Ohio State men’s hockey team welcomes Wisconsin for two games this weekend
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The Buckeyes will look to keep the momentum going from two 5-1 wins at Notre Dame last weekend.
With the Columbus Blue Jackets currently on break during the 4 Nations Face-Off that is being held over the next couple weeks, now is a good time to dive into
Ohio State hockey. If you haven’t been paying attention to the Buckeye men’s team this season, you have missed a lot. Ohio State currently is ranked eighth in the country, making them one of three Big Ten teams ranked in the top-10.
The Buckeyes are coming off a weekend sweep of
Notre Dame in South Bend, beating the Fighting Irish 5-1 in each of the two games they played. Both games played out similarly, with Notre Dame scoring the opening goal in the first period before the Buckeyes tied the game up before the first intermission.
Davis Burnside scored Ohio State’s first goal at the 18:19 mark of Friday night’s game, less than a minute after the Fighting Irish netted a power play goal. Riley Thompson was credited with the game-tying goal on Saturday night at 18:49 of the first period.
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Ohio State had a trio of players score two goals over the two games last weekend. Not only did Burnside and Thompson open the scoring for the Buckeyes in the victories, Burnside scored the third goal of the game for Ohio State on Saturday, while Thompson scored the team’s third goal on Friday night.
Ryan Gordon had a two-goal game on Friday night, netting the game-winning goal at 16:42 of the second period, followed by Ohio State’s final goal with 27 seconds left in the game. Thompson ran his team-leading goal total to 14 tallies on the season, while his 26 points sit second the team behind Gunnarwolfe Fontaine. Burnside now has 10 goals and 15 assists through 28 games.
Along with routing Notre Dame on their home ice in both games, goaltender Logan Terness was named the Big Ten’s Second Star of the Week after stopping 68 of the 70 shots he faced over two games. This marks the second time this season Terness has earned the Second Star of the Week honor in the conference, and the third of his career. For the season, Terness is 7-5-1 with a 2.23 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.
Next up: Wisconsin
This weekend the Buckeyes will return home to take on the
Wisconsin Badgers on Friday and Saturday. The two teams met in Madison back in October with Ohio State winning 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 18, followed by a 2-1 victory in regulation the next night.
Max Montes dominated the first game, scoring both goals for the Buckeyes, including the game-winner at the 4:42 mark of overtime. Logan Terness recorded 37 saves in the victory, while Kristoffer Eberly stopped 28 shots the next night. Riley Thompson scored 21 seconds into Saturday’s game, and Montes capped off the scoring just over a minute into the third period to cap the sweep of the Badgers.
Wisconsin has had a rough season so far, entering this weekend’s games with an 11-16-3 record. The Badgers were just swept by Penn State last weekend, running their winless streak to five games. Wisconsin’s offense is led by Quinn Finley, who has 19 goals and 34 points. Gavin Morrissey leads the Badgers in helpers, notching 21 assists so far this season. Along with Finley and Morrissey, Ryland Mosley is the other Wisconsin skater with 30 points this year, which consist of 13 goals and 17 assists.
Between the pipes for the Badgers will be Tommy Scarfone for at least one of this weekend’s games. Scarfone is 9-12-3 this year with a 2.52 goals against average, .902 save percentage, and three shutouts. If Scarfone sits for one of the two games against the Buckeyes, expect to see William Gramme step in. As the primary backup to Scarfone, Gramme is 2-4 this season with a 3.32 goals against average and .877 save percentage.
Friday’s contest at Value City Arena starts at 7:00 p.m. ET, while Saturday’s puck drop is at 8:30 p.m. ET, and can be seen on Big Ten Network. After this weekend’s games against the Badgers, the Buckeyes will travel to Minnesota next weekend for two games against the Golden Gophers, followed by closing out the regular season with two games at home against Michigan.
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