COLUMBUS, Ohio-- The No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes (20-8-5, 13-6-4-3 Big Ten) throttle the Michigan State Spartans (11-17-5, 7-12-4-2 Big Ten) by the score of 5-1 in game one of a two-game weekend series at the Schottenstein Center Friday night, securing three-straight 20-win seasons for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State senior forward Freddy Gerard led the way for the Buckeyes with a goal and two assists capping a three-point night for the senior on Senior Weekend, while on the other side for the Spartans, there wasn't a lot to show at the end of the game, with just two players with points that had a hand in the lone Spartan goal.
It was an impressive defensive performance for the Buckeyes as they shut down a dynamic Spartan line and one of the best lines in the Big Ten that comprised Mitchell Lewandowski, Patrick Khodorenko and the NCAA-leading scorer Taro Hirose. The deadly "KHL" line was held to no points, just four shots on goal and a combined plus-minus of minus-9.
Ohio State sophomore goaltender Tommy Nappier had a solid night and backstopped the Buckeyes with 21 saves on 22 shots, while Michigan State freshman goaltender Drew DeRidder had a tough night and was under siege from start to finish and made just 27 saves on 32 shots in the loss for the Spartans.
Despite the injury bug plaguing the team, some players have allowed to return to the lineup like junior forward Tanner Laczynski and senior defenseman Sasha Larcoque and even then, the Buckeyes still continue to win games without some key pieces in a big center and senior forward Dakota Joshua and without star playmaking freshman forward Gustaf Westlund.
After a back-and-forth battle early in the game through the neutral zone, the Buckeyes struck first with 7:18 into the opening frame, Ohio State redshirt junior forward Miguel Fidler took the puck from Spartan senior forward Cody Milan inside the Spartan zone and fed it to sophomore forward Eugene Fadyeyev who beat DeRidder with bullet of a wrist shot to the top right-hand corner of the net for his first goal of the season and second of his career to put the Buckeyes up 1-0.
Through the first period of play, the Buckeyes led in shots by a total of 7-5.
Just 1:21 into the second period, Michigan State freshman defenseman Cole Krygier fired a shot that was stopped by a wall of players in the slot, but sophomore forward Tommy Apap found the loose puck and put it past Nappier on the backhand to even the score at one goal apiece.
The Buckeyes would then regain the lead with 6:09 remaining in the second period on a wonderful pass by Laczynski to find junior defenseman Matt Miller the bottom of the left circle for a one-time slap shot that rocketed past DeRidder to put the score at 2-1.
A little less than three minutes later, Gerard gathered the puck in the slot off of a Spartan blocked shot a fired it through traffic that beat DeRidder glove side to double the Buckeye lead at 3-1 heading into the third period.
Shots in the second period favored the Buckeyes 16-10 and through two periods at a 23-15 total.
Just 1:51 into the final frame, Gerard earned his second assist and third point of the night when he found junior forward Ronnie Hein in the slot who snapped it past DeRidder for his 11th goal of the season that stretched the lead to three goals.
The Buckeyes would get their fifth goal of the evening just 3:40 later off the stick of senior forward John Wiitala who picked the puck at center ice and blew past a flat-footed Spartan defense beating DeRidder in the process to put the final score at a 5-1 Buckeye victory.
The final shot total reflected the dominance for Ohio State while showing a solid game between the pipes from Nappier with a 32-22 final.
Ohio State will look to close out the regular season on a winning note when they reconvene for Senior Night for eight players as the Buckeyes face the Spartans in game two of the weekend series Saturday night at 5 p.m. inside the Schottenstein Center.
