Michigan Hockey takes down Ohio State for Big Ten Tournament title
· Yahoo Sports
Going into the Big Ten Tournament Championship, there was a clear difference in desires. No. 2 seed Michigan had likely already locked up the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, while No. 5 Ohio State was fighting to keep its season alive.
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Desires aside, it was the Wolverines rolling to a 7-3 victory to secure their third tournament championship in five years (first since 2023 and first ever at Yost Ice Arena) with an impressive effort over their rivals to the south.
Early on, freshman forward Adam Valentini took an unfortunate penalty as the Buckeyes’ Max Montes chipped the puck into the offensive zone and drew a trip. On the ensuing power play, senior forward Josh Eernisse helped bleed the clock with a courageous block on the back of his leg. But Ohio State would strike late as William Smith ripped a right circle one-timer past freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic to make it 1-0.
The Buckeyes came out firing — perhaps riding the high of upsetting Michigan State in East Lansing last weekend — but Ivankovic helped weather the storm and Michigan had its forecheck going.
Late in the frame, senior forward Garrett Schifsky controlled the puck in the defensive zone, fended off an Ohio State forward, drove through the neutral zone and into Buckeye territory unscathed and ripped a deep slot shot top corner for the leveler, 1-1.
The Wolverines came out of the intermission firing, and it did not take long to grab the lead. Not even two minutes in, sophomore forward Michael Hage’s shot went wide and hit off the boards, fortuitously bouncing to sophomore forward Will Horcoff, who got a stick on it for the score to make it 2-1.
The Buckeyes would hang in there, continuing to play a quality brand of hockey and matching this talented Michigan team, eventually tying the game almost eight minutes later; junior defenseman Ben Robertson had trouble clearing the puck, and Ohio State took advantage below the goal line. A strong forecheck led to Jake Karabela beating Ivankovic from the low slot.
Seven minutes after that goal, the Buckeyes struck again, this time on the power play. Freshman forward Cole McKinney ate Adam Eisele’s initial shot, but Eisele found the rebound and a wonky second try beat Ivankovic to make it 3-2 Ohio State.
The Wolverines, unfazed with the home crowd at their backs, answered with less than a minute left in the second. Senior defenseman Tyler Duke drew a controversial tripping penalty, though Michigan did not apologize, and a filthy turnaround pass by senior forward T.J. Hughes found freshman forward Malcolm Spence in the low slot to once again tie the game.
The third period was a less tense frame for the Yost faithful, as almost halfway through, junior forward Jayden Perron did well to win an outnumbered battle on the forecheck. He fired a shot, and the rebound found Hughes on the back door for the go-ahead tally.
Not even 100 seconds later, the Wolverines scored again when, on the power play, Perron controlled the puck off a face off win, weaved through multiple Buckeyes and went five-hole for a crucial insurance goal.
Michigan added another with about seven minutes left, as senior defenseman Luca Fantilli buried a rebound, and the celebration was on in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines got it up to 7-3 on junior forward Nick Moldenhauer’s empty net goal, further securing that No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Hughes earned tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, while the players and coaching staff passed the trophy around.
The 16-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNU.