Ohio State extended their current winning streak to four games on Saturday night with their 4-2 win over Wisconsin. The #8 Buckeyes are now in second place in the Big Ten behind only Michigan State, who is the #2 team in the nation. This victory was the Buckeyes’ 20th of the season, making their record 20-8-2 (13-6-1) with only four games of the regular season left.
The Buckeyes again had a great performance in front of the net. While the previous three games had been Logan Terness, in this game, Ohio State went with Kristoffer Eberly. Eberly and Ohio State, when they were on the defensive, stopped 93% of the shots that came their way, weathering 30 shots but only giving up two goals. The Buckeyes have the 9th-ranked scoring defense in the country and are behind only Michigan State in the Big Ten in that category.
On offense, Patrick Guzzo started off the scoring with his 8th goal of the season. Wisconsin then got two goals in the second period to make it a 2-1 game. Max Montes tied the game for Ohio State with his 10th goal of the season. The hero of the game was Damien Carfagna, who scored the game-deciding goal with three minutes left to go in the game. Davis Burnside’s goal on Wisconsin’s empty net put the finishing touches on the 4-2 victory and sweep for Ohio State.
Next weekend, the Buckeyes are traveling to Minnesota for their last road trip of the season. They’ll take on the #4 Gophers before returning home to close out the regular season with games against that team up north. The series against Minnesota will be strength against strength as the Buckeyes' #9 scoring defense will take on the #2 scoring offense of the Gophers.