Ohio State Skates to Tie With Michigan, Wins Shootout

By Miles McQuinn


It's amazing how far goaltending can take you, especially in a playoff run. This was the case for the Ohio State Buckeyes and Matt Tomkins.


Tomkins, who hadn't started a game in over a month, got the nod from head coach Steve Rohlik and didn't disappoint. Ohio State (15-10-4), coming off a bye week, had lost six straight games against their rivals from up north including eight out of the last ten. The first series between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines included instant classics in both games and Friday night's matchup was no different.


The scarlet and gray quieted the hostile Yost Ice Arena crowd early as freshman Nick Schilkey buried his tenth goal of the season just 4:26 into the first period. Schilkey, the Marysville, Michigan native, took a gorgeous behind the back feed from junior Chad Niddery and backhanded the puck top shelf, beating freshman Zach Nagelvoort, to put the Buckeyes up 1-0. Michigan (15-10-4) bounced back with a goal of their own with just 29 seconds remaining as junior Alex Guptill flied down the left side of the ice, slid the puck between the legs of OSU senior captain Curtis Gedig, and fired a shot into the back of the net through the five-hole of Tomkins for his tenth lamp lighter this season.


Ohio State controlled play for the first half of the second period, capped off by an Alex Szczechura powerplay goal at the 10 minute mark, his eighth, to give the Buckeyes the lead once again. Szczechura, the senior from Brantford, Ontario, found himself with the puck on the backdoor with a wide open net after a redirected shot off the stick of Sam Jardine bounced off the right pad of Nagelvoort and onto his stick for an easy tap in goal. Ohio State hadn't scored in their previous eleven power play attempts.


After that, it became the Matt Tomkins show.


Tomkins, who had been the backup to Christian Frey over the past month, hadn't started a game since January 24 (a 5-3 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl center in Madison, WI.). He showed no signs of rust as he proved to be the difference in the game.


In what was a third period dominated by the maize and blue, the defense for Ohio State was phenomenal. The Buckeye defense, coming into the matchup allowing two goals or less in six out of the last seven games, put forth another defensive masterpiece. The Buckeye penalty kill was also a crucial component of the game, as Michigan was denied on all six of its' powerplay opportunities, including two in the third frame of the game. The Wolverines, who outshot the Buckeyes 17-10 in the final frame, finally broke through and tied the game via Alex Guptill once again with 5:16 remaining. Guptill received a pass from Evan Allen in the slot in front of Tomkins, ripped a shot that hit the post, bounced back right to him, and promptly beat the glove of the freshman to electrify the home crowd. After some exciting back and forth action, both teams picked up a point, ending the third period in a 2-2 tie.


A back and forth overtime period couldn't settle the score, so the teams would determine who would get the extra point in a shootout.


It would be the stellar play of Tomkins (who stopped 35 of 37 shots) and the quick wrists of Szczechura that would prove to be the difference.


In the first frame of the shootout, Michigan natives Andrew Copp and Schilkey were both denied by Tomkins and Nagelvoort, respectively. On Michigan's second opportunity, Luke Moffatt walked down on Tomkins, made a move, and lost the puck, allowing Tomkins to make an easy save. This gave Szczechura to opportunity to give the scarlet and grey the lead. The senior calmly skated down into the slot and wristed a laser beam over the glove of Nagelvoort, putting the pressure on the Wolverines to tie things up. Head coach Red Berenson called upon the offensive star of the night for his team, Alex Guptill. Guptill, who had both Wolverine goals, closed in on Tomkins, tried to make a backhand shot, and Tomkins denied it with his blocker, bringing his star effort full circle and giving his team the extra point.





Ohio State and Michigan will square off again Sunday at 1 p.m. in Columbus at Nationwide Arena, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The first three contests between the teams have been nothing short of stellar. The final regular season matchup between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines will most likely not be no different.