Ohio State graduate forward Patrick Guzzo (71) watches the scoreboard after a whistle during the game against Michigan State. The Buckeyes fell to the Spartans 4-1 Nov. 9. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State was hoping to bounce back after suffering its first two losses against No. 4 Michigan State last weekend.
They did just that.
The No. 14 Buckeyes (9-2-1, 2-2-0 Big Ten) swept Lindenwood (2-9-1) in their two-game weekend set – winning 5-2 Friday and 3-2 Saturday at the Centene Community Ice Center.
Game 1
Both teams were held out of the net in the opening period Friday, as the Buckeyes outshot the Lions 11-4 in the frame.
Lindenwood opened up the night’s scoring four minutes into the second when forward Jake Southgate put the Lions ahead 1-0 with his first goal of the season.
The Buckeyes quickly answered back with a scoring barrage of four goals over the next 12 minutes.
The first two goals came from forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, who found the back of the net at the 6:21 mark and less than two minutes, again, to give Ohio State a 2-1 lead.
Forward Riley Thompson then scored on a power play with four minutes to go in the second period – extending the Buckeyes’ lead to 3-1.
Forty seconds later, freshman forward Noah Powell capped off the Buckeyes’ scoring in the frame with his first collegiate goal to put Ohio State ahead 4-1 heading into the intermission.
This marked the fourth time this season the Buckeyes have scored four or more goals in a single period.
Five minutes into the third, Lions forward David Gagnon netted his fifth, and team-leading, goal of the season on a power play to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 4-2 with 15 minutes to go in regulation.
Buckeye goalie Kristopher Ebberly held the Lions out of the net for the remainder of regulation, with Thompson netting his second goal of the night halfway through the frame to cement the final at 5-2.
“This was a good win on the road,” Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik said. “We need to continue to clean things and continue to push to get better.”
Game 2
For the second consecutive match, Lindenwood got on the board first as forward Jaeden Mercier found the back of the net a little over 90 seconds into the opening frame.
Ohio State tied the match at one with eight minutes to go in the first period when forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine netted his third goal of the weekend while on a power play.
Forward Sam Deckut put the Buckeyes ahead 2-1 at the 6:45 mark of the second frame with the third goal of his sophomore campaign.
But the Lions weren’t done yet, as Mercier logged his second goal of the night to tie the match at two with seven minutes left in the second period.
The deciding blow for Ohio State came at the 13:07 mark of the third when forward Davis Burnside scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season to put the Buckeyes ahead 3-2.
Buckeye goalie Logan Terness successfully defended the net for the remainder of the frame as the Buckeyes claimed their ninth win of the season.
Ohio State is off this week, before returning to play Nov. 29 and 30 on the road against Princeton University.
