Five different Buckeyes lit the lamp Saturday as No. 9 Ohio State defended home ice against Wisconsin, 6-2.
The Buckeyes (21-7-2) dominated the Badgers (8-19-3) for the majority of the contest, trailing Wisconsin for only 2:07 of the game’s 60 minutes. This was a positive change from Friday’s game, in which Ohio State spent 32:56 behind on the scoreboard.
Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik said this was a much better performance from his players than Friday.
“I just thought we were better from start to finish tonight, certainly than last night,” Rohlik said. “Even though we were down one-zip, I thought we were playing a much better game than last night.”
Ohio State junior forward Tate Singleton was called for interference a mere 32 seconds into the game, putting the Buckeyes on the wrong side of a 5-on-4 situation. The Badgers capitalized on the power play, scoring the first goal of the game off the stick of sophomore forward Sam Stange at 2:08 in the first frame.
The Buckeyes evened things up a couple minutes later when freshman forward Georgii Merkulov found the back of the net at 4:01 in the period. Graduate forward Eric Cooley put the game at 2-1 in favor of the Buckeyes entering the first intermission when he slipped a puck past sophomore goaltender Cameron Rowe.
The second period was all Ohio State, as the Buckeyes increased their lead to 5-2 with goals from Merkulov, sophomore forward Michael Gildon and freshman defenseman Cole McWard. Senior defenseman Ryan O’Connell assisted on both of the two latter goals.
O’Connell finished the game with two points off those feeds but said helping the team is more important to him than scoring points.
“It’s all about the team’s success,” O’Connell said. “I’m just excited to celebrate with the guys.”
Rohlik echoed the message of putting the team first, saying that has been the goal all season for his guys.
“If we’re going to win, we’re going to win as a team,” Rohlik said. “That’s just the way we’re built and that’s the way we got to continue to play.”
Wisconsin sophomore forward Mathieu De St. Phalle cut the lead to three with a late-period goal at 17:48 in the second, but Ohio State freshman defenseman Mason Lohrei answered back with a third-period goal at 1:23.
Ohio State earned two conference points with the win, putting its total at 41 on the year. These points, paired with the two from Friday, were good enough to push the Buckeyes into the top spot in the Big Ten Conference past Michigan with 37.
Ohio State hosts Minnesota Friday and Saturday in the final home series for the Buckeyes before the Big Ten Tournament. Both games will air on Big Ten Network beginning at 6:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
