After defeating Michigan State in Game 1 of their Big Ten quarterfinal match-up, the men's hockey Buckeyes hoped to close out their best-of-three series with a victory on Saturday night. The teams got underway a little after 7pm ET. Almost 66 hockey minutes later, an overtime tally from Freddy Gerard secured both Ohio State's win and its place in the B1G semifinals.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 6 Ohio State | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Mason Jobst put OSU on top midway through the first period with a power play goal. He raced by the Spartan defense and potted goal No. 18 on the season. At the time it was the Buckeye captain's second score of the series and his fourth in the last three games.
First period flashback: Mason Jobst scored his first of two goals in the game on the power play in the first period. It was his eighth PPG of the season. pic.twitter.com/kFej9m6Zcf
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 4, 2018
Late in the frame, Jobst was whistled for a rare penalty. Thus the Bucks' best penalty killing forward had a front row seat when Cody Milan stepped into a shot and blasted a game-tying power play goal for the Spartans. This was just the twelfth score against OSU's top-ranked penalty kill all season.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| PP - Mason Jobst (Matt Weis, Wyatt Ege) | 1 | 11:09 |
| Mason Jobst (Brendon Kearney) | 2 | 7:43 |
| John Wiitala (unassisted) | 2 | 11:22 |
| Freddy Gerard (Sasha Larocque) | OT | 5:53 |
MSU retained momentum from that goal through the break. The Spartans charged out of the intermission and generated a go-ahead goal. Just 29 seconds into the second period, Patrick Khodorenko swept the puck past OSU netminder Sean Romeo for a 2-1 Michigan State lead.
The Buckeyes battled back. Jobst took center stage again. Brendon Kearney won the puck along the wall and chucked out to open ice. El Capitan drove down and potted it behind MSU goalie John Lethemon to knot the game at 2-2.
Jobst scored his second goal of the game - 19th of the season - in the second period. Kearney with the assist. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Gm8H9neSBL
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 4, 2018
The score didn't hold up long. Seconds later Tommy Apap restored Michigan State's lead. The puck shot out from a scramble behind the net. Apap teed up a blast that Romeo had little hope of stopping.
But Ohio State kept pressing. A few minutes later the Spartans made a mistake, letting a puck loose in their own end. John Wiitala collected the rubber, dragged it around the MSU defender, and fired it by Lethemon.
Wiitala tied the game at 3 with his 8th goal of the season. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/H4AxmqxqRU
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 4, 2018
The teams headed to the third period all tied up at 3-3. Ohio State bombarded Lethemon with 15 shots in the frame but the Michigan State netminder withstood the barrage. Romeo fended off six Spartan shots and the squads prepared for overtime.
B1G tournament overtimes are full 20-minute affairs. No shootouts in the postseason. But Freddy Gerard didn't need that much time. He sent the Buckeyes to the conference semifinals just shy of six minutes into the extra session. Sasha Larocque earned a well-deserved assist in keeping the play alive and onside.
OT winner!
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 4, 2018
Gerard with the goal, Larocque with the assist.
Buckeyes are moving on to the #B1GHockey Tournament semifinals. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/eqqR6VVnZI
So mark your calendars, Buckeye fans. Second seed Ohio State will host third seed Michigan in a single-elimination Big Ten semifinal next week on Saturday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Nationwide Arena.
The Wolverines dusted Wisconsin tonight, 7-4, in a game only slightly less nuts than the one the teams played on Friday. Top seed Notre Dame will host fourth seed Penn State in the other B1G semi. The Nittany Lions edged Minnesota, 6-5, tonight and swept their quarterfinal series.
- Ohio State outshot Michigan State 42-18 in tonight's contest. Mason Jobst (6) and Tanner Laczynski (5) led the Bucks
- Apologies to 82spencer and anyone else reading the comments in this week's puck preview, the Schott doesn't list the OHSAA wrestling tournament on its event calendar for next Saturday even though it is clearly using the space.
