Twenty four hours after beating No. 7 Minnesota in overtime, Ohio State was back on the ice and looking for a second upset of the Gophers. The Schott already had some good mojo flowing with the men's basketball Buckeyes’ matinee victory. Their hockey brethren kept it going with a 4-1 win. Here’s how it went down.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 7 Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| No. 13/15 Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
Minnesota made a change in goal for Saturday’s game, replacing Eric Schierhorn with Mat Robson. The netminder had plenty of time to settle in. Quality scoring chances were scarce in the first period though the pace was quick, with few whistles.
The first really good look for either team resulted in the game’s opening goal. Buckeye forward John Wiitala took the puck from first round draft pick Casey Mittelstadt and sent it on to Mason Jobst. The captain had all day to eye Robson and pick his spot. He fired and lit his eighth lamp of the season.
Mason Jobst got the Buckeyes on the board in the first period at 16:54 with his eighth goal of the year.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/5aROX2ae9H
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) December 10, 2017
The goal touched off flurry of penalties. Both sides had abbreviated power plays. There was some 4-on-4 action, but no more scoring. The Buckeyes led 1-0 at the first intermission. The intermission did nothing to interrupt the string of penalties. The Bucks swiftly found themselves down a man to begin the second period. All the special teams play opened the ice up for Minnesota and the Gopher offense buzzed to life.
OSU netminder Sean Romeo was stellar in fending off some wide open, point blank shots by the Gophers. But while Romeo handled the difficult shots with ease, he was tripped up by a seemingly benign one. Brent Gates chucked the puck at the net where it found the tiniest scrap of space between Romeo’s toe and the post.
The resilient goalie quickly shook off the tally which was excellent news for the Buckeyes. They would call on Romeo often over the course of the third period. Ohio State was on its heels for much of the stanza, fending off the strengthening Gophers and killing more penalties.
The last penalty, which the OSU bench was not in complete agreement with, was a turning point for the Buckeyes. They once again killed Minnesota’s advantage. Then they rallied to retake the lead. A series of attacks led to an offense zone draw. Matt Weis won the faceoff back to Matt Miller. The defenseman leaned into the shot and blasted the puck straight through Robson.
GOAL! Matt Miller blasts a shot off a Matt Weis faceoff win for a 2-1 Buckeye lead. 4:45 left/3rd. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/iE8uMnltXo
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) December 10, 2017
The assist was career point No. 100 for Weis. The Gophers made a last ditch effort to even the score, pulling Robson for the extra attacker. Tanner Laczynski and Jobst bulls-eyed the empty net for a 4-1 Ohio State victory.
The win means the Scarlet and Gray sweep the weekend series. This marks the first ever series sweep of the Gophers in program history. The win also means the Buckeyes close their first half schedule with a 10-4-4 mark. The Bucks went 5-4-1-0 in the Big Ten. They sit second in the conference with 16 points, 14 points behind Notre Dame.
