Either way you sliced it, the series against Michigan State this weekend was going to be meaningful either way for the Ohio State men’s hockey club. A couple of wins and it is right in the thick of things, while a split, or a two-game loss would all but end its shot at a Big Ten title, and potentially doom its hopes of making the NCAA Tournament.
Thankfully, for the Buckeyes, it was the former and now it gets really fun.
Ohio State rallied at Michigan State Saturday night and capped off a two-game sweep of the Spartans to get four critical points, and now are positioned in a tie for second place with Minnesota in the league. Penn State is four points clear of both and are close to wrapping up the regular-season title but have played two more games with one weekend left.
But back to the game Saturday. Michigan State struck first with 7:07 left in the 1st period, but Ohio State answered when Quinn Preston scored on a power play with 3:50 left to knot things at one apiece. It looked like that’s how the first twenty minutes would end, but the Spartans took advantage of a turnover and lit the lamp with just ten seconds left to go into the first break ahead 2-1.
Despite chances both ways, the second period yielded no goals and Ohio State would have to rally in the last stanza to head home happy. It did just that, but it took a while to materialize.
Jaedon Leslie got the equalizer for the Buckeyes with just 4:49 left in the game, then Tanner Laczynski scored again just a little over a minute later, and suddenly OSU had the lead as the sands of the hourglass began to run out.
🧹 Buckeyes WIN! 🧹
No. 12 Ohio State with three unanswered goals in the third for the victory.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/f78Dn4Yred
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 23, 2020
Preston would score an empty netter for his second goal of the day to finish off the 4-2 win, and now Ohio State can focus on hosting Wisconsin next weekend for a shot at tying for the regular-season Big Ten crown. It must take both games.