The No. 6 Buckeyes rolled into Minnesota looking to continue the good work they began with last week's upset of No. 1 Notre Dame. Ohio State played two solid periods but it wasn't enough to beat the Gophers. Goldy got the drop on the Bucks early and made the lead stick with solid defense and great goaltending.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| No. 9/10 Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Minnesota really took it to the Bucks in the opening period. The Gophers outshot Ohio State 13-5 and claimed a 1-0 lead. Tommy Novak put a shot on Sean Romeo. The Buckeye netminder fended it off, but Brent Gates Jr. skated right through the OSU defense and smacked home the rebound. Ohio State came out stronger in the middle frame and got some good looks but Gopher goalie Mat Robson thwarted them time after time.
ROB-son! The #Gophers sophomore commits double highway robbery to hold the lead early in the second period. pic.twitter.com/pePLyu1lZf
— Minnesota M Hockey (@GopherHockey) February 17, 2018
Midway through the second period, Jack Glover blasted a goal through heavy traffic to extend Minnesota’s lead to 2-0. The Buckeyes kept on trucking, though, and caught a break with a late power play. It was their third advantage of the game. The third time was indeed the charm. Matt Miller crushed his sixth tally of the season, cutting the Gophers’ lead in half.
Sophomore D Matt Miller put the Buckeyes on the board at Minnesota with a power play goal in the second. pic.twitter.com/y7SLOssEYx
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) February 17, 2018
The teams continued their back-and-forth battle in the third period but neither side budged. The Gophers held their 2-1 lead into the late minutes of the game. The Buckeyes pulled Romeo for the extra attacker in the final minute of play. They nearly tied the game up with about 30 seconds to go. A ricocheting puck made its way off the pipe and to the goal line but Jack Sadek (a.k.a. The Second-Best Sadek) swept it out of danger.
The loss drops Ohio State to 19-8-4 overall on the season and 12-8-1-0 in the Big Ten. It was a bad result, not a terrible game. After working through their sluggish start the Bucks played pretty well. Ideally, you'd like to see them a little quicker out of the gate but they aren't the first team to have travel legs. I expect we'll see a better beginning tomorrow.
Speaking of which, Saturday's opening faceoff is an early one, 5pm ET. ESPNU has your television coverage. The game can be streamed live via Watch ESPN or TSN Go.
- Minnesota outshot Ohio State 28-22 in the contest. The Bucks were led by Freddy Gerard (4), Mason Jobst (3), and Matt Joyaux (3).
- OSU went 1-for-3 on the power play. The penalty kill had the night off as the Gophers did not have an advantage in the game.
- Other Big Ten results: Michigan State toppled Penn State, 4-2. Michigan knocked off Notre Dame, also by a 4-2 score. Wisconsin is on a bye week.
- Updated B1G standings: Notre Dame 50 points, Ohio State 37, Michigan 35, Minnesota 32, Wisconsin 28, Penn State 25, Michigan State 18.
