Ohio State hockey beats Michigan in 'Faceoff on the Lake' to sweep weekend series

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The Ohio State men’s hockey team will be leaving FirstEnergy Stadium with a hard-fought 4-2 win over No. 4 Michigan on Saturday.

The outdoor event known as the “Faceoff on the Lake” was an amazing experience for fans, players, coaches, and everyone, but was made even more memorable for the Buckeyes because of the outcome. The win caps off a two-game weekend winning weekend for Ohio State after a shootout win over the Wolverines on Friday night.

It took a while for either team to get one into the back of the net. In fact, both teams remained scoreless well into the second period before OSU finally scored on a power play when Cole McWard slid one past Michigan goalie, Erik Portillo, on an odd-man rush with 5:39 left in the period.

@Mcward_Cole12 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/yIbftSkX0J

— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 18, 2023

From there, the ice conditions started to get a little sloppy, and after a brief break to make some repairs near the boards and a subsequent restart, the decision was made to end send the teams on a break because of safety concerns.

The teams would come back and finish the second period and it didn’t take long for OSU to go up 2-0 when Jake Wise finished off a nice feed from Travis Treloar on another power play with just 2:49 left in the second period.

Halliday

Treloar

Wise

PPG#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/1CjHg5xvKd

— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 18, 2023

The scoring would continue in a short burst at the end of the second period when the Wolverines finally got on the board quickly off of a faceoff with 1:35 left in the second period. Ohio State would come right back with a shorthanded goal when Tyler Duke lit the lamp to make it 3-1 heading to the third period.

Freshman Tyler Duke with the

Buckeyes' NCAA-best 10th shorty of the year.#GoBucks @TylerGeorgeDuk1 pic.twitter.com/0noUK4N3vy

— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 18, 2023

Michigan would get close again with another goal with just over 11 minutes left in the game, but the Buckeyes’ special teams would come up huge again with another power play goal. Stephen Halladay’s attempted pass across the goal crease would be deflected by Portillo into his own net, and quickly, OSU had another two-goal lead, at 4-2 with 10:18 left in the game.

From there, it would be a bit of a scramble. Michigan couldn’t get things back to a one-goal deficit despite chances both ways, but then really put the pressure on when it pulled the goalie with just under four minutes to play. The Buckeyes would hold up on defense by blocking shots, rallying to the puck, and helping out goaltender Jakub Dobes in the crease to close things out.

BUCKEYES WINNNNNN









#GOBUCKS pic.twitter.com/42Iaa2UJb5

— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 19, 2023

With the win, Ohio State now pulls into a tie with Michigan for second place in the Big Ten with just one weekend left in the regular season. OSU will have its work cut out for it when it heads to Minneapolis to take on the No. 2 Golden Gophers who have already clinched the regular-season conference crown.

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By: Phil Harrison
Title: Ohio State hockey beats Michigan in 'Faceoff on the Lake' to sweep weekend series
Sourced From: buckeyeswire.usatoday.com/2023/02/18/ohio-state-hockey-beats-michigan-in-faceoff-on-the-lake-to-sweep-weekend-series-buckeyes/
Published Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2023 00:26:42 +0000

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