A physical, and occasionally violent evening of hockey, ended in a dominant Buckeyes victory Saturday.
No. 17 Ohio State (10-6-0, 6-4-0 Big Ten) blasted No. 3 Michigan (14-6-0, 7-5-0 Big Ten) 6-1. The win earned the Buckeyes a much-needed series split with their nemesis.
Head coach Steve Rohlik — who earned career win No. 150 — praised his team’s effort on the night.
“I thought our guys played hard from start to finish. That’s what we ask out of them,” Rohlik said. “They got rewarded.”
Senior forward Jake Wise, who got his first taste of the rivalry this weekend, said the series lived up to the hype.
“I’ve been in some pretty tough rivalries over the years, and I think that was one of the craziest games I’ve played,” Wise said. “Really cool to get my first taste, and obviously really good to get the win tonight.”
Friday, Michigan scored on the power play inside 90 seconds. In game two, it was the Buckeyes who did the early scoring. Sophomore forward Travis Treloar found the back of the net on the power play after 2:09.
Freshman defenseman Mason Lohrei picked up his team-leading 12th assist on the Swede’s goal. Freshman forward Georgii Merkulov, who tallied a power play goal of his own in the series opener, also added an assist on the play.
Treloar’s sixth goal of the campaign gave the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead for just the second time in conference play. Prior to Saturday, Oct. 30 was the last time Ohio State got the scoring started in a Big Ten game.
Rohlik said the early goal gave his team the boost it needed to take care of business.
“Anytime you get a lead, get one, get two, they’ve got to get three to beat you,” Rohlik said. “It gives your team a little bit more confidence. It’s always nice to play with the lead.”
At 10:47, Ohio State went 4-on-2 into the attacking zone. Sophomore forward Patrick Guzzo fed sophomore forward Joe Dunlap, rushing towards the net before sliding the puck across goal to graduate forward Eric Cooley, who buried it for his first goal as a Buckeye.
Fifty one seconds later, Michigan sophomore goaltender Erik Portillo, who saved 36-of-38 shots in game one, was given two minutes for roughing. The Swedish netminder delivered two jabs to senior forward Quinn Preston’s head after a collision.
After failing to convert on their second opportunity, the Buckeyes earned their third power play of the opening period with 6:24 remaining. Yet they failed to capitalize.
The Wolverines’ earned a power play with 2:27 left in the first stanza. However, it would have to wait until a divot was repaired on the ice.
Both Wise and Preston said they’d never experienced a delay like that until tonight.
“It was a little different, obviously,” Preston said. “That was probably the longest period of hockey I’ve ever played, and it didn’t even finish on time. It was definitely weird.”
When play resumed, freshman forward Cam Thiesing used his speed to draw an interference penalty halfway through Michigan’s power play. The two sides played 4-on-4 for one minute before the Buckeyes had a shortened man-advantage of their own.
In the first half of the second period, the two schools combined for six penalties in a span of 9:12, and failed to find the back of the net.
Following the fifth Ohio State penalty of the period, senior defenseman Nick Blankenburg finally put the Wolverines on the board at 18:20. The goal gave Michigan’s captain his ninth of the season and trimmed the Buckeyes’ lead to 2-1.
After 40 minutes of “action,” Ohio State held a large advantage in shots, 28-19. Michigan had succeeded on one of its five power plays, while the scarlet and gray were one-for-six.
Thanks to a goal from Preston, at 8:21, they were well on their way. The Trenton, Michigan, native was in the right place at the right time to slot a rebound past Portillo.
Wise fired the shot that generated the scoring opportunity for Preston. A second assist was given to junior forward Mark Cheremeta on the tally, his fifth of the campaign.
Before the public address announcer could even finish the recap of Preston’s goal, Cheremeta made it 4-1. The two goals were just nine seconds apart and provided the Buckeyes with some much-needed cushion.
They weren’t done there, however. Forty one seconds after Cheremeta found the back of the net, junior forward Tate Singleton scored the third Ohio State goal in less than a minute.
Rohlik said that Preston’s goal rejuvenated his team and gave them the edge they needed to see the game out.
“It was almost like, once we got three, the boys felt like, ‘Here we go,’ had that swagger again,” Rohlik said. “It was just our night. Pucks started going in. Credit to these guys.”
Dunlap scored again with 1:50 remaining. The Windham, New Hampshire, native showcased some smooth stick-handling ability, before putting his side up 6-1.
Following the goal, Michigan senior forward Nolan Moyle charged Dunlap and began swinging. As a result, Moyle and fifth-year defenseman Grant Gabriele were ejected from the game.
The Buckeyes overwhelmed Michigan for a majority of the game. Preston said the team made a couple of key adjustments that really agitated the Wolverines.
“I just think we played a lot harder over pucks tonight. They didn’t like that,” Preston said. “They like to have space and cut back. I think the guys were just winning more stick-battles and being a little more aggressive on pucks than we have been. Especially last night.”
Ohio State outshot the Wolverines 42-26 on the night. The archrivals combined for 24 penalties and 99 minutes in the box, by far the most in any Big Ten game this year.
Thirteen different Buckeyes recorded a point in the win. Cheremeta, Dunlap and Wise all tallied two points. Defensively, freshman goaltender Jakub Dobeš put together yet another great outing in between the posts. The Czech Republic international saved 25 shots en route to the 10th victory of his career.
Wise and Rohlik made sure to show their appreciation for the supporters inside the Schottenstein Center postgame.
“That was incredible. All the credit to the student section,” Rohlik said. “They came in in droves. All the people that showed up here, it’s a lot different than 12 months ago, that’s pretty incredible. Credit to our fans.”
Ohio State will look to keep momentum against Bowling Green Dec. 16-17. The Buckeyes will host the Falcons on Thursday, before travelling north for the series finale on Friday.
