Michigan
7-1-0, 0-1-0
Ohio State
3-4-0, 1-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
10/31/2026 9:09:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» NCAA scoring leader Jayden Perron saw lengthy point (13 games) and goal (nine games) streaks come to an end.
» U-M started 7-0 in back-to-back years for the first time in program history before losing game No. 8 in both years.
» Michigan entered the contest having won the previous six meetings over the Buckeyes.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For the second straight year, the eighth game of the season proved to be a stumbling block for the top-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team, which suffered its first loss of the season in game eight -- this time a 5-2 setback at the hands of Ohio State on Saturday evening (Oct. 31) at Schottenstein Center.
Goaltender Jack Ivankovic recorded 27 saves while ceding three goals to the rival Buckeyes before two empty-netters were added on.
Michigan had won six straight games against Ohio State entering tonight's conference opener.
Ohio State (3-4-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten) appeared to open the scoring at 6:09 with a power-play shot from the point that sneaked through a crowd of skaters, but a quick offside challenge from Michigan's coaching staff was successful, so the game remained scoreless.
The nation's leading scorer, Jayden Perron, led U-M with two shots on goal in the opening frame, but OSU built a 9-6 lead in the category through 20 scoreless minutes. The home team also led 13-9 in the faceoff dot.
Michigan (7-1-0, 0-1-0 Big Ten) was whistled for too many men on the ice at 3:13 to hand the Buckeyes a second power-play chance. This time, they made it count by banging a rebound across the goal line at 4:38 with a backhanded swat to claim a 1-0 lead.
Fresh out of a media timeout, OSU doubled its lead at 7:37 with a low shot that sneaked through the five-hole to make it 2-0.
Captain Garrett Schifsky was taken down at 10:43 while driving down the left side of the offensive zone to draw the visitors' first power play of the night. Michigan maintained possession for the entire two-minute segment but failed to beat the netminder.
Moments after the teams returned to even strength, Schifsky took up residence near the top of the crease and made his stick blade available to redirect a point shot from Henry Mews past the OSU goalie, cutting the deficit to 2-1 at 13:58. The sequence was initiated when Mews received a D-to-D pass from Ben Robertson, who earned the secondary assist on Schifsky's fourth tally of the campaign.
Ohio State clung to a 2-1 lead through two periods despite rising pressure from the Wolverines. Shots on goal were 23-20 in OSU's favor, but Michigan stormed ahead 22-20 in faceoffs with a dominant period in the dot.
The Buckeyes made it 3-1 at 9:45 of the final frame with a well-placed shot off an odd-man rush.
Head coach Brandon Naurato chose to pull Ivankovic with a shade under five minutes left in regulation, and the decision paid off at 16:52 when Cole McKinney buried a goal with an extra attacker to make it a 3-2 game. Michael Hage and Landon DuPont assisted on the centerman's sixth goal of the year by moving the puck succinctly to force the goaltender out of position and create a yawning cage.
OSU tacked on a pair of empty-net goals to bump the final score to 5-2.
Ohio State finished the contest with a 32-28 edge in shots on goal to fuel the win despite U-M bouncing back to finish 30-25 in the faceoff dot.
On Sunday night (Nov. 1), Michigan and Ohio State will finish off the weekend series in Columbus. The contest is set to begin at 7:30 p.m., and the action will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
