Ohio State
21-11-2, 13-9-2
Michigan
25-7-1, 16-6-0
No. 11/12 Buckeyes End Regular Season with Loss to No. 2 Michigan
2/19/2022 11:43:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 11/12 Ohio State men's hockey team fell to No. 2 Michigan, 3-0, Saturday in Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan scored once in each period for the win, sealing the victory with an empty net goal.
The game ended the regular season for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 21-11-2 on the year and finishes 13-9-2-1-1-1 in Big Ten play. Michigan is 25-7-1 and 16-6-0-0-3-0 in league play, standing in first place.
The Buckeyes have a bye next weekend on the final weekend of Big Ten regular season action. The squad will then host a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal best-of-three series as the No. 3 or 4 seed March 4-6 in Value City Arena in The Schottenstein Center.
Quoting head coach Steve Rohlik
"This was a hard-fought game. It was pretty even start to finish; we just couldn't get one by the goalie. We did enough to get home ice and we are looking forward to being in The Schott for the first round of the playoffs."
How it Happened
Michigan opened the scoring at 8:37 of the first, as Philippe Lapointe scored from the faceoff circle. Michigan had three power play chances in the opening 20 minutes and Ohio State had two, with a third chance carrying into the second. Shots were 16-10 Michigan in the first.
Less than two minutes into the second a Buckeye was assessed a major, but Ohio State was able to kill it off and keep it a one-goal game. Luke Hughes scored with the teams skating 4-on-4 at 13:32 to push the Wolverine lead to 2-0. The Buckeyes were 0-for-3 on the power play in the second, with Michigan 0-for-2, and Ohio State had the shot advantage, 13-10
With the Buckeyes down two goals, Ohio State pulled its goalie with more than three minutes remaining and a shot from Mark Estapa from the Wolverine zone found the net for a 3-0 Michigan lead. The Wolverines, who outshot Ohio State 10-7 in the third, had the only power play in the period, which came in the final two minutes.
The Buckeye penalty kill was outstanding in the game, going 6-for-6, including the full five-minute major. Ohio State was 0-for-5 on the power play.
The Buckeyes were outshot, 36-30, in the contest. Jakub Dobes made 33 saves in 59:24 for the Buckeyes, allowing two goals. Will Riedell led the Buckeyes with five shot blocks. In all, Ohio State had 16 shot blocks.
Ohio State was shut out for the second time this season and first time since Nov. 13 at Minnesota.
