Men’s Ice Hockey: Buckeyes get swept by Spartans at home

Conor Finn
Tue, 07 Nov 2023 01:04:33 +0000
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Ohio State’s Men’s Hockey team loses weekend series to the Spartans. Credit: Katie Good | Lantern File

With Big Ten play now ramping up, the Buckeyes must move quickly to address a major issue hindering them just nine games into this season.?

Their defensive capabilities around the net have proven to be the team’s Achilles’ heel.?

In a one-sided clash at the Schottenstein Center Friday night, the No. 13 Ohio State men’s ice hockey team (3-3-3, 0-3-1 Big Ten) suffered a resounding 6-0 defeat at the hands of No. 12 Michigan State, highlighting the Spartans’ (7-3-0, 2-0-0 Big Ten) performance near the goal.?

Head coach Steve Rohlik said he was not pleased with his defense, which allowed several multi-chance goals, with most of them coming off rebounds and deflections.?

“It’s a deficiency,” Rohlik said. “For them to get three, four or five whacks at a puck to put in the net. It just can’t happen. And unfortunately, it did multiple times tonight.”?

The Spartans opened up the scoring in the first period with first-year forward Gavin O’Connell capitalizing on almost mirror-like goals off a rebound, giving Michigan State a 2-0 lead heading into the second.?

In the second period, Buckeye goalie Logan Terness made several saves to keep his team afloat but eventually gave up a goal with first-round Tampa Bay Lighting draft pick Isaac Howard making it 3-0.?

In the third, it all went downhill for the Buckeyes. They gave up back-to-back goals and eventually subbed Terness out of the game for third-year goalie Reilly Herbst.?

The night finished with the Buckeyes getting shut out for the first time this season while also going 0-of-3 on power plays. This area continues to be one of the biggest struggles so far for Rohlik’s squad.?

“Gotta keep working on it,” Rohlik said. “Gotta keep teaching, keep working, and that’s all we can do.”?

After Friday night’s performance, the Buckeyes are now 12 percent on the power play. Defenseman and captain Scooter Brickey said he is confident in a much different result in the next match-up.

“Those mistakes aren’t going to happen again,” Brickey said. “It’s a good hockey team we played. We didn’t bring our game; they brought theirs. Gave them too many chances, and they capitalized. Tomorrow’s gonna be a different day, though. We’re going to watch video and get better.”?

The following night, the Buckeyes showcased a much better performance offensively, as well as breaking the power-play slump.

Just 11 seconds into the game, Brent Johnson put the Buckeyes on the board on a one-timer. Captain defenseman Scooter Brickey also had an excellent night, registering a career-first two-goal game.

“As a leader, we got to get everyone right in the locker and, before the game, make sure everybody is dialed in and ready to work like we did tonight,” Brickey said. “You know, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but we’re sure battled for it.”?

Ohio State served a five-minute major penalty after senior forward Michael Gildon was ejected from the game due to contact to the head. The Buckeyes were able to hold the Spartans scoreless during that time frame but gave up a goal shortly after once they were back to full strength.?

The Buckeye defense was not able to handle the fast-paced aggressiveness of the Spartan offense once again, eventually falling 6-4.?

Rohlik said sometimes, in hockey, the outcome is determined by a “bounce here and there.”??

However, if the team continues to play hard, then they’re making big steps in improvement as a unit, he said.?

“The result wasn’t what we wanted, but I thought we were a better hockey team tonight than last night,” Rohlik said.

Ohio State looks to rebound Friday night against Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, at 7:30 p.m.