First-year forward Max Montes (16) sneaks the puck around the keeper for his second goal against Michigan. Ohio State lost the first of two games to the Wolverines 4-2 at the Schottenstein Center Friday. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
The Buckeyes were unable to battle back at home after being down early for the second consecutive night.
Ohio State (9-15-4, 1-15-2 Big Ten) lost its seventh game in a row as it got swept at home by its rival Michigan (14-9-3, 7-7-2-0-1 Big Ten) by a score of 4-1 Saturday. The Wolverines never trailed across the two-game series in Columbus.
Michigan got off to an early lead as a loose puck met the stick of sophomore forward Josh Eernisse in the slot. The Wolverine buried it past freshman goaltender Kristoffer Eberly only seven minutes into the contest.
After a decisive penalty kill, Michigan doubled its lead from a goal by junior defenseman Ethan Edwards. His goal was assisted by sophomore forward Gavin Brindley, who was selected 34th overall in the 2023 NHL draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Buckeyes were shut down in the first two periods by the Wolverines, going 0-3 on the power play in the opening frame, making it zero goals in their last seven-man advantage attempts.
The second period did not see many chances from either team as the Buckeyes seemingly stopped the momentum that the Wolverines built up in the first.
Senior forward Patrick Guzzo said the team was confident throughout the game but ultimately came up short.
“We knew they would give us a push in the second and third, but the way we responded was great,” Guzzo said. “I thought we had it, but a couple bad turnovers did not go our way.”
Going into the third period, the only statistical difference between the two teams was on the scoreboard. Michigan had a slight 24-22 lead in shots on goal, but the teams were even at the faceoff dot at 19 wins a piece, and both teams had five blocked shots.
The Buckeyes managed to capitalize off the even momentum as freshman forward Max Montes scored his third goal of the series, hoping to spark a Buckeye comeback.
It did not take long for the Wolverines to answer back. Sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty scored his 10th of the season only two minutes and 37 seconds after the first Buckeye goal to reestablish the Wolverine’s two-goal lead.
Michigan continued to put the game out of reach for the Buckeyes, as Eernisse scored his second goal of the game only 15 seconds after Michigan’s third to make the game 4-1.
A crowd of 8,789 showed up in Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center for Saturday’s loss. Head coach Steve Rohlik said he was impressed with the crowd this weekend but disappointed that his team could not secure a win for the fans.
“Kudos to the student section, kudos to everyone that showed up this weekend, you get goosebumps whenever you come out and see the crowd and the electricity,” Rohlik said. “I am just disappointed we could not get them a win.”
The Buckeyes managed to hold the top-ranked power play to no goals this weekend as they hoped to put an end to their penalty-kill troubles. Coming into this series, the Buckeyes ranked last in the NCAA on the penalty kill.
“Our [penalty kill] was dynamite right to the end, they had their top power play out there right to the buzzer,” Rohlik said.
Ohio State will enjoy an off-weekend that will be followed by three more series before its postseason begins.
