The Badgers and the Buckeyes took the ice for the battle of the worst two teams in the Big Ten tonight.
Wisconsin jumped out to an early one goal lead but could not hang on as they let in two unanswered goals, losing to Ohio State 2-1 and falling five points behind OSU for fifth in the Big Ten standings.
The first period of play was fast and the tone was set early.
Both the Badgers and the Buckeyes were flying up and down the ice creating numerous scoring chances.
The story of the first period was odd man rushes. Every other second either the Badgers or the Buckeyes were coming into the zone outnumbering the defense.
The scoring chances really started opening up right toward halfway through the first.
After Eddie Wittchow was called for pulling down an attacker, Ohio State went on the power play.
The Buckeyes, who have the fourth best power play in The Big Ten looked dangerous putting good shots on Joel Rumpel.
After the puck was pushed out of the zone, Grant Besse lead a three on one breakaway chance that ended with a Besse shot and a Christian Frye save.
Coming off the save the Buckeyes had a two on one chance that ended with a sprawling Rumpel getting a glove on the shot to keep the score knotted at zeros.
The Badgers would finally break the scoreless tie.
At 15:55 Corbin McGuire came flying off the bench and into the offensive zone where a rebound was sitting nicely in the slot. McGuire took the rebound one-time and netted it past Frye.
The goal was McGuire’s second goal of his career and would be enough to give the Badgers a one-goal lead going into the second period.
Ohio State would respond in the second period though, a story all to familiar to Badger fans this season.
The Buckeyes came out in the second period firing on all cylinders. Ohio State grabbed control of the game with a relentless onslaught of shots and time in the Badgers’ zone.
OSU would end up outshooting the Badgers 17-4 on the period and never recored fewer than 10 shots in any period on the night. Wisconsin on the other hand, they managed double digit shots in just the first period of the night.
With a goal feeling eminent for OSU, the equalizer ended up coming off of one of their worst chances of the period.
Rumpel watched as the puck flew behind the net and onto the stick of OSU’s Tyler Lundey right above the goal line.
Lundey fired the puck from a tough angle and it bounced off Rumpel’s glove and into the net, 5:58 into the second period to tie the game at one.
After the easy goal the Badgers stepped up to the adversity and gained better control of the game, not allowing Ohio State to add another goal right away.
The Badgers had a power play opportunity later into the second but could not get it past OSU’s Frye.
The best opportunity on that power play came for OSU as Anthony Grecco walked in on a breakaway, but Joel Rumpel came up big shutting the door on Ohio State’s best player.
The game looked like it was headed to a tie after two periods but Nick Schilkey had other plans.
Nick Schikley took the faceoff right outside the Badgers’ zone and ripped a wrist shot top shelf past Joel Rumpel to give Ohio State a 2-1 lead going into the third period.
Going into the third period, Ohio State held the momentum and would not let up.
The Badgers fought admirably, getting two power plays in the final period but the simply could not get the puck past Christian Frye who posted twenty-three saves in the win.
The only reason the third period did not get out of hand was Joel Rumpel.
Rumpel was brilliant besides his one mistake that lead to the first goal posting forty saves in the losing effort.
The Badgers pulled Rumpel late but could not find the equalizer falling to OSU, 2-1.
The win for Ohio State was the first or the team since January 9th.
The Badgers will continue to search for their first conference win tomorrow night in a rematch against Ohio State. 6pm CT puck drop tomorrow on that game.
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