Though they weren’t the stars of the puck show on Friday night, the men’s hockey Buckeyes did post a solid 4-2 win over Michigan State. Ohio State got goals from three different players, including a pair from Dakota Joshua. Nine players contributed points. The Bucks are now 8-1-0 since the midseason break.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 5/6 Ohio State | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Ronnie Hein kicked off the scoring early. The sophomore stuffed a power play goal just over four minutes into the contest. Wyatt Ege chipped in an assist. The junior blueliner is an infrequent presence on the Buckeye score sheet but, including tonight's game, he owns five points in his last six games.
WATCH: Ronnie Hein opened the scoring with a power play goal in the first period. pic.twitter.com/2fSsa8wqn7
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) February 3, 2018
Two minutes later Freddy Gerard sniped his sixth goal in as many games. The score brought Gerard’s season goal total to 10. It was assisted by Matt Weis who extended his point streak to 11 games.
Freddy Gerard scored the Buckeyes' second goal of the game, marking his 10th goal of the season. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/OBdrzG07Mk
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) February 3, 2018
Michigan State cut the Buckeye lead in half at the 11:39 mark of the second period. OSU gave the puck up in its own end. Logan Lambdin turned the play around and shoved a second Spartan goal past Sean Romeo.
Dakota Joshua restored Ohio State’s two goal lead in the third period. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect carried the puck across the line and drove to the net where he jammed home his ninth goal of the year.
Dakota Joshua scored the Buckeyes' third goal of the night -- his ninth of the season. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/dtUso0mQye
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) February 3, 2018
The Spartans closed in again midway through the frame. The vaunted Buckeye penalty kill surrendered a rare goal. Zach Osburn tallied for Michigan State.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| PP - Ronnie Hein (Mason Jobst, Wyatt Ege) | 1 | 4:06 |
| Freddy Gerard (Matt Weis, Wyatt Ege) | 1 | 6:12 |
| Dakota Joshua (Brendon Kearney, Sasha Larocque) | 3 | 6:49 |
| PP EN - Dakota Joshua (Matt Weis, Tanner Laczynski) | 3 | 19:19 |
But Joshua struck again late to seal the victory. He potted an empty-netter with less than a minute to go. Tanner Laczynksi picked up a helper on the goal to extend his point streak to 11 games as well.
With the win, Ohio State improves to 18-5-4 overall and 11-5-1-0 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes remain second in the conference standings, 11 points back of B1G leader Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were winners over Penn State earlier tonight.
The Bucks and Spartans close out their regular season series tomorrow night. Opening faceoff is set for 7pm ET. Fans not attending the game can follow along on local radio with 1460 AM or via online video with a BTN Plus subscription.
- Michigan State outshot Ohio State 27-21 in the contest. Dakota Joshua (5) and Tanner Laczynski (3) led the Bucks in shots.
- OSU went 2-for-4 on the power play while MSU was 1-for-2.
