Senior forward Patrick Guzzo (71) locates the puck while surrounded by a sea of black jerseys. The Ohio State men’s hockey team defeated Princeton 6-3 at Value City Arena Friday. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
It may not be the outcome head coach Steve Rohlik wanted, but Saturday night, the Ohio State men’s ice hockey team avoided the sweep against No. 10 Minnesota with a tie that ended in a shootout victory. Friday night, the Buckeyes suffered a 5-4 loss.
In the first period, sophomore forward Jimmy Snuggerud started the scoring, putting the Gophers up early at Value City Arena.
A Thomas Weis steal seconds later fed sophomore forward Cam Thiesing with a quick Buckeye answer. Patrick Guzzo then scored a power-play goal to take the lead.
Freshman forward Weis’ 5-minute major-for-boarding penalty gave Minnesota a power-play goal for Snuggerud’s second goal of the game. Weis’ hit sent Golden Gophers senior defenseman Carl Fish to the locker room.
Junior forward Rhett Pitlick scored on a breakaway goal to break the tie.
In the second, Rohlik brought freshman goalie Kristoffer Eberly to turn things around on defense.
“Logan’s played a lot of minutes for us right now, and Ebs was in last weekend and did a good job,” Rohlik said. “I thought he came in and did a great job for us and gave us a chance.”
After Buckeye sophomore forward Stephen Halliday scored on a rebound goal, Minnesota’s sophomore forward Connor Kurth responded with a goal, putting the Gophers up 4-3.
Minnesota forward Brody Lamb then added insurance on a power-play goal.
Sophomore defenseman Damien Carfagna scored a late goal in an attempt for a Buckeye rally, but the team came up short, despite Ohio State having the shot advantage for the game, 38-25.
Saturday night, Ohio State desperately needed a Big Ten win, and Rohlik knew it. Before the match, he said he decided to start Eberly, given his performance the night before.
“He’s put in the time and practice, like all three of my goalies do, stays out late, comes here for extra ice and waits for his time,” Rohlik said. “He’s improved so much since he’s been here, and credit to him.”
The game was opposite to the high-scoring affair the night before, with excellent goalie play on both sides.
In the first period, Thiesing scored to get things started, with Minnesota forward Aaron Huglen tying the score in the second.
After regulation, the game went into overtime, with Ohio State having close chances with several shots on the net.
But in the shootout, sophomore forward Davis Burnside capitalized on the first shot, with Eberly holding it down in the net to win it.
“It’s frustrating we didn’t capitalize in the overtime,” Burnside said. “We had a lot of chances and that’s what you want to do is win in overtime, get that win, but we played well and ultimately got the shootout win.”
Eberly said he knew the challenge would be difficult in his first collegiate start against a team like Minnesota, but taking deep breaths and remaining calm was crucial to his success in handling the pressure.
“It’s super nerve-wracking,” Eberly said. “I think one thing that’s important to think about is I played this game my whole life, and I just need to keep it simple like that. Just seeing how hard everyone on this team has been working. I mean, once I heard my name called, I just really wanted to get the guy’s win tonight.”
The Buckeyes now head into the break, still looking for their first Big Ten win, and return to their home ice for the final game of 2023 Dec. 30 when they welcome Mercyhurst.
