Buckeyes Suffer 2-1 Loss at No. 4 Michigan State in B1G Semis

Saturday, March 16

East Lansing, MI

Ohio State

14-20-4

Michigan State University

23-9-3

Ohio St.

Michigan St.

Photo by: LON HORWEDEL PHOTO

Ohio State Men's Hockey at Michigan State Big Ten Quarterfinal 3/16/24

Photo by: LON HORWEDEL PHOTO

Buckeyes Suffer 2-1 Loss at No. 4 Michigan State in B1G Semis

3/16/2024 9:49:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

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Terness makes 36 saves in Buckeye net

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men's hockey team fell to No. 4-ranked Michigan State, 2-1, Saturday in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament in Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich.

The No. 7 seed Buckeyes, who advanced out of the quarterfinals with a series win at No. 2 Wisconsin, end their season with the loss. The No. 1 seed Spartans will host the winner of the other semifinal between No. 3 Minnesota and No. 4 Michigan in the tournament final next Saturday.

How it Happened

The semifinal between the Buckeyes (14-20-4) and Spartans (22-9-3) was scoreless through the first period. Each team had 13 shots on net in the opening 20 minutes.
Michigan State opened the scoring 1:23 into the second on a goal that went in off Daniel Russell's skate in front.
The Spartans appeared to go ahead 2-0 at 3:58, but the goal was overturned after an Ohio State challenge for a player in the crease. Michigan State led 1-0 through 40 minutes.
Buckeye freshman Max Montes tied the game 2:03 into the third, scoring on a wraparound, assisted by Thomas Weis and Jake Dunlap.
Just 13 seconds later the Spartans pushed back ahead, 2-1, with Nash Nienhuis scoring through traffic from the faceoff circle. Ohio State challenged that play, again for a player in the crease, but the goal stood after review.
The Buckeyes appeared to tie the game at 4:22, but a Spartan challenge for offside took the goal off the board after review.
Ohio State skated with its net empty for the final 1:56, but was unable to find the equalizer.
Each team ended the game with 38 shots on goal. The Spartans were ahead 14-9 in the second and the Buckeyes had the edge in the third, 16-11.
Buckeye goalie Logan Terness made 36 saves in 58:03. Ohio State blocked 19 Spartan shot attempts. Brent Johnson and Sam Deckhut shared the team lead with three each.
Ohio State was unable to score on two power play chances, with one in each the first and second periods, and stopped Michigan State on its one opportunity in the first.

No goals in the first between the Buckeyes and Spartans.

Each team with 13 shots and 1 power play chance.

This play from Terness and Klee helped keep MSU off the board pic.twitter.com/ioBcwN5QjS
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) March 16, 2024

Buckeye This and That

In the playoffs, Terness had a 1.35 goals-against average and .959 save percentage in three starts.
Montes tied for third on the team with nine goals on the year, adding nine assists for 18 points. He led the Buckeyes with three goals and four points in the Big Ten Tournament.
Weis had 11 points, with four goals and seven assists, and Dunlap had a 3-5-8 line.
Stephen Halliday led the Buckeyes in assists and points for the second year in a row, recording 26 helpers and 36 points in 2023-24. He was second with 10 goals on the year.
Defenseman Scooter Brickey had a team-best 13 goals, the most for a blueliner since 1991, and was tied for second in points with 26. Davis Burnside had a 9-17-26 line.
The Buckeyes are now 4-1 vs. Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament, with quarterfinal wins in 2014 and 2016 when the tournament was single elimination at neutral sites and a quarterfinal series sweep in 2018 in Columbus.
Ohio State was making its eighth appearance in the B1G Tournament semifinals, with a 2-6 record. The Buckeyes are 15-13 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament.

A look at the Max Montes tally (from Weis and Dunlap). pic.twitter.com/4cOdXImV1N
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) March 17, 2024

Coach Rohlik spoke after tonight's B1G Tournament semifinal loss at No. 4 Michigan State. pic.twitter.com/azhbEdijoV
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) March 17, 2024