No. 11 Buckeyes Fall to No. 2 Spartans, 4-1

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 11 Ohio State men's hockey team dropped the series finale to No. 2 Michigan State, 4-1, Friday in Value City Arena.

Michigan State opened the scoring in the second period and the Buckeyes answered less than two minutes later for a tie game, but the Spartans tallied twice before the end of the second for a 3-1 lead. The Spartans added an empty net goal in the third for the 4-1 final.

Ohio State is now 16-8-2 overall, with a 9-6-1 2-2-0 Big Ten ledger. The Spartans are 21-4-3 on the year and have a 12-3-3 2-1-2 B1G mark. The squads end the series with a split and three Big Ten points each after a 4-2 Buckeye victory Friday.

How it Happened

There were no goals or penalties in a quick-moving first period. Michigan State had seven of the 10 shots on goal in the stanza.
Tanner Kelly opened the scoring for the Spartans at 2:48 of the second, scoring from the faceoff circle.
Buckeye freshman James Hong tied the game less than two minutes later, scoring from in close off a pass from Max Montes. Joe Dunlap had the second assist on the tally, which came at 4:36.
Goals from Isaac Howard at 9:25 on a loose puck in the Buckeye zone and Gavin O'Connell on the rush at 12:27 gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead.
The teams combined for 23 shots in the period, with MSU ahead, 12-11.
The Buckeyes pulled their goalie with 3:47 left in the third and Michigan State sealed the win on a goal from Daniel Russell at 17:32.
In the third, the Buckeyes were outshot, 10-9. Each team had one shortened power play in the third, the only two chances of the game.
Buckeye goalie Kristoffer Eberly made 25 saves in 58:41 and MSU's Trey Augustine had 22 stops in all 60 minutes. Shots were 29-23 in favor of Michigan State for the game.
Ohio State had 19 shot blocks in the contest, led by Brent Johnson with four.

Noting the Buckeyes

Montes is on a six-game assist and point streaks, with a 1-8-9 line in the stretch. He has nine goals and 10 assists on the year.
Hong leads the Buckeye freshmen with four goals and 11 points this season.
Ohio State is 10-2-1 at home this season.
Johnson is first on the squad with 39 shot blocks.

Up Next

Ohio State heads to South Bend for two games against Notre Dame Feb. 7-8. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. game one and 6:05 p.m. game two, with the series available on Peacock.
The Buckeyes will then return home to host Wisconsin Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 15 at 8:30 p.m.

Coach Rohlik and co-captain Davis Burnside spoke following tonight's loss to the Spartans. pic.twitter.com/KVMiTzD1E5
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 1, 2025

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