Photo by Andrew Knapik/MiHockey

Wolverines fall to Buckeyes in OT during Big Ten semifinals

By @MichaelCaples –

The Michigan Wolverines took the Ohio State Buckeyes to overtime Saturday night in Columbus.

They will return to Ann Arbor still without a win against their rivals from Ohio.

Matthew Weis beat Hayden Lavigne less than a minute into overtime to give the Buckeyes a victory in a one-game Big Ten semifinal match-up – the fifth win of the season for Ohio State against the Wolverines.

The good news for the Wolverines is that their impressive run in the second half of the NCAA season has, in all estimates, set themselves up for a NCAA Tournament appearance.

According to the PairWise Rankings calculator on USCHO.com (the PairWise is used to determine the NCAA Tournament field outside of the teams that secure spots via conference championships), the Wolverines were at No. 8 prior to the conclusion of tonight’s contest. Ohio State is No. 5, so that shouldn’t hurt the Wolverines’ position moving forward.

The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Sunday, Mar. 18 at noon on ESPNU.

Cooper Marody scored both of the Wolverines’ goals Saturday, bringing the game to a 1-1 tie and then a 2-2 tie.

Goal 1:

Goal 2:

Dearborn native Dakota Joshua scored the Buckeyes’ second goal of the game, and he served as the primary screen of Lavigne for their first.

Here’s the game-winning goal: