Michigan
14-9-3, 7-7-2
Ohio State
9-15-4, 1-15-2
Barczewski, Eernisse Lead Michigan to Road Sweep Over Ohio State
2/3/2024 11:43:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Jake Barczewski was outstanding between the pipes, making 29 saves to clinch the sweep.
» Josh Eernisse opened the scoring before adding a second goal in the third period.
» Gavin Brindley notched a pair of assists.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Goaltending was the story of the weekend for the 12th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team, as Jake Barczewski turned in another stellar performance to lead the Wolverines past Ohio State by a 4-1 score on Saturday night (Feb. 3) at Value City Arena.
Barczewski started in net for the sixth consecutive game after turning aside 37 shots in Friday night's win, and the backstop was tremendous once again. He made 29 saves on 30 shots from the Buckeyes to earn the win and help U-M sweep their rivals to the south.
The sixth shot for the Wolverines (14-9-3, 7-7-2 Big Ten) broke the ice at 7:22 when Josh Eernisse buried a goal for the second straight weekend by capitalizing on a loose puck in the slot. Kienan Draper continued his strong play by notching the assist and extending his point streak to four games.
T.J. Hughes picked the pocket of a Buckeye forward and started an odd-man rush, dashing down the right flank before firing a shot off the pads that popped back out into the slot for Gavin Brindley. With Ethan Edwards gliding into the zone, Brindley dished a pass back to Edwards, who made no mistake burying the one-timer with 2:23 left in the first period.
Four minutes into the middle period, Barczewski made one of his biggest stops of the weekend when he pushed across the paint to deny a backdoor feed with the Buckeyes in search of their first goal.
Shortly thereafter, Ohio State (9-15-4, 1-15-2 Big Ten) notched a goal at 4:28 to halve the deficit and make it 2-1. A pass from behind the net went out to the top of the left circle, and a nice shot beat Barczewski.
Michigan responded with vigor, scoring back-to-back goals in a 15-second span to push their lead to 4-1 with 12:40 left to play.
First, it was Frank Nazar III who burst down the ice, carving his way around the OSU net before placing a pass into the netfront area and onto the tape of Rutger McGroarty, who deposited a goal through the five-hole at 7:05 to make it 3-1. Brindley earned the secondary assist for his second assist of the night; Nazar recorded the primary helper.
Just 15 seconds later, Eernisse buried his second goal of the game at 7:20 with a crisp shot from the top of the right circle after creating space for himself on a one-on-one zone entry. Freshman forward Nick Moldenhauer had the only assist on Eernisse's second tally of the contest.
The final buzzer rang on a 4-1 win and a weekend sweep for Michigan, with the Wolverines adding six points to their Big Ten resume and closing in on Notre Dame for postseason home ice with eight games to play.
Next week, Michigan and Michigan State will play a pair of games on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 9-10). Friday night's (Feb. 9) contest starts at 7 p.m. at Yost Ice Arena and will be streamed live on B1G+. On Saturday (Feb. 10), the teams will travel to Detroit for the annual "Duel in the D" at Little Caesars Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
