MHKY: Ohio State Downs Michigan in OT, Advances to B1G Championship Game
No. 2 seed Buckeyes will face No. 1 Notre Dame Saturday in South Bend in tournament final
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Matthew Weis’ overtime goal lifted the No. 6 ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team to a 3-2 win over No. 11 Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals Saturday in Nationwide Arena. The Buckeyes, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, will face No. 1 Notre Dame at 8 p.m. Saturday in South Bend, Ind., for the tournament title.
The Buckeyes, on a six-game unbeaten streak, improve to 24-8-5 on the year, with a 5-0-0 mark vs. Michigan. The Wolverines, the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, are now 20-14-3.
The win was the Buckeyes’ second straight in overtime. The squad is 4-1 in overtime all-time in the Big Ten Tournament, with the loss in the inaugural championship game in 2014. That was the squad’s only appearance in the final prior to this season.
Ohio State 3, Michigan 2 OT – The Short Story
Ohio State led 1-0 after the first period on a power play goal by defenseman Gordi Myer, his first tally of the season. The Wolverines notched the only goal of the second for a 1-1 game after 40 minutes. In the third, Ohio State went ahead on a Dakota Joshua power play goal at 4:01, but the Wolverines’ Cooper Marody scored his second goal of the night, converting on the power play, to tie the game at 7:37.
Just 32 seconds into overtime, Wyatt Ege brought the puck up through the neutral zone and passed to Tanner Laczynski on the right wing. He found Matthew Weis in the slot and he scored far post for the Buckeye victory.
Ohio State outshot the Wolverines, 35-31, in the game. The Buckeyes were 2-for-4 on the power play, with Michigan 1-for-2.
Quoting the Buckeyes
Steve Rohlik, head coach
On playing Notre Dame in the championship game:
“First of all, it means a lot to me that these guys have an opportunity to go play for a Big Ten championship. That’s first and foremost for me because it truly is about the guys and the program. Secondly, we are obviously playing a program that beat us three times this year. We have a lot of respect for their program, their coaching staff, their players. We certainly know we have our work cut out for us. Hopefully we can go in there, compete at the highest level and be at the top of our game.”
Gordi Myer, sophomore defenseman
On what it was like to play in Nationwide Arena
“At first, I didn’t know how the crowd was going to be, but in warmups I looked around and there were a lot of people. Then when we came out the place was just going crazy. It was just awesome for our last game in Columbus.”
On scoring his first goal of the season
”It’s always nice to get your first goal. Coach puts us out there and gives us opportunities. I had a little room on the wall to walk down and Dakota (Joshua) had a great screen. I think it might have went off of their defenseman’s stick and ramped up and it just happened to go in. In a big game, it’s always nice to get a big goal.”
Matthew Weis, senior forward
On what it was like to play in Nationwide
“It was unbelievable from the time we came out for warmups. It was a great atmosphere. Coming out for the starting lineups it was amazing. Hearing how loud they were got me going, I know I had butterflies. It was great to see the support for our last game in Columbus, and it was unbelievable.”
On scoring the game-winning goal in overtime
“It’s unbelievable. To see where this team is going, it’s great to see. We’re looking forward to next weekend in South Bend.”
Complete recap and photo gallery to come on OhioStateBuckeyes.com