Michigan
11-12-3, 6-8-2-1B1G
Ohio State
16-9-3, 9-7-2-0B1G
Wolverines Fall to No. 11 Ohio State in Series Finale
2/1/2020 11:24:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Jack Becker tallied his sixth goal of the season.
» Michigan killed of 11:48 of penalty time, including two majors
» The loss mark's the Wolverines' first of the 2020 calendar year.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Yost Ice Arena)
Score: #11 Ohio State 4, Michigan 1
Records: U-M (11-12-3, 6-8-2 B1G), OSU (16-9-3, 9-7-2 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 7 -- vs. Wisconsin (Yost Ice Arena), 6 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's ice hockey team fell 4-1 in its series finale against No. 11-ranked Ohio State University on Saturday night (Feb. 1) at Yost Ice Arena.
Ohio State brought the energy early on and jumped ahead of the Wolverines 43 seconds into the game. A shot from the blue line managed to squeak its way through the wickets of netminder Strauss Mann to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
Continuing to apply pressure on the Wolverines, a Michigan turnover just inside the offensive-zone blue line led to a 3-on-2 rush the other way. Scanning the ice for the open man, Ohio State forward Tate Singleton slid the puck to Jadeon Leslie who then took a quick snapshot on goal and put the Buckeyes up by two with 11:17 remaining in the first.
While the scoreboard showed a 2-0 lead for the Buckeyes, Michigan headed into the first intermission dominating the shot category, 12-6.
In the second period, captain Will Lockwood delivered a huge hit nearly putting an Ohio State skater over its own bench. But the Buckeyes took a run at Lockwood which resulted in scrums and and a stoppage of play. As a result of the scrums, Johnny Beecher received a five-minute major and a game misconduct while Lockwood and Ohio State's Gordi Myer received offsetting penalties. Michigan headed to the penalty kill for five minutes, but killed it off creating a strong reaction from the crowd along with some momentum.
Not too long after, Michigan cut its deficit to just one on a Jack Becker deflection. The play started with a streaking Jake Slaker down the near-side offensive zone board. With Jimmy Lambert and Becker alongside him, Slaker moved the puck to Lambert who then backhanded the puck on net. The puck was redirected off the body of Becker and made its way through the legs of Ohio State netminder Tommy Nappier. The goal marked Becker's sixth goal of the season.
With less than four minutes to go in the second, Garrett Van Wyhe checked the puck carrier alongside the Ohio State bench and upon video review, was given a five-minute major and game misconduct.
In the remaining moments of the second period, an Ohio State shot worked its way through an onslaught of players positioned in front of Mann. A Buckeye skater on the side of the net grabbed control of the puck and made his way to the far side of the crease, but Mann beat him to it and slammed the door shut to eliminate the threat before the sound of the buzzer and kept the Wolverines within one.
The Wolverines began the third period short-handed with 1:21 remaining on the Van Wyhe major and once again killed it off to finishing the night a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, killing off a total of 11:48 and stopping all six shots.
Midway through the third, Ohio State caused another turnover inside its defensive-zone blue line, headed the other way on a 2-on-1 rush and capitalized on the opportunity to put the Buckeyes up, 3-1, at the 8:35 mark of the third.
Hoping to cut the deficit to one with less than three minutes to play, the Wolverines called a timeout and pulled Mann to give themselves an extra attacker on the ice. However, the Scarlet and Gray closed out the game on an empty-net goal to finished the night with a 4-1 victory.
Michigan will return to action next Friday (Feb. 7) when they take on Wisconsin at Yost Ice Arena. Puck drop is scheduled at 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
