Ohio State men’s ice hockey redeems weekend for the Buckeyes

In many ways, this weekend was one Ohio State fans would rather forget, with Ohio State football and men’s and women’s basketball falling in consecutive matchups Saturday and Sunday.

On the hardcourt, in women’s basketball’s Big Ten opener against Purdue, the Buckeyes fell 66-50 at home in Columbus. Ohio State was led by sophomore forward Dorka Juhasz and freshman guard Masison Greene, who each had 12 points in Saturday’s game. The Buckeyes had their worst shooting day of the year, connecting on less than a third of their shots from the field. The Boilermakers also dominated Ohio State in rebounding, pulling down 45 to the Buckeyes’ 26.

With the loss, women’s basketball falls to 7-5 on the season. Next up, Ohio State is scheduled to travel to Minnesota to face the Gophers in a New Year’s Eve matchup Tuesday.

However, the news wasn’t all bad from the weekend, as men’s ice hockey edged Colgate for a series sweep Friday and Saturday night. The sixth-ranked Buckeyes opened with a 3-2 win Friday night and followed up with a 3-0 shutout Saturday.

In game one, the Buckeyes came back from one goal down in the third period to secure the win. After Colgate opened scoring in the first period, sophomore forward Quinn Preston evened things out on a power play goal near the 12-minute mark. After the Raiders took the lead in the second, senior forward Tanner Laczynski proved to be the hero of the matchup, scoring two third period goals to give the Buckeyes the win.

Game two was a little less dramatic. Preston opened scoring just seconds into play, but that would be the only goal until the third. In the final period, senior defenseman Gordi Myer and freshman forward Tate Singleton piled on to bring the score to 3-0. Junior goalie Tommy Napier had 25 saves in the Buckeyes’ shutout -- his second of the year.

With the sweep, the Buckeyes improve to 12-4-2 on the year, including 6-3-1 in conference. In fact, Ohio State hasn’t lost since Nov. 22 when the Buckeyes fell in the first of a two-game series on the road against Penn State. Ohio State looks to continue its winning ways next weekend at the Fortress Invitational in Las Vegas, scheduled for Jan. 3-4. In that tournament, the Buckeyes look to face Cornell and Army.

In other news…

• With men’s volleyball ready to tipoff next week, the Buckeyes will be without one of its veteran leaders -- but for good reason. Jake Hanes, who was entering his final season of eligibility in Columbus, is foregoing his senior year to join and train with the U.S. National Team ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Hanes is among the top in program history in kills, aces and points per set, and will certainly be missed on the court this season.
• Five members, past and present, of the Ohio State wrestling team earned their spot in the Olympic Trials after their performances in the U.S. Senior Nationals last weekend. Freshman Nicholas Boykin (97 kg) earned his qualification for the Greco-Roman team, while redshirt senior Kollin Moore (97 kg) advanced in freestyle. Additionally, Nathan Tomasello (57 kg), Joey McKenna (65 kg) and Myles Martin (86 kg), all recent program alums, earned spots in the freestyle qualifier.