Ohio State Men’s Hockey Stuns No. 5 Wisconsin in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals

By 11W Staff on March 10, 2024 at 8:21 pm
Ohio State men's hockey
via @OhioStateMHKY
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With a 3-1 win in Sunday’s decisive Game 3, the Ohio State men’s hockey team completed a massive upset over No. 5 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals, taking the series 2-1.

The seventh-seeded Buckeyes (14-19-4) opened the series with a 3-1 victory over the hosting Badgers (26-11-2) and bounced back from a difficult 4-2 loss in Game 2 to claim the series with their victory over the tournament’s No. 2 seed on Sunday. Ohio State was 2-0 with junior goaltender Logan Terness between the pipes during the series, as the Buckeye goaltender registered 57 saves to just two goals allowed across the pair of games.

Game 1 

Despite facing a hostile environment at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., Ohio State got off to a quick start against the mighty Badgers.

Junior defenseman Brent Johnson drew first blood for the Buckeyes, snapping a shot past Wisconsin goaltender Kyle McClellan to push Ohio State ahead 1-0 with 10:52 to play in the opening period. The Badgers quickly responded, however, as freshman forward William Whitelaw — a third-round selection of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft — scored off a rebound to tie the game with 8:20 remaining in the frame. 

Both teams were held scoreless throughout the second period, largely thanks to the stellar performances of Terness and McClellan. Terness turned away 16 Wisconsin shot attempts during the period while McClellan registered seven saves to keep the game knotted at one heading into the decisive third period.

The final 20 minutes of the game belonged to Ohio State freshman forward Max Montes. The Wisconsin native put the Buckeyes ahead at 17:39, ripping a shot past McClellan following a nice feed from Johnson. 

Ohio State maintained the 2-1 lead until Montes, again, found the twine on an empty net goal with 1:47 to push the game out of reach for the Badgers. Friday’s win marked the second time this season in which Montes scored a pair of goals, with the first coming against Michigan on Feb. 2. 

Terness secured the win behind 28 saves, including a stretch of 27 consecutive stops after Wisconsin’s first-period score. McClellan recorded 21 saves against the Buckeyes. 

Game 2

Feeling the heat from the unexpected Game 1 loss, Wisconsin came out swinging on Saturday evening.

Despite having its first powerplay opportunity killed early in the first period, the Badgers wouldn’t allow another extra-man chance to slip through their fingers. Benefitting from a holding penalty on Ohio State graduate forward Dalton Messina, Wisconsin struck first with a powerplay goal from sophomore Christian Fitzgerald with 6:53 remaining in the opening frame.

The Buckeyes responded on a powerplay opportunity of their own with less than a minute remaining in the period, as freshman forward Thomas Weis — a Madison native — scored off a deflection to send the game into the first intermission deadlocked at one. 

Wisconsin jumped on the Buckeyes early in the second frame, scoring a pair of goals off the sticks of seniors David Silye and Anthony Kehrer to take a 3-1 lead with 12:58 remaining in the period. Ohio State appeared to respond with a goal from freshman defenseman Theo Wallberg with 12:17 left in the period off of a deflection, but a Wisconsin challenge caused the score to be wiped off the board due to goalie interference. 

It wasn’t until the third period that Ohio State shook off the negated goal, as senior forward Patrick Guzzo got an unassisted opportunity past McClellan to cut the Badger lead to 3-2 with 10:13 to play in regulation. The Badgers kept the Buckeyes at bay, though, scoring an empty-netter off the stick of sophomore forward Cruz Lucius to push the advantage back up to two with 2:16 to play.

Ohio State freshman goalie Kristoffer Eberly finished the evening with 33 saves against 36 shots faced, while McClellan turned away 37 Buckeye attempts. 

Game 3

With its season on the line, Ohio State put the pressure on Wisconsin early in the winner-take-all Game 3. 

Benefitting from a powerplay opportunity early in the first period, sophomore forward Davis Burnside tracked the puck off McClellan’s blocker and snapped a shot by the Badger goalie to give Ohio State the advantage with 13:45 remaining in the opening frame.

The Ohio State defense held the Badgers to just five shot attempts in the opening period, while the Buckeyes staked out an 11-6 faceoff advantage to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Fifth-year defenseman Scooter Brickey extended Ohio State’s lead to 2-0 with 9:56 remaining in the second period, ricocheting the puck off the back of McClellan’s pad from behind the net for a remarkable score.

The Buckeyes maintained the 2-0 advantage into the second intermission, largely thanks to the efforts of Terness — who turned away 11 Wisconsin shot attempts during the frame. 

Burnside added another score for good measure with 3:03 remaining in regulation, scoring an empty netter to secure the series for the Buckeyes. Wisconsin added a goal of its own with 1:53 to play, scoring off the stick of freshman Sawyer Scholl, but it was too little, too late for the Badgers. 

Terness recorded 30 saves in the series-sealing win, while sophomore forward Stephen Halliday registered a pair of assists for the Buckeyes. 

Ohio State advances to play first-seeded Michigan State (22-9-3) on Saturday in the single-elimination semifinals, with scheduling and TV details to be determined. 

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