Ohio State fifth-year forward Jake Wise (28) waits for the game to resume during the No. 10-No. 4 Michigan game Feb. 18. Ohio State won 4-2. Credit: Katie Good | Asst. Photo Editor
The second period wasn’t the Buckeyes’ friend this weekend, as consecutive offensive explosions in the middle frame led No. 1 Minnesota to a sweep of No. 8 Ohio State in the final weekend of the regular season.
Penalties plagued the Buckeyes (18-13-2, 11-11-2 Big Ten) Friday night as the Golden Gophers (25-8-1, 19-5-1 Big Ten) scored all four goals —three via the power play — in the second period to get the 4-0 shutout over Ohio State.
Saturday saw Minnesota score five unanswered as the Buckeyes could not hold an early two-goal lead in a 5-2 loss.
Friday
The Golden Gophers had numerous opportunities to get on the board early, outshooting the Buckeyes 14-9 and getting three power plays via Ohio State penalties in the first frame. However, the Buckeyes penalty kill unit shut the door.
One of the Buckeye penalties was called on sophomore goalie Jakub Dobeš for delay of game after his goal post was dislodged for the fourth time in the first period. The ice crew went out during intermission and made adjustments.
The first half of the second period would remain scoreless before junior defenseman and team captain Brock Faber drew first blood for Minnesota at the 12:01 mark to make it 1-0.
Ohio State’s penalty issues would continue to plague the team. Consecutive penalties by freshman defenseman Tyler Duke and sophomore forward Cam Thiesing with around four minutes left gave the Golden Gophers a brief five-on-three opportunity which junior defenseman Mike Koster cashed in to make it 2-0.
Proceeding the second goal, head coach Steve Rohlik received a technical penalty to give Minnesota another five-on-three period, allowing Golden Gophers freshman forward Jimmy Snuggerud to deposit another to build the lead to 3-0.
With the remainder of the five-on-four advantage, Koster scored his second goal with 1:44 left in the period to cap off the Golden Gophers’ offensive onslaught that saw three goals scored in the span of 2:02.
Unlike the Buckeyes, who totaled seven penalties, Minnesota only committed three on the night.
In a battle of Mike Richter Award semifinalists, senior goalie Justen Close won this matchup over Dobeš, securing his sixth shutout on the campaign.
Shots would end up 38-23 in favor of the Golden Gophers.
Saturday
Roles were reversed early on, as Minnesota dealt with penalty issues in the first period. A trio of penalties called with 3:53 remaining, including two five-minute majors on Snuggerud and sophomore forward Matthew Knies, gave Ohio State sessions of four-on-three and five-on-three hockey for the remainder of the period.
Sophomore defenseman Cole McWard would cash in with 3.2 seconds remaining in the opening frame to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
Just over a minute into the second period, sophomore defenseman Mason Lohrei would take advantage of the remaining five-on-three advantage to make it 2-0 Ohio State on his third goal of the campaign.
The Golden Gophers’ high-powered offense, however, wasn’t fazed. In 13 seconds, Minnesota scored twice to tie the game at the 11:43 mark courtesy of Knies and sophomore forward Aaron Huglen.
Minnesota’s barrage wasn’t over, as freshman forward Logan Cooley deposited a goal with 33 seconds left in the second period to give the Golden Gophers their first lead of the evening at 3-2.
Minnesota poured on in the final period, scoring two more times via seniors forward Bryce Brodzinski and defenseman Ryan Johnson to pad the victory on their senior day.
Minnesota outshot the Buckeyes once again, 33-30. Both goalies saved 28 attempts to conclude the rough weekend for Dobeš in which he surrendered nine goals.
Ohio State’s special teams bounced back despite the loss, scoring two power-play goals and killing off all five Golden Gopher opportunities.
The Buckeyes await the results of the remaining Big Ten games to determine their opponent in a best-of-three Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal series at the Schottenstein Center next weekend beginning Friday.
