week after scoring once in a whole game.

Ohio State scored a measly 2 goals in the first quarter, despite a metric ton of opportunities. Ending the quarter down by two goals, everyone was restless.

The Buckeyes responded, somewhat, in Q2. Three straight goals gave the Buckeyes a 5-4 lead, which they would never relinquish after breaking a 5-5 tie to go into the half up 6-5.

Laboriously, the offense slowly pushed ahead, stacking goal after goal until it was 12-6 after 3 quarters. Another 5 goals in the 4th gave the Buckeyes 17, which objectively is a good score.

The 17-7 scoreline masks some seriously mixed results for the offense and defense. The first quarter was utterly garbage. The remaining three quarters went better and better.

From that, we can be thankful that this team doesn't seem to be content with just slogging along needlessly. They actually improved over the course of the game, thanks in large part to being able to gain possession at the faceoff so easily.

Faceoffs and the riding game were the clear bright spots of today. Ohio State won 79% of the draws today. Additionally, they forced 9(!) failed clears. That's absurd. Kudos to the offense for refusing to sit back and sull after losing the ball.

Overall, this wasn't the 18-4 cakewalk I predicted. But it should help the Buckeyes in the future.

Special shout-out to Jamesgandle for catching the absence of multiple starters on offense and defense.

Hopefully the Buckeyes can handle the short turnaround for Tuesday against Bellarmine.

Have a good Super Bowl weekend!

Go Bucks!