Michigan hockey imposes will on Ohio State in 7-1 beatdown

The Michigan men's hockey team opened Big Ten play with a convincing 7-1 win over Ohio State at Yost Ice Arena on Friday night. After starting the 2023-24 season with split series against Providence (home) and UMass (away), Michigan scored a touchdown on the Buckeyes to kick off conference play.

Michigan's Dylan Duke opened scoring less than five minutes into the game, off assists by Jacob Truscott and Kienan Draper.

Ohio State answered just a few minutes later as Thomas Weis beat Michigan goaltender Jacob Barczewski, but it was all Michigan from then on out. The Wolverines scored six unanswered goals to down the Buckeyes by a six-goal margin.

Rutger McGroarty scored Michigan's second goal of the game, which was assisted by Seamus Casey and Gavin Brindley. Then, 19-year-old freshman Nick Moldenhauer scored his first goal as a Wolverine, thanks to assists from Tyler Duke and Jackson Hallum.

Moldenhauer was a third-round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2022 NHL Draft.

McGroarty and Tyler Duke assisted Gavin Brindley on a goal late in the second period to put Michigan up 4-1 heading into the second intermission.

Sophomore Josh Eernisse scored the team's next two goals to give Michigan a convincing 6-1 advantage with less than 10 minutes to play in the game.

Draper then added one in the final minute to seal the 7-1 victory for the Wolverines.

"I thought we were pretty good in the first period," head coach Brandon Naurato said after the contest. "I really liked our game in the second and third [periods]. I thought the PK [penalty kill] was outstanding, I thought Jake [Barczewski] was outstanding.'

"To be honest, I thought we got off to a slow start," McGroarty said after the game. "I thought they were playing harder than us. I thought we weren't playing hard enough. And then, second period, my line had a big shift, got a big goal, and then since then, the boys just started rolling.

Michigan is set to take on the Buckeyes again on Saturday night in the series finale at 7 p.m. from Yost Ice Arena.

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