Men’s Hockey: No. 4 Ohio State sweeps No. 11 Notre Dame in tight 2-0 win

Michael Benzinger
Sun, 03 Feb 2019 05:08:56 +0000
Ice Hockey, Men's hockey, News, Sports, austin pooley, Big Ten Play, brendon kearney, Buckeyes, Carson Meyer, conference play, dakota joshua, Freddy Gerard, Gordi Myer, gustaf westlund, hockey, Mason Jobst, Matt Miller, men's hockey, Men's ice hockey, Notre Dame Big Ten, ohio state, Ohio State men's ice hockey, ohio state men’s ice hockey schedule, ohio state men’s ice hockey score, Ohio state Notre dame, Ohio State Notre Dame Big Ten, quinn preston, ronnie hein, Sasha Larocque, Sean Romeo, Steve Rohlik, Tanner Laczynski [and 2 more]

Ohio State senior forward Freddy Gerard (15) move the puck up the ice in the game against Notre Dame on Feb. 2. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Photo Editor

Ohio State’s Saturday matchup against Notre Dame was marked by low scores and high tension as the Buckeyes took down the Fighting Irish 2-0.

No. 4 Ohio State (17-5-4, 10-3-3 Big Ten) continued its momentum, picking up its fifth consecutive win after beating No. 11 Notre Dame (14-10-3, 7-8-2 Big Ten) in a defense-heavy matchup.

Ohio State sophomore goaltender Tommy Nappier’s made 30 saves in the shutout performance, his fourth of the season..

“Every night you try to go out there and give up no goals,” Nappier said. “You just go out there and play your game every night.”

The second period opened with a bang as sophomore forward Austin Pooley scored the first point of the game within the first minute.

Both teams were noticeably more aggressive in the second period, doubling the shots taken during the first period, with Ohio State shooting 13 times and Notre Dame 15 times.

With 7:29 left on the clock, Notre Dame junior forward Cal Burke seemed to give the Fighting Irish their first point. The goal went under review, however, and the goal was overturned because a player was in the crease. ?

The final period was much like the first one, with both teams struggling to get shots on the net. Ohio State only managed five shots on goal and Notre Dame nine.

With less than five minutes left in the game, junior forward Carson Meyer managed to increase the Buckeyes’ lead when, immediately after a faceoff, he shot the puck straight past Notre Dame’s defense and into the net. ?

“It happened pretty fast but the puck just popped right to my stick,” Meyer said. “I just tried to put it on net as fast as I could because I knew the goalie wouldn’t be ready for that”

Nappier, the No. 2 goalie in the NCAA in save percentage and Notre Dame junior goalie Cale Morris, the No. 11 goalie in save percentage, both kept their respective teams in the game. Nappier finished with 30 saves in the shutout, and Morris had 22 saves in the loss

Both Ohio State and Notre Dame ended the first period having shot six times each with no success.

Head coach Steve Rohlik offered a little insight into how crucial defense was in this game.

“We play solid defense,” he said. “We know if we do that we’re going to have a good offense.”

Ohio State moves on to play ?an away series against Wisconsin on Friday.