Sometimes the hockey gods just don’t play nice.
Ohio State dominated much of the play, outshot Denver 24-13 for the game, but still came up empty because of a hot goaltender and opportunistic offense from the Pioneers.
Both teams had a hard time scoring throughout almost two periods of play. Ohio State kept generating offense but couldn’t crack the code against Denver goalie and Detroit Red Wings draft pick Filip Larsson. Meanwhile, the Ohio State defense kept things pretty clean save for one huge mistake.
With just 39 seconds remaining in the second period, the defense lost its shape and left defenseman Les Lancaster unmarked along the right face off dot for a short-side snipe to take a 1-0 lead into the break after the second period.
Despite great effort, neither score managed to light the lamp in the third period until the Buckeyes were forced to pull the goalie to try and equalize the game with 1:25 left. Instead, Denver got an empty netter from Colin Staub to seal the deal 2-0 and send Ohio State back to Columbus.
For Ohio State, the season has to be a bit of a disappointment. It won the Big Ten regular season but stumbled down the stretch of the season and lost its last two elimination games, first in the Big Ten Tournament, and now when even more was on the line.
Now for the offseason and one in which many seniors will be moving on from the program.
