No. 13 Buckeyes Rally to Down No. 9 Wolverines at Wrigley

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Behind two third-period power play goals from Riley Thompson, the No. 13 Ohio State men’s hockey team defeated No. 9 Michigan, 4-3, in the Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Attendance for the day, which also included a matchup between Penn State and Notre Dame, was 25,709.

The win improves the Buckeye record to 14-4-1, with a 7-2-0 2-0-0 Big Ten ledger. The Wolverines are 11-7-1 and 5-4-0 2-0-0 in league play.

The Short Story
The Buckeyes trailed 1-0 after the first period and 2-0 less than five minutes into the second. Ohio State tied the game with two goals in the final 4:34 of the second, from Sam Deckhut and Noah Powell. Michigan pushed ahead at 9:15 of the third with a power play goal of its own. Thompson deadlocked the game at 12:05 and then tallied the gamewinner with just 38 seconds left. Buckeye goalie Kristoffer Eberly made 31 saves in all 60 minutes. Gunnarwolfe Fontaine had two assists and Powell, a Chicago native, had a goal and an assist for a two-point day.

Up Next
The Buckeyes and Wolverines will meet at 5 p.m. Sunday in Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., to wrap up the weekend series. The teams will close the season series Feb. 27-28 in Columbus.

How it Happened

A turnover in the Buckeye zone led to a Michigan goal from Michael Hage at 18:14 of the first period.

No penalties were called in the first, with each team putting 11 shots on net.

In the second, T.J. Hughes put Michigan ahead 2-0 at 4:42 with a power play goal.

At 15:26 Sam Deckhut tied the game, taking a pass from Noah Powell and scoring from the faceoff circle. Brent Johnson picked up the second assist on the goal, Deckhut’s fourth of the year.

Powell tied the game at 18:37, with his blast from the point getting through, assisted by Chris Able.

Ohio State was 0-for-3 on the power play in the middle stanza, including a 5-on-3 for 1:03. Michigan scored on its lone chance with the man advantage. The Buckeyes had the shot edge, 11-9.

At 9:15 of the third the Wolverines notched their second power play goal of the game, tallied by Will Horcoff, for a 3-2 lead.

The Buckeye power play took over to close out the game for the comeback win.

Riley Thompson put in the rebound of a shot from Aiden Hansen-Bukata at 12:05, just 17 seconds after the power play had started. Gunnarwolfe Fontaine posted the second assist.

The Wolverines were called for a hooking penalty with 1:08 left in regulation and Thompson responded with his second of the night. From right in front of the net, he redirected a Fontaine pass for a 4-3 Ohio State lead at 19:22. Davis Burnside picked up the second helper.

The Wolverines pulled their goalie after the ensuing faceoff, but a save and a block secured the victory.

Buckeye goalie Kristoffer Eberly made 13 saves on 14 Wolverine shots in the third and ended the game with 31 stops in all 60 minutes. Ohio State put 12 shots on goal in the final period. For the game, Michigan’s Cameron Korpi had 30 saves.

Each team had eight shot blocks. Johnson led Ohio State with two,

The Buckeye ended the game 2-for-6 on the power play, with Michigan 2-for-2.

Noting the Buckeyes

Ohio State was playing in its fifth outdoor game of the modern era and posted a second straight win over the Wolverines outdoors, with the last at Cleveland Browns Stadium in February 2023.

The Buckeyes have won five games in a row, all in league contests.

Eberly was named the national goalie of the month for December by the Hockey Commissioners Association Friday. He now has a 1.50 goals-against average and .937 save percentage, with a 10-1-0 record.

Thompson had his fourth career two-goal game and second as a Buckeye. He is tied for second on the team with 18 points and shares the team goal lead with eight.

Fontaine leads the Buckeyes with 20 points and is on a five-game scoring streak (3g, 5a, 8p).

Fontaine and Patrick Guzzo both marked the 150th game of their collegiate careers.

Hansen-Bukata has a team-best 17 assists, tying for second with 18 points. He has at least one assist in each of his last five games, with seven in the stretch.