Buckeyes Drop Game to No. 2 Michigan State, 6-2

Friday, January 9

Columbus, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Ohio State

6-12-1, 2-7-0

Michigan State

15-4-0, 6-3-0

Michigan State

Ohio State

Buckeyes Drop Game to No. 2 Michigan State, 6-2

1/9/2026 9:32:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

Montes and Burnside score for Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men's hockey team lost to No. 2 Michigan State, 6-2, Friday in the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

The Buckeyes (6-12-1, 2-7 B1G) and Spartans (15-4, 6-3 B1G) will close the weekend series at 5 p.m. Saturday. There will be a Postgame Meet & Greet with the Buckeyes on the concourse, featuring a limited edition poster (while supplies last). It is also First Responder Night. Fans can meet first responders and see a variety of first responder vehicles from the Columbus Police and Fire departments by the northwest rotunda outside the arena.

The Short Story
Three goals in a 23 second span gave Michigan State a 3-0 lead 13:46 into the first period and the Spartans added a power play goal at 18:27 for a 4-0 lead through 20 minutes. The Buckeyes' Max Montes tallied the only goal of the second for a 4-1 game. Ohio State drew within two at 2:30 of the third on a Davis Burnside power play tally. The Spartans answered less than two minutes later and added a final goal at 8:09 for the 6-2 final.

Shots were 32-27 in favor of Ohio State. The Buckeyes were 1-for-6 on the power play and Michigan State was 2-for-4.

How it Happened

Michigan State's Anthony Romani opened the scoring at 13:23 of the first.
Ohio State challenged for a missed high stick/game stoppage on the goal, but a technical issue did not allow for replay.
The Spartans scored off the ensuing faceoff just seven seconds later and then added a goal 13 seconds after that for a 3-0 lead at 13:46. A power play goal at 18:27 gave the Spartans a 4-0 lead.
Michigan State outshot Ohio State, 11-8, in the first.
The only goal of the second came from Buckeye Max Montes, who scored on a 2-on-1, assisted by Ryan Gordon at 12:39.
Ohio State had the edge in shots in the second, 12-7.
In the third, the Buckeyes cut the lead to 4-2 on a Davis Burnside power play tally. Riley Thompson kept in a Spartan clearing attempt near the blue line and passed to Felix Caron near the boards. He found Broten Sabo, who set up Burnside in the faceoff circle.
Michigan State went on a 5-on-3 power play shortly after the Ohio State score and converted for a 5-2 lead at 4:06. The final goal came after a turnover in the Buckeye zone at 8:09.
In the third, the Buckeyes put 12 shots on net and Michigan State had nine.
Ohio State had the shot advantage for the game, 32-27. The Buckeyes blocked 10 MSU shot attempts, led by Gordon and Williams Smith with two each. Michigan State had 13 blocked shots.
Kristoffer Eberly started in goal for Ohio State and had seven saves on 11 shots. Sam Hillebrandt played the final two periods, stopping 14-of-16 shots. MSU's Trey Augustine had 30 saves in all 60 minutes.
The Buckeyes were 1-for-6 on the power play and the Spartans converted two of four chances.

Buckeye This and That

Burnside now has 95 points as a Buckeye, with 44 goals and 51 assists. On the year, he has 15 points, with seven goals, to rank third on the team in scoring.
Montes shares the Buckeye lead with eight goals this year, along with five assists.
Gordon is second on the team with 11 assists, adding a goal for 12 points.
Caron is second for the Buckeyes with 16 points, tying Sabo for third with nine assists. Sabo leads the Buckeye blueliners with 10 points.
Ohio State is 16-for-67 (.239) on the power play this season.