No. 10 Buckeyes Drop 3-2 Decision to Michigan State

Line of Fritz, McCormick and Dzingel produces  both goals

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two Tanner Fritz second-period goals drew the Ohio State men’s hockey team within one but the Buckeyes could not get the equalizer and lost to Michigan State, 3-2, Saturday in Value City Arena. The line of Fritz and freshman classmates Max McCormick and Ryan Dzingel had all six points for the Buckeyes, with McCormick and Dzingel each picking up two assists.

 

Michigan State (15-11-4, 10-9-3-2 CCHA) led 1-0 after the first period on a power play goal and extended the lead to 3-0 in the second with a goal at 1:57 of the period and a power-play tally at 13:25. Ohio State (14-10-5, 10-9-5-1 CCHA) responded 58 seconds after MSU’s third goal when Fritz tallied, making it a 3-1 game and Fritz’s second goal came at 17:49 to make it a one-goal deficit. Ohio State outshot Michigan State, 12-4, in the third period and had three power play chances but the Spartan defense held strong and led the squad to the one-goal victory.

 

The game was the Buckeyes’ second-annual Teddy Bear Toss. After Ohio State’s first goal, fans tossed stuffed animals onto the ice. The animals were collected and will be delivered to Ronald McDonald House by members of the Buckeye squad.

 

In the first period, Matt Berry put Michigan State on the board at 9:14 with a power play goal, assisted by Torey Krug and Lee Reimer. Ohio State outshot Michigan State in the period, 11-6, and was scoreless on three power play chances. The Spartans converted their lone opportunity.

 

In the second, Michigan State pushed the lead to 3-0 before Ohio State scored twice late in the period to cut the lead to one. Just 1:57 into the period Jake Chelios tallied, tapping home a pass from Greg Wolfe, and at 13:25 Krug’s rising one-timer got through traffic while the Spartans were on the power play. Ohio State got on the board – and got the teddy bears flying – at 14:23 when Fritz put in the rebound of a McCormick shot off a faceoff win by Dzingel deep in the MSU zone. The line converted again shortly after. From the Buckeye zone, McCormick led Dzingel into the neutral zone and they rushed up ice with Fritz, creating a 3-on-1. MSU goalie Will Yanakeff made a save on Dzingel’s shot, but didn’t control the puck and Fritz was there to put it home. Shots were 15-12 in favor of Michigan State in the period. The Spartans were 1-for-5 on the power play in the stanza and had another chance carry into the third. Ohio State had two chances with the man advantage.

 

Neither team scored in the third period, with Yanakeff stopping all 12 Ohio State shots on net. The Buckeyes were 0-for-3 on the power play and the Spartans had one chance. Ohio State had the net empty for an extra attacker to close out the game but could not draw even with the Spartans.

 

For the game, Ohio State outshot Michigan State, 35-25. Senior Cal Heeter played 58:37 for the Buckeyes and had 22 saves. Yanakeff had 33 saves in all 60 minutes between the pipes for the Spartans.

 

Michigan State won the special teams battle, with two goals on six power play chances and an 8-for-8 night on the penalty kill.

 

Postgame Notes

·         Ohio State will return to action with two games at Western Michigan next weekend. The team will then have a bye week and wrap up the regular season with a home-and-home series vs. Miami Feb. 24-25, with game two in Columbus.

·         Fritz has a 4-5-9 line in his last seven games combined. It was his first career two-goal game and he has multiple points in three of his last five outings. He has 14 points this season, with six goals and eight assists.

·         McCormick has 4-3-7 totals in his last three games with back-to-back two-point games. It was his second two-assist game this season and first since Oct. 15 at Notre Dame. He is fourth on the team with 18 points and third with eight goals this year.

·         Dzingel had three points on the weekend. He leads the Buckeye rookies with 21 points and has a team-best 15 assists. It was his second career two-assist night and first multiple-point outing since he had a four-point night at Michigan Nov. 19. He has four multiple-point games this year.

·         The Buckeyes were swept in a two-game home series for the first time since losing twice to Quinnipiac Oct. 8-9, 2009.

·         Ohio State has outshot its opponents in each of its last six games.

 

Postgame Quotes

Mark Osiecki, Ohio State head coach
On the game
“That first goal was tough with the bounce. We weren’t ready for the faceoff, and we didn’t think the puck was going to drop when it did. The puck went off the referee’s skate right to their guy and Cal [Heeter] was looking the other way. It is what it is; we have to learn to move past those type of things.”
 
On Michigan State’s experience
“That was the bottom line this weekend. They only have a few freshmen in their lineup and that helps them in tough situations. We had 10 freshmen in the lineup tonight, and that was one of the differences in the game. It helps having their kind of experience going through league play.”
 
On MSU defenseman Torey Krug’s play
“He’s an all-league type of player. It’s important to have a defenseman back there who can quarterback the team. From a power play standpoint he’s top notch, and my hat goes off to him.”
 

Sean Duddy, Ohio State senior defenseman

On the play of the team

“It’s not panic, but there is definitely some frustration. It is more of a sense of desperation. We didn’t have that for 60 minutes of desperation hockey tonight. Panic isn’t the right word. We know what we have in the lockerroom.”

 

On the freshmen

“This has been a great learning experience. It’s tough throwing so much responsibility on the young guys, but they have been in that position in junior hockey. Hopefully this translates and something clicks going into the playoffs.”

 

Tanner Fritz, Ohio State freshman forward

On the play of the line of Fritz-Dzingel-McCormick

“The line feels good right now. We have played well the past couple series. We had some disappointing results as a team, but going forward we need to get after it. The freshmen need to start playing like sophomores.”

 

Tom Anastos, Michigan State head coach

On his team’s performance compared to Friday night

“Our performance was significantly better. I didn’t think we played particularly well last night despite the win, especially after going back and watching film. We weren’t very sharp on defense and Ohio State missed some good chances. Tonight, I thought we were better in all phases.”

 

On coaching his team

“I’m really enjoying this group of guys. We’ve competed against everyone we’ve played, and that is tough to do in a league as deep as this. I feel confident we can play with anyone.”

 

On the parity in the CCHA

“I’m not a huge fan of parity unless it is parity at a high level, and that is what we have in this league – everyone is competitive.”