ANN ARBOR, Mich.-- The No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes (19-8-4, 12-6-3-2 Big Ten) fell at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines (13-12-6, 9-8-4-2 Big Ten) by the score of 4-2 in game one of a two-game weekend series in Ann Arbor, Michigan inside Yost Ice Arena, marking three-straight losses for the Buckeyes.
Michigan sophomore defenseman and 2018 seventh overall pick of the Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes had two points as well as freshman forwards Nolan Moyle and Garrett Van Wyhe. Ohio State senior forward and captain Mason Jobst and junior forward Tanner Laczynski each scored for the Buckeyes in the loss to the Wolverines.
Michigan freshman goaltender Strauss Mann made a number of great stops when tested, especially in the second period while under a barrage of shots by the Buckeyes, keeping his teammates within one goal and had 29 saves on 31 shots in the victory. Ohio State redshirt senior goaltender Sean Romeo had just 21 saves on 25 shots in the defeat for the Buckeyes.
It is proving to be a wrong time for the Buckeyes to go into a tailspin with losing three-straight games as they have now squandered two opportunities to secure their first regular-season championship in 47 years and they'll have yet another chance to accomplished that tomorrow in game two of the weekend series against the Wolverines.
With the loss Friday night, the Buckeyes picked up just their second regulation road loss of the entire season as the Buckeyes have been a dominant force all year away from the Schottenstein Center and now their road record sits at 10-2-4.
The Ohio State's second-best point getter did suit up for Buckeyes in Laczynski after sitting out six games due to an upper-body injury and scored his ninth goal of the season in his return to the lineup. Senior forward Dakota Joshua joined freshman forward Gustaf Westlund on the shelf of injured Buckeye difference makers due to an undisclosed injury.
The first period started with a lot of speed and physical between and after the whistle, typical for a game between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines with the frustration coming to a head late in the period where Jobst got into a scuffle with Wolverine junior forward Nick Pastujov that caused them both to tumble to the ice.
The opening frame ended with a bevy of hits but no goals with the shots favoring the Buckeyes 10-5.
With 4:56 into the second, Jobst and junior defenseman Gordi Myer executed a give-and-go sequence off the rush as Jobst went to the backhand to beat Mann high-glove side for his team-leading 17th goal of the season to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
As the period went along the Buckeyes had plenty of chances to double their lead on the road against arch-rival Michigan, but Mann stood tall outstretching from left to right across the crease to deny Ohio State senior forward John Wiitala on a re-direction.
Just a few minutes later on a Buckeye power play, great puck movement led Mann to over commit outside of his crease that gave a golden opportunity to senior forward Freddy Gerard to pot a goal but struck the post instead of on a wide-open net that kept the Buckeye lead to one goal.
Late in the second period, the Buckeyes got into penalty trouble giving the Wolverines a 5-on-3 power play opportunity with junior forward Carson Meyer and senior defenseman Sasha Larocque each taking penalties.
On the ensuing two-man advantage, the Wolverines took advantage with Hughes blasted a one-time shot off the post and in past Romeo's glove side with just 2.4 seconds remaining in the middle frame to the tie the score for Michigan.
The Buckeyes lead the shots in the second period 11-9 and through the first two periods by a total of 21-14 but are deadlocked at one with the Wolverines having 1:49 of 5-on-4 power play time to start the third period.
After much back-and-forth play in the first half of the final frame, the Buckeyes took back the lead when Gerard threw the puck on net and in a net-front scrabble Laczynski found the loose puck and put it between the legs of Mann for his ninth goal of the season to put the score at 2-1 with 14:16 left in regulation.
With 10:30 left in the third period, the Wolverines answer yet again with their fourth line contributing on a nice pass from Van Wyhe to Moyle who jammed the puck into the net without resistance for his fifth goal of the season and a tie game.
As time wound down in the third period. the Buckeyes get lost in their net-front defensive coverage as Myer couldn't get to Moyle quick enough, who eventually scored the go-ahead goal past Romeo putting the score at 3-2 with 3:11 left in the third period.
Michigan freshman forward Jimmy Lambert added the insurance marker on a slap shot one-time shot just above the goal line under the left face-off dot with 1:10 left to seal the 4-2 victory for the Wolverines.
The Buckeyes will look to bounce back when they reconvene for game two of the weekend series in Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan against the Wolverines with puck drop at 6 p.m. and will be televised on BTN.
