No. 6 Buckeyes Blank No. 17 Wolverines, 4-0

by | Jan 27, 2018 | RRSN News | 0 comments

MHKY: No. 6 Buckeyes Blank No. 17 Wolverines, 4-0

Romeo makes 32 saves, Jobst, Joshua and M. Miller each post two points

 

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 6-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team, behind outstanding special teams play, shut out No. 17 Michigan, 4-0, Friday in Value City Arena. Buckeye goalie Sean Romeo had 32 saves for his second career shutout, while Mason Jobst and Dakota Joshua each had a goal and an assist and Matt Miller had two assists. Ohio State was 2-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill in the win.

 

Ohio State, which is 8-1 in its last nine games, improves to 16-5-4 overall this season and is in second place in the Big Ten with a 9-5-1-0 ledger. The Buckeyes and Wolverines (12-11-2, 7-8-2-1 B1G) will close the weekend and regular season series at 8 p.m. Saturday in Value City Arena.

  

Ohio State 4, Michigan 0 – The Short Story

In the first period, the Buckeyes killed an early power play and Sean Romeo made 10 saves, along with a goal from Kevin Miller, for a 1-0 Ohio State lead after 20 minutes. The Buckeye PK stopped two Wolverine chances in the second and converted with the man advantage late in the stanza, with Tanner Laczynski tallying, for a 2-0 lead through two periods. In the third, Ohio State started the period a man down and killed off the penalty to maintain the two-goal edge. Shortly after, Mason Jobst converted on a breakaway for a 3-0 lead and Dakota Joshua tallied on the power play at 8:53 for a 4-0 lead (with Matt Miller assisting on both goals). Romeo ended the game with 32 saves for the shutout, with the power play 2-for-3 and the penalty kill 4-for-4.

 

Quoting Head Coach Steve Rohlik

On goalie Sean Romeo’s play, especially in the first period

“You could tell he was in it right away. He was comfortable, solid and when you look down there to see him playing that way, I think it gives the team that confidence. He’s being doing that all year so it hasn’t been anything different.”

 

On special teams in this game

“I talk about special teams all the time. Usually you win a special teams battle, you win the game and I thought our penalty kill was the difference. Obviously we don’t look pretty at times on the power play but when the puck ends up in the net, that’s key. Again, we have to continue to get better in those areas but certainly it was the difference tonight.”

 

Quoting junior forward Mason Jobst

On playing to preserve the shutout

“I think on the bench there is definitely a feeling that we really want to hold the game for Romeo. Even when it’s in the last two minutes and they have some pressure, there’s guys laying out to block shots. He stands on his head for us so we want to do everything we can for him.”

 

Quoting redshirt junior goalie Sean Romeo

On the effect of the crowd

“It’s exciting. I try to be pretty calm and collected before the game, and the guys in the locker room were pretty excited. I was trying not to get into it too much but I was definitely excited to get out there today.”

 

In the First Period

Michigan controlled play early, with 10 of the first 12 shots on goal, but the Buckeyes opened the scoring when Kevin Miller scored on a 2-on-1 with Dakota Joshua at 16:40. Tommy Parran also assisted on the tally, Miller’s third goal of the season. The goal stood as the gamewinner, his third GWG of the year.

 

In the period, the Wolverines had the shot advantage, 10-7. The Buckeye penalty kill was 1-for-1, with a second Wolverine chance carrying into the second.

 

In the Second Period

Michigan doubled up the Buckeyes in shots in the second, 14-7, but Ohio State doubled its lead with another late goal. On the power play, Mason Jobst passed to Matthew Weis. He left a drop pass for Tanner Laczynski, whose one-timer went past the Michigan goalie for a 2-0 Buckeye lead at 18:36.

 

Each team had two power play chances in the stanza and Ohio State again had a player in the box as the period expired.

 

In the Third Period

At 3:28 of the third Matt Miller found Mason Jobst between the Wolverine defenders at their blueline for a breakaway and he converted, putting Ohio State up 3-0 with his 12th goal of the year. Ohio State notched its second power play goal of the night at 8:53, with Dakota Joshua redirecting a shot from Miller. Gordi Myer also assisted on the play.

 

The Buckeyes were outshot, 8-6, in the period. Michigan had the only penalty of the period.

 

Blocking the Puck

The Buckeyes were outshot, 32-20, in the game. Sean Romeo stopped all 32 shots he faced for his second career shutout and first since Oct. 21 at Massachusetts. Michigan goalie Hayden Lavigne had 16 saves, with both goalies playing all 60 minutes.

 

Ohio State blocked 11 Michigan shot attempts, led by Gordi Myer, Wyatt Ege and Matt Miller with two each.

 

The Buckeyes are holding teams to 2.04 goals per game, ranking in the Top 5 nationally in team defense. The squad has limited opponents to one or fewer goals in 13 games this year.

 

Special Teams

The Buckeyes were 2-for-3 on the power play in the game. Ohio State has a power play goal in six straight games, converting 11-of-25 (.440) opportunities in the stretch, with two extra man tallies in five of the six outings. The squad is 22-for-101 (.218) this year.

 

The Buckeye penalty kill was 4-for-4 vs. Michigan and is now 86-for-95 (.905) on the year, leading the NCAA and the only team over 90 percent.

 

Noting the Buckeyes

  • Tanner Laczynski leads the Buckeyes and the Big Ten with 23 assists and 35 points on the year and is seventh in the nation with 1.4 points per game. He shares the lead in Big Ten games only with Michigan’s Cooper Marody with 21 points each.
  • Ohio State is on a five-game home winning streak.
  • Laczynski and Matthew Weis both extended their point streaks to nine games. Laczynski has a 6-9-15 line in the stretch and Weis has 3-11-14 totals. Weis is second on the squad with 27 points.
  • Ohio State has four or more goals in five of the last six games and is now averaging 3.04 goals per game.
  • The Buckeyes are 11-0-2 when scoring first this season.
  • Romeo is in the Top 10 in the NCAA with a 1.95 goals-against average and .928 save percentage.

 

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