Ohio State senior defenseman Brent Johnson carries the puck through the defensive zone during the game against Minnesota Saturday. The Buckeyes lost to the Golden Gophers 6-1. Credit: Ben Zetocha | Lantern Reporter
It was a tale of two different games for No. 11 Ohio State in its weekend series with No. 3 Minnesota Friday and Saturday in Columbus.
The Buckeyes (15-6-1, 8-4 Big Ten) split their weekend series with the Golden Gophers (18-4-2, 9-2-1 Big Ten) at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center as Ohio State won 5-1 Friday night and lost 6-1 Saturday night.
In both games, the power play was the biggest difference as the Buckeyes. Friday, the Buckeyes scored twice in three attempts and Saturday, Minnesota went 3-for-4.
Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik said being ready each night was the biggest key to success on Friday, and the biggest reason why the team stumbled on Saturday.
“You got to be intense from the drop of the puck and we were that last night,” Rohlik said. “We were definitely ready and did our job and tonight from the drop of the puck to special teams—last night we won the special teams, tonight we certainly didn’t.”
Game One
Despite a slow start from both teams, the Buckeyes got on the board first as forward Max Montes scored at the 11:36 mark in the first period, which was his ninth goal of the season.
Ohio State continued to hold onto its lead throughout the second period after freshman forward Jake Rozzi scored his third goal of his young Buckeye career.
The Buckeyes only built their lead even further in the third.
After a game misconduct penalty by Minnesota forward Brodie Ziemer, Ohio State quickly took advantage as forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored a power-play goal 91 seconds into the third.
A minute later, the Buckeyes found the back of the net again as defenseman Nathan McBrayer scored Ohio State’s second power-play goal of the period to take a 4-0 lead.
Minnesota responded nine minutes into the third as defenseman Sam Rinzel cut the lead to 4-1,
But it was too little too late.
Ohio State added an empty net goal from forward Davis Burnside just over 13 minutes into the third that sealed the deal for the Buckeyes.
Despite both teams having 30 shots each, Ohio State found more success in the power play, which proved to be a huge difference late.
The Buckeyes’ 2-of-3 mark on the power play outdid Minnesota’s 0-of-3.
In addition, Ohio State goalie Kristoffer Eberly recorded 29 saves and allowed only one goal for a save percentage of .967, which helped the Buckeyes remain on top.
Game Two
It didn’t take long for Minnesota to respond in game two on Saturday night, as the Golden Gophers recorded three goals within their first 10 shots.
In the first period, Minnesota outshot Ohio State 16-8, limiting the Buckeyes’ chances to score.
The Golden Gophers scored five goals through the first two periods to take a commanding 5-0 lead going into the third. Three of Minnesota’s first five goals were scored on the power play.
The massive lead for the Golden Gophers prompted Rohlik to replace Eberly with goalie Logan Terness after Minnesota’s fifth goal scored by forward Jimmy Snuggerud with 6:05 left in the second.
Despite the replacement mid-game, Rohlik said he likes where his goalies are at this point in the season.
“Logan [Terness] had a great game the other night up north, and we just felt we wanted to get a little change out there,” Rohlik said. “Our goalies were left out to dry tonight. Logan [Terness] did his job, he was ready to go, he got put in and he did his job.”
Eberly finished with five goals allowed and 19 saves and a save percentage of .792. Meanwhile, Terness stopped all eight shots he faced in 26 minutes of action.
The Buckeyes were finally able to get a chance on the power play after back-to-back Minnesota penalties late in the second, but the net didn’t budge despite Ohio State outshooting the Golden Gophers 18-8 in the second.
Despite Minnesota being unable to capitalize on its chances for the remainder of the second and into the third, it piled onto the lead with 11:36 left as defenseman Ryan Chesley scored his seventh goal of the season and put the Golden Gophers up 6-0.
The Buckeyes were finally able to score with just over two minutes left as Fontaine notched his 13th goal as a Buckeye and gave Ohio State its first and only goal of the game, coming on the power play.
Minnesota finished the game with a 6-1 victory and went 3-of-4 on the power play, while Ohio State went only 1-of-4 on the power play.
Fontaine said the team’s early mistakes are what cost them on Saturday.
“The penalties and those two goals that happened in 15 seconds put a little setback on us,” Fontaine said. “They’re a really talented team, they have a lot of high-end talent so you can’t really give chances.”
Despite an impressive win over Minnesota on Friday, Rohlik said his team is still disappointed with Saturday’s outcome, and there’s still a lot of room to grow as a team moving forward.
“We expect to win every time we step on the ice, you got to have those expectations,” Rohlik said. “Good teams do, but you got to be ready and be at your best in this league, otherwise you’re going to get beat and tonight we weren’t at our best.”
Ohio State gets two weeks off before it travels to State College, Pennsylvania to take on Penn State Jan. 24 and 25 at 7 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. The Buckeyes previously swept the Nittany Lions at home on Dec. 5 and 6. Both games will be televised on Big Ten+.
