Sophomore Davis Burnside, 23, protects the puck from a Wisconsin defender during Ohio State's 3-1 win over the Badgers in the Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament on Friday.Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
The Ohio State University men's ice hockey team won the first game in Madison, Wisconsin, thanks to a great performance from its goaltender.
The seventh-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (12-18-4, 4-18-2 Big Ten) will play the second-seeded Wisconsin Badgers (25-9-2, 16-7-1 Big Ten) in the first round. We defeated them 3-1. Game 3 in the quarterfinal series. Junior goaltender Logan Turness repelled 25 of 26 shots for the Badgers en route to the road win.
The Buckeyes got off to a strong start, making all of their first six shots of the game on goal. They also got an early power play and had two scoring chances on the man advantage.
But the power play ended and the Buckeyes took the lead. Junior defenseman Brent Johnson scored in his first Big Ten postseason game, firing a shot over the shoulder of Wisconsin senior goaltender Kyle McClellan and into the top left corner of the goal. Assisting on the goal were senior forwards Dalton Messina and Riley Hughes.
The Buckeyes' lead didn't last long as the Badgers tied it with freshman forward William Whitelaw's first shot of the game. Whitelaw was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Wisconsin dominated Ohio State at the faceoff dot in the opening frame, winning 17 of the 26 faceoffs taken. Despite this, the Buckeyes outscored the Badgers 12-6.
The second period was a back-and-forth affair, with the Buckeyes negating the Badgers' power play and recording three shots on goal. Wisconsin also outscored Ohio State 16-7 in the midfield, but was unable to capitalize on its opportunities and entered the second intermission tied at 1.
The Badgers also expanded their lead at the faceoff dot to 30-11, leading to a resurgence of offensive power.
Ohio State regained the lead early in the third after a penalty by sophomore forward Cruz Lucius gave the Buckeyes a power play opportunity. That's where Ohio State freshman forward Max Montez aimed the puck over McClellan's shoulder.
Montez's goal was enough for the Buckeyes to shut down the Badgers for the final 17 minutes of the game, earning them the win in Game 1. Montez scored his second goal of the period after Wisconsin pulled its goaltender.
The Buckeyes and Badgers will meet again Saturday in Madison for Game 2 at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus.
