Michigan
12-3-0, 5-2-0
Ohio State
5-6-0, 1-4-0
Hughes' Three-Point Night Leads Michigan to Win Over OSU
11/21/2025 10:35:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Senior T.J. Hughes scored and added two assists for a three-point performance.
» Five different Wolverines scored against the Buckeyes while 12 recorded points.
» Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen's fourth goal surpasses his freshman year total in 20 fewer games.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A trio of third-period goals and a three-point performance by T.J. Hughes delivered three points in the Big Ten standings with a resilient 5-2 win for the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team over Ohio State to kick off the weekend with a Friday night (Nov. 21) victory inside Yost Ice Arena.
Freshman netminder Jack Ivankovic was terrific for the Wolverines as he collected his 12th victory of the season by making 20 saves against a feisty Ohio State offense. The Maize and Blue were able to battle back from a pair of one-goal deficits due to the unrelenting play of Ivankovic inside the blue paint.
Michigan (12-3-0) peppered the Ohio State (5-6-0) goaltender early on as they quickly began to pile up shots, but his stout play in the early minutes helped the Buckeyes get their legs under them.
Junior forward Garrett Schifsky was whistled for roughing near the benches at 9:20 to grant a second opportunity to the visitors. The nation's leader in shorthanded goals, Josh Eernisse, sped away for a breakaway that excited the crowd inside Yost, but OSU's goalie turned it aside with his left pad to end the danger and push play in the other direction. On the other end of the sheet, Ohio State's power play converted to take a 1-0 lead 25 seconds into the advantage.
A great set-up by Michael Hage gave the home fans reason to believe the Wolverines would tie it up with seven minutes left in the period, but the ensuing one-timer off the stick of T.J. Hughes rang off the crossbar and bounced straight down before being swept away from danger without crossing the line. Ohio State ended the chaotic sequence with a holding penalty at 13:09, but U-M failed to net a game-tying goal.
The Wolverines found their equalizer at 17:13 by applying pressure in the offensive zone and overwhelming the visitors with traffic in the slot. After Hughes dropped a pass back toward the point for Ben Robertson, the junior collected the puck and fired off a shot for Malcolm Spence to redirect through the five-hole and tie the game at 1-1. Robertson's 13th helper of the season extended his nationwide lead among defensemen in assists.
U-M carried a dominant 16-5 lead in shots on goal to the dressing room for the first intermission while the Buckeyes built a 13-10 edge in the faceoff dot amidst the 1-1 draw.
Early in the second period, Ohio State stung the Wolverines to retake a 2-1 lead at 3:01.
The Wolverines struck back at 11:16 to make it 2-2 following a pressure-packed shift in which sophomore Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen glided around the offensive zone in search of an open shooting lane. Junior forward Jayden Perron eventually stepped up to assist on a give-and-go that resulted in a long-range shot from Rhéaume-Mullen sneaking through the wickets to tie it up. Freshman defender Asher Barnett collected the secondary helper.
With his fourth goal of the year, Rhéaume-Mullen surpassed his freshman goal-scoring total in 20 fewer games. Perron's assist gave him points in 10 of the past 11 games.
Michigan had doubled OSU in shots (30-15) through two periods despite the score remaining deadlocked at 2-2. The Buckeyes maintained a 25-21 edge in the faceoff department.
The Wolverines claimed their first lead of the night after 50:56 of game action when Hughes finished off a feed from Adam Valentini to make it 3-2 after a rugged shift that took the youngster behind the OSU cage before he could send a pass to the slot for Hughes to bury with a change-up. Hage notched the second assist for sustaining the offensive-zone possession.
Michigan followed it up by scoring with 2:01 left to make it 4-2 off a goal from Josh Eernisse. Once again, it was a blue-collar play that did the trick for U-M as the senior skated to the netfront area to find pay dirt by redirecting a point shot from Tyler Duke. Hughes, the captain, picked up his third point of the evening with the secondary assist.
On the ensuing draw, Cole McKinney received a cross-check to the head from the opposing centerman that resulted in a major penalty and game misconduct on Ohio State.
Fresh off a faceoff win in the defensive zone by Kienan Draper, fellow senior Luca Fantilli added an empty-net goal from 180 feet with 14.3 seconds remaining to ice the game at 5-2.
The Wolverines used a dominant third period to secure the three-goal victory in addition to a 45-22 disparity in shots on goal and a slim 35-34 edge in the faceoff dot.
Michigan's 45 shots on goal marked the most for the team since the season-opening series against Mercyhurst when the Wolverines put up 99 shots over the first two games.
Tomorrow night (Nov. 22), Michigan and Ohio State will reunite at Yost Ice Arena to finish off the weekend set. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on B1G+.
