By Miles McQuinn
What doesn't kill you in one game, may very well come back to get you the next game.
Michigan (8-6-2-1 Big Ten, 16-10-4 overall), who were 0-6 on power play opportunities in their 2-2 tie against Ohio State (5-7-4-3 Big Ten, 15-11-4 overall) on Friday night, capitalized on 3-4 power plays in their 4-3 victory over their rivals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Sunday afternoon. After the previous three games between the teams went down to the wire, with Michigan winning the first two contests by a goal, the fourth and final regular season meeting was expected to be another exciting contest.
It didn't disappoint.
The No. 13 ranked Wolverines got off to a roaring start, scoring twice in the first ten minutes of the game on the strength of two power play goals by freshman Alex Kile and senior Luke Moffatt. Kile deflected home his fourth goal on the season just 2:26 into the game through the five-hole of freshman Matt Tomkins off a wrist shot from sophomore Andrew Copp. Just under five minutes later Moffatt took a centering feed in the slot from Copp and wristed a shot past the right pad of Tomkins for his ninth goal on the year. Freshman defenseman Michael Downing was credited with assists on both goals as well.
Tomkins, who got the start after his impressive performance on Friday night, stopped 34 of 38 shots on the afternoon.
The Buckeyes cut the Michigan lead in half 3:03 into the second frame with a goal by freshman David Gust. Josh Healey, the freshman defenseman out of Edmonton, Alberta, fed a speedy Chad Niddery who flew up the left side of the ice. Finding himself alone on the break with Gust, the junior hailing from Penticton, B.C., finessed a pass over to his teammate driving the net. Gust made a move to his left, opened up the legs of sophomore goalie Steve Racine, and slid the puck through. The goal was David's sixth of the campaign.
The Maize and Blue answered the Buckeye tally quickly with one of their own. Senior Derek DeBlois put home his fifth goal this season after taking a pass in the high slot from Alex Guptill. Guptill, who had both of Michigan's goals on Friday, picked his head up in the corner and found DeBlois open, and the Senior from Narragansett, R.I., beat Tomkins right over his glove, putting his team back up by two.
Ohio State carried some momentum into the third period on a late goal by junior Darik Angeli. Angeli drove home the only Buckeye power play goal of the game (his ninth of the year) when he took a pass from freshman defenseman Sam Jardine and kicked his speed into high gear, flying down the left side of the ice. Angeli beat a Michigan defender and shoved the puck into Racine. The puck hopped over the netminder and found its way in the far side of the net, cutting the Wolverine lead to one. The Scarlet and Gray were 1-5 on man up opportunities on the afternnon.
The Buckeyes dominated play in the first half of the third period, until a David Gust cross-checking penalty proved costly, as Phil Di Giuseppe rocketed home Michigan's third power play goal of the day. Di Giuseppe took a beautiful set up from senior defenseman Kevin Clare and one-timed a shot top shelf over the glove of Tomkins for his ninth appearance in the goal column this season.
Ohio State wasn't finished, however, as Jardine found the back of the net for the first time as a Buckeye just 1:19 later, taking a shot from the point that a screened Racine didn't see until it was too late.
Racine, who stymied 34 of 37 scarlet and gray attempts on net, including 14 of 15 in the third period, took over the final 8:11 of the game. The Williamsville, N.Y., native put on quite a display, slamming the door shut on his rivals from the south, sending his team back to Ann Arbor 4-3 winners.
Ohio State now heads into a season defining weekend against the No. 2 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers at The Jerome Schottenstein Center at Value City Arena March 7 and 8. Friday's contest is slated for 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's matchup comes at 6:30 p.m.
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