November 24, 2019 print
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Roundup: Ohio State Earns Hard-Fought Split

Michigan State Rallies Past Notre Dame

CHN Staff Report

Over in Columbus this weekend, Ohio State and Penn State were meeting up in a football game of huge significance. The Buckeyes may have been an 18-point favorite in that one, but at the same time, the Nittany Lions were hosting Ohio State in a pair of games in State College where they were the favorite, albeit more slightly.

Ohio State won on the football field, by just 11 points. Penn State, meanwhile, couldn't exact complete revenge on the ice. Though Penn State won Friday night, the Buckeyes got one back Saturday, getting a goal from Gustaf Westlund in the third period to break a 3-3 tie. 

Ohio State is 7-4-1 (3-3 Big Ten). The Nittany Lions are 10-3-0 (6-2).

"They were as stifling as a team as we have played for sure," Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. "They dominated us in faceoffs and I don’t know what the final numbers are but they dominated us in odd-man rushes and they deserved to win.

"This is one of the times where the coaches are actually really looking forward to watching the tape to learn why we got dominated in non-man rushes and why we couldn’t get our game going. Got to give OSU a lot of credit but I want to know why."

There may have been things the coaches weren't happy about, but it was another entertaining game between two teams that currently seem headed towards NCAA berths. They traded goals over the first two periods and it predictably came down to the wire.

“I think the guys have played as hard as they can every game this year. But, we had a little better detail without the puck tonight and that was the difference,” OSU assistant coach JB Bittner said.

Ohio State snapped a three-game losing streak, all by one goal after it had started the season 7-1-1. All three came against formidable opponents on the road, including two at Notre Dame.

The down side for Ohio State was losing goaltender Tommy Nappier, who had played every minute of the season coming into the game. He was injured with 10 seconds left in the second period, and was replaced by Ryan Snowden, getting his first collegiate action. Snowden made 15 saves in the third period for the win. Nappier's status is unknown.

“This was a huge gutty win for us," Buckeyes senior Tanner Laczynski said. "To lose the last three games by one goal, it was tough. But the resiliency in the lockerroom to overcome adversity tonight and rally behind Snowden in the third is a big step in the right direction.”

Wisconsin 3, Minnesota 3

After a strong start, Wisconsin came in to Saturday's rematch at Minnesota having only won two of the last seven games. And while it's now two of eight, it could've been worse. 

After trailing 3-1 entering the third period, Wisconsin scored twice to tie it, then got the extra Big Ten point thanks to a goal in the 3-on-3 extra session. 

Both old rivals are struggling around the .500 mark right now, but it was more expected from Minnesota this season. The Badgers were being looked at to finally make a leap back into the NCAAs. That's still very possible, but it needs to right the ship again first. Friday's game was not good at all.

Saturday, head coach Tony Granato decided to go to Jack Berry in net, who hadn't played a full game this season. The No. 1 guy, Daniel Lebedeff, has just a .889 save percentage. Berry, a senior, who has never had a save percentage above .900 in any season, got another shot Saturday and made 31 saves.

"He hasn't played a full game in a long time and especially when you get to three-on-three and a shootout, he made a lot of clutch save at different points in the game," Granato said. "Jack was outstanding."

But the good start — a Ty Emberson goal — was washed away when Minnesota scored with 0.2 seconds left in the first period. Then the Gophers built a 3-1 lead.

Tarek Baker and K'Andre Miller scored in the third to tie it, the Baker goal coming just 18 seconds into the period.

Michigan State 3, Notre Dame 2

Michigan State continued its strong play since entering the Big Ten portion of its schedule. After starting the year 2-4-0 in non-league games, the Spartans are 4-1-1 since, including Saturday's thrilling come-from-behind win over Notre Dame at Munn Arena.

Sam Saliba, who had the first Michigan State goal, capped the comeback, scoring with 1:10 remaining in regulation.

"We kept working and even in the third it was a little tipsy where we just couldn't get through the wall there in the neutral zone for a long time, but then we got a little timeout and guys kind of caught their breath and we got back at it and did an outstanding job," MSU head coach Danton Cole said. "We got some forechecking going and all of a sudden started getting some shots as an offensive result and looked outstanding. It was a lot of fun and the guys deserved it the way they worked their tails off this weekend."

The Spartans did a good job containing Notre Dame's offense all weekend. Friday it resulted in a tie. Saturday, it almost resulted in a loss after Notre Dame got a power-play goal in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. And MSU was having trouble generating much offense in the third, until Notre Dame was caught off guard by a clear that was lofted down the ice by Josh Nodler. That sprang Logan Lambdin on a break that beat Cale Morris and tied the game.

It also gave the Spartans jump, which they eventually took advantage of.

Michigan Tech 3, Northern Michigan 2

Michigan Tech won its fourth straight game and earned a WCHA sweep with a 3-2 win at Northern Michigan on Saturday at the Berry Events Center. Three different Huskies scored and Matt Jurusik had 33 saves.

"Our guys did absolutely phenomenal," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "We would like to get better in a lot of ways, but we'll take them any way we can take them.

"It was a gutsy effort. Every one of our guys did an outstanding job. It's another one-goal victory, and we're happy we can send all of our fans who traveled down home happy."

Tech (7-6, 5-5 WCHA) jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Raymond Brice opened scoring 2:08 after puck drop for his first of the season. Seamus Donohue assisted on the goal to extend his point streak to five games.

"It feels good to get a sweep," Brice said. "I was just trying to get the puck to (TJ) Polglaze driving the net. It happened to go in."

There was a scrum in the corner with 1.2 seconds showing on the clock and the officials handed out 17 penalties. In a relatively disciplined game before that moment Tech was whistled for only one penalty and NMU had two.

Jurusik also had 10 saves in the first and 13 in the second for his fourth straight win. He improved to 6-3 on the season.

"It was a fun game," Jurusik said. "That's what it takes to win a Saturday night game on the road. We had to dig deep to pull out the victory."

Tech travels to Alaska next weekend for a WCHA series on November 29-30.

"Four wins in a row is obviously big," Brice said. "Hopefully we can carry that into Alaska next weekend."

Elsewhere ...

Mareks Mitens stopped 29 shots as Lake Superior State downed Bowling Green, 3-1. ... Aaron Miller scored twice in Bemidji State's 7-0 win over Alabama-Huntsville, which remains winless (0-11-1). ... Marc Michaelis scored his sixth of the season, and Dryden McKay stopped all 20 shots he faced in Minnesota State's 3-0 win over Alaska-Anchorage.

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