CLEVELAND, OH --- Freshman defenseman Tyler Duke scored the game-winning goal, and sophomore goaltender Jakub Dobes stopped 35 of 37 shots, as the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the University of Michigan Wolverines, 4-2, at FirstEnergy Stadium Saturday evening.

With the Buckeyes playing shorthanded in the final minute of the second period, center Jake Wise broke in shorthanded on Michigan goaltender Erik Portillo who made a left pad save, but Wise corralled the puck below the goal line to the right of the Michigan net and fed the puck into the slot. The disc landed on Duke’s stick between the circles and he wristed it past a sprawling Portillo to give Ohio State its second two-goal lead of the game at 3-1.

Duke and his brother, Michigan sophomore forward Dylan, are natives of Strongsville and were playing in front an estimated 400 family and friends.

“It was a pretty cool experience,” Dylan said. “I think it was a lot of fun for my grandparents and family and friends in the area to see me and Tyler on the ice at the same time back here in Cleveland. It’s something we’ll be able to talk about for the rest of our lives.”

Tyler Duke’s goal was the third tally in a span of 1:50 late in the second period – a segment of the second period that actually came after the second intermission. Problems with the temporary ice surface sent the teams to the locker room early. They returned to play the final 4:59 of the second period, then played the full third frame after a short break that did not include a Zamboni.

Despite the six power plays in the first period – three aside – there were not very many Grade A chances for either team. Things started to open up a bit in the second. Still, it took 34:21 of game time before a goal was scored. Ohio State’s Cole McWard broke the ice with 5:39 to go in the second period, skating down the left wing and burying a wrist shot from just inside the faceoff circle.

There had been a significant delay midway through the second period as the ice crew worked on a patch right along the half-boards by the door that OSU took to their locker room – to Portillo’s right. Then, shortly after McWard’s goal, the game was stopped again, and the decision was made to take the second intermission to allow them to continue working on the playing surface. Two large chunks of ice were removed right along the kickplate in front of the players benches.

Shortly after play resumed, with Michigan killing a penalty, OSU’s Travis Treloar intercepted a puck in the neutral zone and skated it back into Michigan territory. He left the puck for Stephen Halliday who held it along the right-wing boards, then gave it back to Treloar deep in the right circle. Treloar fired a pass in front to Jake Wise who one-touched the puck past Portillo to his glove side, giving the Buckeyes a 2-0 lead.

The Wolverines did not take too long to respond. Freshman sensation Adam Fanitilli, expected to go in the top three of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, won a faceoff to Dobes’ right and Gavin Brindley stepped into the circle and wristed the puck through a screen right under the bar over Dobes’ shoulder.

Tyler Duke scored his shorthanded goal 45 seconds later, closing the scoring on the eventful “mini-period.”

“Wisey got the puck and I saw him beat a guy and throw it out front,” he said. “I saw a lane and hopped in there and tried to do my best to put it in.”

After a short one-minute break, the full 20-minute third period began (meaning the final 25 minutes of game action was played without an ice cut).

Early in that third period, Michigan tested Dobes repeatedly, but he was sharp. The Buckeyes had a few quality chances of their own, including a few breakaways on Portillo (30 saves), but he held the fort as well.

At the 8:46 mark, Michigan’s Frank Nazar skated over the OSU blue line down the left wing, spun away from a check along the boards, and dropped the puck for Jackson Hallum. Hallum unleashed a hard wrist shot from the top of the left circle that Dobes stopped, but he could not corral the rebound. Eric Ciccolini was driving hard to the net and helped the puck across the goal line to get Michigan within a goal at 3-2.

Less than a minute later, Ohio State went back on the power play and capitalized to regain control of the game. Wise cradled the puck at the top of the right circle and fed it down to Halliday at the near post. The left shot center had time to hold the puck on his forehand and explore his options. He tried to feed a pass across the net front to Treloar, but it hit Portillo’s outstretched stick and deflected into the Michigan cage.

Wise finished the game with a goal and two assists.

Michigan head coach Brandon Naurato pulled Portillo with about three minutes to go, and Michigan held a distinct territorial edge for the balance of regulation but had trouble carrying and passing the puck smoothly on the distressed ice. The Wolverines were unable to get another puck past Dobes and the game ended in a 4-2 win for Ohio State.

Naurato was not about to blame the issues with the ice for his team not getting the win.

“It is what it is,” Naurato said. “We knew coming in there could be some stuff like that. You just have to fight through it. One of the two teams is going to figure it out.”

Dylan Duke concurred.

“Both teams were playing on the same ice,” he said. “It was a level playing field.”

Scoring the first goal can be very important in a hockey game and Ohio State got some help from one of the officials about eight minutes into what was still a scoreless contest. Brindley jumped on a loose puck just outside the OSU blue line along the right boards. It looked like he would have a clean breakaway on Dobes but the puck hit a linesman’s skate and came to a stop, causing Brindley to over-skate it.

It was a spirited contest as one would expect with two big rivals playing on such a big stage. The first period saw six penalties called, including two hitting from behind calls and a roughing call, and there were a total of 13 penalties handed out in the game.

With 3:17 to go in the first period, Joe Dunlap of Ohio State was called for roughing and the Michigan coaching staff challenged the call asking for a game misconduct for hitting from behind. Review confirmed only a two-minute minor was warranted and the Wolverines lost their timeout.

The Buckeyes dominated in the faceoff circle, holding a 39-12 edge through two periods, and killed off all seven Michigan power plays.

Players and coaches from both teams were effusive in their praise for the event.

“The people here in Cleveland did an incredible job,” said Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik. “It was an incredible experience that our guys will remember for the rest of their lives.”

The weather conditions were perfect as the NCAA rivals kicked off three weeks-worth of outdoor hockey competition at the home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. The series will include ACHA, NCAA, Junior A, high school professional games.

Click here to see the full schedule of events.

THERE GOES THE SUN – The sun was directly in the eyes of the Wolverine goaltenders during warmups, and it felt considerably warmer than the announced 42 degrees, but by the time they dropped the puck at 4:00 p.m., the sun had gone down behind the stands at the west end of the stadium and the entire playing surface was in the shade.

STACKED WOLVERINES – A total of 12 current Michigan players have been drafted by NHL teams – including four first rounders: Luke Hughes, Rutger McGroarty, Frank Nazar & Mackie Samoskevich. Hughes did not dress for the game and Naurato did not provide an update on his status after the game.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest