MHKY: No. 7 Buckeyes Shut Out Colgate, 3-0
Romeo makes 19 saves, Laczynski scores twice in win
HAMILTON, N.Y. – Behind 19 saves from Sean Romeo and two goals by Tanner Laczynski, the No. 7-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team topped Colgate, 3-0, Friday in Class of 1965 Arena. The Buckeyes (5-3-1, 1-1-0-0 B1G) and Raiders (2-5-1, 0-1-1 ECAC) will close the two-game series at 4 p.m. Saturday, with the game streamed through ESPN+.
The Buckeyes opened the scoring at 11:37 of the first period. Freshman Gustaf Westlund won the battle behind the net and found junior Ronnie Hein in the slot. His backhand shot went through for his third goal of the year. Ohio State had 15 shots in the stanza, limiting the Raiders to four.
Ohio State maintained its one-goal edge until the final minute of the second period. Laczynski picked off a clearing pass along the wall and drove through the crease, slipping the puck in far side with 14 seconds left in the period. The Buckeyes outshot the Raiders, 17-9, in the period.
The Buckeyes sealed the win when Laczynski scored into an empty net with 17 seconds left in regulation. Junior Matt Miller blocked a shot in front, with senior Dakota Joshua sending the puck out of the zone. Laczynski got to the puck in the neutral zone and scored. Romeo had six saves to close out the shutout, with the Buckeyes putting 12 shots on net.
While playing all 60 minutes, Romeo stopped all 19 shots he faced for his second shutout in a row and the fourth of his career. Colgate goalie Mitch Benson had 41 saves in 59:09, as the Buckeyes put a season-high 44 shots on net.
The Buckeyes blocked 14 Raider shot attempts, led by three each from freshman Ryan O’Connell and junior Wyatt Ege and two by senior Sasha Larocque and junior Carson Meyer.
Ohio State was assessed just one penalty and was 1-for-1 on the penalty kill, while the Buckeyes were 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Quoting Buckeye associate head coach Steve Miller
“We played Buckeye hockey. We were great defensively, which led to us creating offense. The boys were dialed in and played a consistent game start to finish.”
Quoting Buckeye junior Tanner Laczynski
“I thought we played well tonight. We didn’t give up many chances defensively and played hard. We obviously still have some work to do, but to come in and get a win on the road is always big in college hockey. We have to clean up some stuff and be ready to go tomorrow.”
Buckeye This and That
- The shutout was the Buckeyes’ third this season. Ohio State has allowed two or fewer goals in seven of nine games this year.
- Laczynski marked his fourth career two-goal game and second of the season (Oct. 20 vs. UMass). It was his sixth career game with a +3 rating.
- Romeo’s back-to-back shutouts mark the seventh time in program history a Buckeye goalie had shutouts in consecutive starts. He had 23 saves in a 1-0 win at Notre Dame last Friday.
- The game was the eighth between the Buckeyes and Raiders. Ohio State leads the series 5-1-2. Prior to tonight, the last game between the teams was Nov. 24, 2006.
