Buckeyes to Take on Spartans in East Lansing – Ohio State Buckeyes

Jan. 21, 2015

Ohio State vs. Michigan State (Ohio State PDF Game Notes)

Video: Coach Rohlik on: Last Week the MSU series the team’s injuries

Date: Friday, January 23 | Time: 7:05 p.m. | Venue: Munn Ice Arena | Location: East Lansing, Mich.

Live Stats: Gametracker | Radio: 1460 AM OhioStateBuckeyes.com | TV: BTN | Online/Mobile: BTN2Go

COLUMBUS, Ohio —

The Ohio State men’s hockey team heads to East Lansing, Mich., for a two-game Big Ten series this weekend. The Buckeyes (7-11-2, 2-4-0-0 B1G) and Spartans (7-11-2, 1-3-2-2 B1G) will meet at 7:05 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday in Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich.

Follow Along

The game Friday will be televised by FOX Sports Detroit and carried on SportsTime Ohio. Ken Daniels and Manny Legace will be on the call.
The Saturday contest will be on BTN and Dan Kelly, Rob Andringa and Lisa Byington will call the action. The broadcast both nights will be available on BTN2Go for smart phones, tablets and computers. Fans who receive BTN through their cable provider have access to games on BTN2Go.
The Buckeyes’ radio broadcast will be on 1460 AM in Columbus and online on OhioStateBuckeyes.com through Buckeye Vision subscription packages. Herb Howenstine and former Buckeye John Mowat will provide commentary.
Gametracker live stats for both games can be accessed through OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
In-game updates will be on Twitter @OhioState_MHKY.
Audio, video and stats links for all Buckeye games this season are updated prior to each series on the Buckeye hockey gameday page: go.osu.edu/mhkygameday.

Buckeye Snapshot

The Buckeyes are 7-11-2 overall and 2-4-0-0 in the Big Ten this season after a 10-6 loss to Michigan last Friday.
Ohio State is averaging 2.90 goals a game and allowing 3.55 goals a contest. The power play is 12-for-75 (.160) and the penalty kill is 49-for-64 (.766).
Four Buckeyes are tied for the team point lead with 14 each – junior Anthony Greco, seniors Tanner Fritz and Matt Johnson and sophomore Nick Schilkey, with freshman Matthew Weis fifth with 13 points.
Greco has a team-high 12 goals, followed by Johnson with 10. Lampasso is first on the squad with 10 assists, with Weis and Schilkey tied for second with nine each. Fritz and senior Chad Niddery are tied for fourth with eight each.
In goal, sophomores Christian Frey and Matt Tomkins have split most weekend starts. Tomkins has played in 12 games total (starting 10) and has a 3.33 goals-against average and .878 save percentage, along with a 4-6-1 record. Frey has started and played in 10 games, posting a 3.39 goals-against average and .908 save percentage with a 3-5-1 ledger. Logan Davis has played limited time in two games and has a 2.75 goals-against average and .846 save percentage.

Last Time Out

Ohio State lost to No. 19 Michigan, 10-6, Friday in Value City Arena. In the opening period, Michigan scored twice in the first 5:36 before Anthony Greco scored an unassisted shorthanded goal with Ohio State killing a major to make it a one-goal game (2-1) at 14:30. The Wolverines responded with two power play goals in the next 1:13 (21 seconds apart at 15:22 and 15:43) for a 4-1 lead after the first stanza. Michigan scored just 14 seconds into the second period for a 5-1 advantage before Buckeye Matt Johnson netted a power play goal at 1:42. The teams traded quick goals again, with a UM score at 2:36 and Ohio State tally from freshman Matthew Weis at 3:05 for a 6-3 game. Michigan added a goal at 12:08 to lead 7-3 after the second. The Wolverines scored at 2:25 of the third for an 8-3 advantage before Ohio State went on a three-goal run to make it a one-goal game (8-6). Greco scored twice in six seconds (8:25 and 8:32) and Johnson tallied at 14:17. Michigan had an answer, with a goal 20 seconds after Johnson’s tally to regain the three-goal lead. Ohio State pulled its goalie for the extra attacker with more than three minutes remaining and UM got the final goal at 18:56. Michigan outshot Ohio State, 39-37, in the game. UM was 2-for-4 on the power play and Ohio State was 1-for-2.
The Buckeyes allowed 10 goals for the first time since Nov. 30, 1996. It was the first time the team scored six goals and lost since a 7-6 overtime defeat to Lake Superior State Oct. 14, 2006. The last game the Buckeyes played that included 16 goals was an 11-5 loss to Kent State Feb. 20, 1993.

Buckeyes vs. Spartans

In a series that dates to 1964, Ohio State trails the all-time series with Michigan State, 31-83-11, but is 5-2-3 in the last 10 meetings with the Spartans. In East Lansing, Michigan State has the edge, 45-11-5.
The teams met Nov. 20-21 in Columbus to open the Big Ten schedule. The Spartans won the opener, 3-1, before a 3-0 Buckeye shutout in game two.
The teams met five times last year, with Ohio State 2-0-3 in the season series. In the regular season, the Buckeyes won 5-3 in Columbus Jan. 10 before the squads tied three games in a row. The streak began with a 1-1 tie in Columbus Jan. 11 and then the teams had back-to-back 2-2 ties Feb. 7-8 in East Lansing. The Spartans won the first shootout, with Ohio State claiming both in East Lansing. The Buckeyes and Spartans then met in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and again went to overtime. The Buckeyes notched a 2-1 win in that contest on a Drew Brevig goal to advance to the tournament semifinals.

The Last Time – Ohio State Splits with Michigan State in November

In their first Big Ten series of the season, the Buckeyes split a series with Michigan State in Value City Arena Nov. 20-21. The Spartans won game one, 3-1, before the Buckeyes shut out the Spartans, 3-0, in game two.
Game 1 (Michigan State 3, Ohio State 1): Michigan State scored once in each period en route to a 3-1 win over Ohio State in the Big Ten opener for both squads. The Spartans tallied at 12:03 of the first to open the scoring and then scored on the power play at 6:47 of the second period. In the third, Brent Darnell gave the Spartans a 3-0 lead shortly after a Buckeye power play had expired. Ohio State pulled goalie Matt Tomkins for the extra attacker with more than three minutes remaining and Tyler Lundey scored at 17:27 to put Ohio State on the board. A MSU penalty gave the Buckeyes a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 1:56, but they could not draw closer. Ohio State outshot Michigan State, 35-20, in the game.
Game 2 (Ohio State 3, Michigan State 0): The Buckeyes skated to a 3-0 win over Michigan State, with two goals in the second period and an early third-period score. After neither team could find the back of the net in the opening frame, Ohio State got on the board with a goal from senior Matt Johnson at 2:16 of the second period. At 7:54 sophomore Nick Schilkey scored on the power play for a 2-0 Buckeye advantage. At 3:14 of the third senior Darik Angeli tallied for a three-goal cushion. Sophomore Matt Tomkins stopped all 29 shots he faced for his first career shutout, with Ohio State putting 28 shots on net. Ohio State was 1-for-4 on the power play and stopped the Spartans on three chances.

Spartan Stats

Michigan State is 7-11-2 overall and stands 1-3-2-2 in the Big Ten. Last week, the Spartans were 0-1-1-1 at Penn State. In game one, the teams skated to a 2-2 overtime tie and Michigan State won the shootout. Game two was a 5-2 victory by the Nittany Lions.
The Spartans average 2.25 goals a game and hold opponents to 2.65 an outing to rank second in the Big Ten in team defense. The power play is 11-for-79 (.139) and the penalty kill is a B1G-best 61-for-71 (.859). The team averages 9.7 penalty minutes a night.
Michael Ferrantino is first on the team with 15 points, with Matt Berry second with 13. Ferrantino has a team-high nine goals and Berry ranks second with seven. Travis Walsh has a team-best nine assists, followed by Joe Cox with eight.
In goal, Jake Hildebrand has a 2.60 goals-against average and .911 save percentage, along with a 7-11- 2 ledger while playing in all 20 of the team’s games. He is the only goalie to see minutes for the Spartans this year.

B1G Banter

Two Big Ten series are set for this weekend, with the Buckeyes at Michigan State and Michigan at Wisconsin.
Penn State has played a league-high eight games and is first with 16 points (5-2-1-0). Michigan (5-1-0-0) is next with 15 points in six games. Minnesota has a 2-2-2-0 ledger for eight points, followed by Michigan State (1-3-2-2/7 points) and Ohio State (2-4-0-0/6 points), with all three playing six games. Wisconsin has two points with an 0-3-1-1 ledger and a league low four games played.
Ohio State still has two-game series at home and on the road vs. Minnesota and Wisconsin, with a home series vs. Penn State remaining, as well as a home-and-home matchup with Michigan. This weekend wraps up the Buckeyes’ regular season series with Michigan State.
In Big Ten play this year, teams receive three points for a win in regulation or overtime, two points for a shootout win, one point for a shootout loss and no points for a regulation or overtime loss.
All six teams qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, which will be held March 19-21 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The tournament winner receives the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

Greco’s Goals

Junior Anthony Greco had his second hat trick of the season (and his career) Friday vs. Michigan. His first came in the season opener vs. Providence Oct. 10.
Greco is one of three NCAA players this season with two hat tricks, joining Robert Morris’ Cody Wydo and Ralph Cuddemi of Canisius.
Greco is the first Buckeye with two hat tricks in a season since at least 1997-98.
Two of Greco’s goals Friday were unassisted. He is second in the NCAA with four unassisted tallies, behind Western Michigan’s Colton Hargrove (5).
Greco’s first goal against the Wolverines was shorthanded, his first career shorty and the Buckeyes’ first SHG of the year.
Three of Greco’s goals this season are gamewinners, including two in overtime. He is one of three players (Jack Eichel/BU, Scott Holm/Air Force) with two OT goals this year. Of his 22 career goals, seven are gamewinners, with two in each of his first three seasons.
Buckeye senior Matt Johnson also had a hat trick this season, scoring three times at Mercyhurst Jan. 2. Ohio State is second nationally with three team hat tricks (tied with Robert Morris), behind Minnesota State which has an NCAA-high four.
Greco is third in the Big Ten in goal scoring this year and one of nine B1G players with a shorthanded tally. He entered the season with 10 goals in his first 53 games as a Buckeye.
Greco has a point in six of the last eight games (7g, 2a) and has a 12-2-14 line on the year to tie for first on the team in points.

For complete notes, updated bios and statistics, open the PDF linked above.

Departments

Media

More

University

Information

Athletic Facilities

Athletics

The Team Shop

Get In The Game

Purchase Tickets

Purchase Tickets

Ticket Office

Resources

Schedules