Ohio State’s men’s hockey team will look to capitalize on some momentum from last weekend’s sweep of Minnesota when they host the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday and Saturday.
With their two wins over the Golden Gophers, the Buckeyes now sit sixth in the Big Ten standings with 19 points, one behind Minnesota, and eight behind Wisconsin. Ohio State has eight games left in the regular season.
The Buckeyes opened last weekend’s two-game series with Minnesota with a 6-2 win on Friday. Following a power play
goal by the Golden Gophers just over 12 minutes into the game, Ryan Gordon tied the score 22 seconds before the first intermission.
The second period saw Ohio State explode with goals from Riley Thompson, Max Montes, and Ethan Straky to open up an insurmountable lead. Nathan McBrayer and Jake Karabela capped off the scoring with third period goals.
Saturday’s game was more closely contested. William Smith got Ohio State on the scoreboard first 8:11 into the game before Brody Lamb’s goal at 4:08 in the second period even the score. The game would remain deadlocked until 10:25 in the third period when Karabela scored his second goal of the weekend, which would end up being the game-winning goal.
Karabela leads the team with 24 points, which is three more than Davis Burnside. With two goals against Minnesota, Karabela has eight on the season, making him one of six Buckeyes with at least eight goals this campaign.
Max Montes leads Ohio State with 11 goals, while Burnside, Adam Eisele, and Riley Thompson all have nine goals. So far this season the Buckeyes have been outscored 89-78 by their opponents.
Tending goal for Ohio State last weekend against Minnesota was Sam Hillebrandt. The freshman from Michigan stopped 47 of the 50 shots he faced over two games to push his record to 4-5 on the season. Because of his outstanding play against the Golden Gophers, Hillebrandt was named the Big Ten’s First Star of the Week.
This marks the second time in a month that Hillebrandt has been recognized for his play, as he was the Big Ten’s Third Star of the Week on January 13th.
Next up for Ohio State are the Wisconsin Badgers. The two teams split the two games they played in Madison back in Wisconsin. Ryan Gordon scored on the power play at 13:33 of the first period in the first game beween the schools.
Adam Eisele would extend the lead to 2-0 early in the third period before Wisconsin closed the gap to 2-1 just over halfway through the frame. The danger would be short-lived, as Max Montes, Jake Karabela, and Davis Burnside found the back of the net to secure the 5-1 victory.
Unfortunately the Buckeyes couldn’t complete the sweep in Madison despite building a 2-0 lead in the second game after goals from Montes and Eisele. The Badgers would respond with four unanswered goals before Eisele netted his second of the game early in the third.
Following a Wisconsin goal to extend the lead to 5-3, the Buckeyes responded with tallies from Jake Dunlap and Nathan McBrayer to send the game to overtime, where Gavin Morrissey would earn the win for the Badgers at the 1:39 mark.
Wisconsin enters this weekend’s play with a 17-9-2 record. The Badgers took care of business last weekend, sweeping Notre Dame with 6-5 and 5-4 victories.
Friday’s game saw Wisconsin get two-goal games from Luke Osburn and Grady Deering to earn the victory.
Leading the Badgers in points this season is Gavin Morrissey, who has 22 assists and 26 points. Christian Fitzgerald has lit the lamp 14 times, the most for Wisconsin this year, while Quinn Finley has 12 goals. Simon Tassy, Ryan Botterill, and Blake Montgomery each have scored eight goals on the season.
Daniel Hauser has seen the most time between the pipes this year, posting a 15-6-2 record with a 2.53 goals against average and three shutouts in goal.
Friday night’s game starts at 6:30 p.m. and is not only Dollar Dog Night, it is also Pucks n’ Paws Night, where fans can purchase a ticket to bring their furry friend to the game. Saturday’s game starts at 7:30 p.m. and in honor of Valentine’s Day, where couples can purchase 2-for-1 tickets.
There is also a postgame skate on the ice, as long as those participating bring their own skates.
