Michigan
18-13-3, 12-10-2
Ohio State
21-11-2, 14-9-1
Michigan Holds Off No. 8 Ohio State to End Regular Season With Victory in Columbus
2/28/2025 9:58:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» T.J. Hughes scored a power-play goal for his 120th career point as a Wolverine.
» Mark Estapa finished the evening with two assists, U-M's only multi-point performer.
» Michigan finished the regular season with 42 points, currently sitting in fourth place.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan hockey team wrapped up the regular season on a high note, defeating No. 8 Ohio State 4-3 on Friday (Feb. 28) at Value City Arena. With the win, Michigan earned three points in the Big Ten standings and have clinched home ice for the playoffs.Â
A three-goal second period helped Michigan (18-13-3, 12-10-2 Big Ten) take a 4-1 advantage. OSU added two goals late in the third, but the Wolverines were up to the task, walking away with the win.
Veteran goaltender Logan Stein was clutch all night but especially in the final minutes as OSU had a power play and pulled its netminder in favor of an extra attacker. He finished the night with 21 saves.
Michigan started things off less than five minutes into the contest when freshman blueliner Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen launched a shot from the left point that found twine to open the scoring.
Despite Michigan possessing the momentum throughout the bulk of the period, OSU scored off a long shot of its own that found its way through traffic from the right point at 13:38 to make it 1-1 on the Buckeyes' third shot of the game.
Michigan pulled ahead at 2:01 when former Buckeye Tyler Duke leaned into a shot from the point immediately after Mark Estapa won an offensive-zone faceoff cleanly back to his teammate on the blue line. Once again, the puck worked its way through several layers of traffic to sneak past the goaltender and into the top shelf of the Ohio State cage.
Each team sent one skater to the box at 4:59 and 19 seconds later, T.J. Hughes beat his man on the outside while dashing toward the net for a dangerous scoring opportunity. Before he could get a shot off, he was impeded by the retreating defenseman to earn a power play.
Hughes' effort in drawing the penalty was rewarded nine seconds later when he scored a power-play goal from an impressive angle. The Wolverines began the advantage with a faceoff win before Edwards and freshman forward Michael Hage exchanged a series of passes to allow their teammates to spread out across the OSU end. Hage eventually walked in from his spot in the left circle toward the netminder and launched a shot attempt from the slot that created a rebound. With the puck skittering out to the side of a sprawling goalie, Hughes smacked the disc into the back of the net to make it 3-1 at 6:49. Hage and Edwards notched the assists on the junior center's 120th career point.
Whitelaw extended the lead for the Wolverines and made it 4-1 at 11:42 when he notched his 10th goal off a broken play in the OSU zone. The puck slipped out from the corner toward the slot, where Whitelaw was waiting to pull the puck onto his blade and quickly release a shot that deflected off the goaltender's arm before settling into the back of the net. Philippe Lapointe recorded the primary assist on Whitelaw's tally while the secondary went to Estapa, his second of the contest.
A hooking call on Jackson Hallum at 11:30 gave the Buckeyes (21-11-2, 14-9-1 Big Ten) a chance at a spark with their third power play of the evening. Forty-six seconds later, OSU picked up a penalty of its own to even things up at 4-on-4. Playing with the extra ice, Ohio State capitalized on a play in transition at 12:33 to sneak a low shot past Stein and make it 4-2.
A strange scenario unfolded in the closing minutes after Ohio State rang a shot off of two posts before it caromed into the corner. After the officials spent a long period of time in the penalty box reviewing the play, they announced the call on the ice stood as no goal. With that addressed, the official proceeded to dole out a penalty on OSU for too many skaters on the ice.
U-M took a penalty to even things up with 1:57 remaining when Whitelaw was banished to the box. Shortly thereafter, OSU capitalized while playing 4-on-4 to make it a one-goal game with 1:18 left in regulation.
Michigan held on to its lead as time ticked down, eventually locking up a critical regulation win. U-M finished the night with a 34-24 lead in shots, while the Buckeyes roared back with a strong third-period effort to own the upper hand in the faceoff dot, 33-29.
After Penn State picked up just two points tonight, Michigan officially clinched home ice for the Big Ten quarterfinal series with the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Wolverines will host the Nittany Lions in a best-of-three series starting at 7 p.m. on Friday (March 7) at Yost Ice Arena, continuing on Saturday (March 8) -- and if necessary, will end Sunday (March 9). Tickets will go on sale on Monday (March 3) at 9 a.m.
