COLUMBUS, Ohio – Senior John Dingle’s late second-period power-play goal broke a 3-all tie and lifted the Ohio State men’s hockey team to a 5-3 victory over Wisconsin Saturday in the championship game of the Lefty McFadden College Hockey Invitational at the E.J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.
Ohio State, ranked No. 19 in the USCHO.com poll, is 2-0-0 on the season. The No. 15-ranked Badgers drop to 1-1-0. Notre Dame downed Mercyhurst, 4-0, in the consolation game earlier in the day.
The teams combined for five goals in the first period, with Ohio State ending the period ahead, 3-2. The Buckeyes jumped out to a two-goal lead 3:46 into the game. Matt McIlvane deflected a Kyle Hood shot at 2:12 for his first goal of the year, with Tom Fritsche picking up the second assist. Freshman Sergio Somma tallied his first collegiate goal 1:34 later, backhanding in the rebound of a Hood shot. McIlvane assisted on the goal, which came on the power play. The Badgers got on the board at 8:50, as Jamie McBain scored on the power play, assisted by Kyle Turris and Brendan Smith. Patrick Schafer then regained OSU’s two-goal edge at 16:03, as he won the battle along the boards in the UW zone and beat Badger goalie Shane Connelly for his first collegiate tally. Ben Street cut the Buckeye lead to one (3-2), when he redirected a Smith shot at 17:48. The Buckeyes outshot the Badgers in the period, 15-11.
Wisconsin tied the game at 3-all 2:20 into the second, as Turis scored 2:20 into the period, just 20 seconds after a Buckeye power play had ended. Dingle, from Shaker Heights, Ohio, then put the Buckeyes back ahead, redirecting a pass from freshman Peter Boyd at 18:29 with Ohio State a man up. Freshman John Albert had the second assist, as he passed to Boyd down low. The Buckeyes put 11 shots on goal in the period, Wisconsin nine.
Early in the third period, the Buckeyes were able to stop the Badgers on a 58-second 5-on-3 advantage, led by seniors McIlvane, Johann Kroll, Jason DeSantis and Tommy Goebel, keeping the OSU lead at one. Buckeye junior Corey Elkins scored the only goal of the third period, as he forced a turnover near the UW net and scored unassisted at 6:15. Buckeye goalie Joseph Palmer stopped all 10 Badger attempts in the period. Ohio State had four shots on net.
Each team had 30 shots in the game. Palmer made 27 saves, while Connelly had 25.
The Buckeyes converted 2-of-7 power-play chances and stopped Wisconsin on 5-of-6 opportunities.
Game Notes
Two Buckeye freshmen played in their first career games – forward Schafer and defenseman Erick Belanger.
Boyd had the first assist of his Buckeye career after recording a goal in the opening round vs. Mercyhurst. Albert had an assist in each game of the tournament.
The win was the Buckeyes’ first in history vs. Wisconsin, stopping a 10-game losing streak. The teams have met just three times since 1969.
Hood tied his career best with two assists, matching the mark he set three times before (last vs. Northern Michigan Feb. 9).
For the weekend, the Buckeyes converted 4-of-11 power-play chances (.364).
Ohio State returns to action with a home-and-home series vs. Miami this weekend. The Buckeyes host the RedHawks at 7:05 p.m. Friday and the teams will meet at 6:05 p.m. Sunday in Oxford.
