The No. 16 Buckeyes and No.10 Fighting Irish met at the Schott on Friday night. It was not the first meeting between the teams who were long-time combatants in the CCHA. However it was the first time the teams met as Big Ten foes. Game 1 of the B1G era went to Notre Dame.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Notre Dame | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| No. 16 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Neither team found the back of the net in the first period. The Buckeyes controlled much of the action, though they did so with a peculiar lack of urgency. They produced better scoring chances and outshot the Irish 13-4, but they struggled to execute their chances to completion.
Pucks were deflected wide, rebounds went untouched. A few times simply elevating a shot would have resulted in a goal. Ohio State had a golden opportunity to take the lead with a major power play in the early stages of the period. But the opportunity, like many others in the frame, went unfulfilled.
| Buckeye Goal Scorer (Assist) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Janik Moser (Mason Jobst) | 3 | 8:35 |
Though Notre Dame was slower to generate shots, the visitors got on the board first. Two minutes into the second period, Cal Burke exploited an uncommon gap in OSU’s defensive coverage. Standing alone at the side of the net he had ample time and space to slam home a feed from Jordan Gross.
With a lead in hand the Irish began to pick up the pace. They outshot the Bucks 10-5 in the middle frame, but OSU goalie Sean Romeo kept the deficit at 1-0.
Ohio State came out of the second intermission with notably increased energy. The Buckeyes nearly tied the game in the early going. Luke Stork and Mason Jobst fired away at a wide open net but could not hit the twine. Cale Morris’ glove and two pipes, yes, but not the back of the net.
The Irish followed up that sequence with an aggressive forecheck. The result was a forced turnover and a goal for Notre Dame’s Dylan Malmquist. The Buckeyes would rally, though. A few minutes later OSU defenseman Janik Moser ripped his second score of the season, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Janik Moser one timer! Buckeyes get on the board with under 12 to go.
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) November 4, 2017
UND 2, OSU 1#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/ojJa1RlOaG
However the Irish ramped up their forecheck once again and netted a third goal, nearly identical to their previous tally. The Buckeyes kept plugging away, but could not get anything else past Morris. The Irish added an empty netter in the waning seconds of the game to bring the final damage to 4-1.
The Bucks outshot Notre Dame 24-18 in the contest. They went 0-for-1 on the power play. The penalty killers thwarted the Irish in all three of their attempts.
Despite the final score, Ohio State was not outmatched in this game. They were out-executed and at times outhustled. Those are fixable issues, though, and hopefully ones the Bucks will improve when they conclude their series with the Irish tomorrow night at 7pm ET.
