Hage’s Five-Point Night Lifts Michigan Past Ohio State in OT Thriller

Michael Hage Leads Michigan Past Ohio State in Overtime Thriller

Michael Hage tallied one goal and four assists on November 1, at Value City Arena, factoring in on every scoring play to power the top-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team to a 5-4 overtime victory against Ohio State. The win pushed Michigan’s record to 8-1-0 overall and 1-1-0 in Big Ten play, while Ohio State moved to 3-5-0 and 1-1-0. Adam Valentini secured the victory in the extra session, burying a feed from Hage at 4:17 of overtime.

Special Teams Dominate Regulation Play

Regulation time played out largely on special teams before the two rivals exchanged late goals. Michigan and Ohio State played a special teams battle through about 50 minutes. The Wolverines converted two of their four power-play opportunities, while the Buckeyes also cashed in on their power-play chances. Malcolm Spence opened the scoring for Michigan at 2:42 of the second period with a man-advantage goal assisted by Hage and Jayden Perron. Hurlbert found the back of the net to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

Ohio State answered back in the third period when Nathan Lewis and Will Tomko capitalized. The Buckeyes targeted the far side against Michigan goaltender Jack Ivankovic, who stopped 23 of 27 shots. Hage restored Michigan’s lead at 10:11 of the third period by driving into the offensive zone and firing a shot that deflected off a defender past the goaltender.

Late Heroics and Overtime Winner

Hage set up Spence to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra period, Hage controlled the puck in the offensive zone, drew defenders out of position, and fed Valentini for the game-winning goal. Drew Schock earned the secondary assist on the play.

The five-point performance marked the third such game in Hage’s 81-game career, extending his career scoring lead among Big Ten skaters. Perron contributed three assists in the contest, while Spence scored twice for the Wolverines. Michigan held a 72-54 advantage in total Corsi attempts and outshot the Buckeyes 27-32 on the night.

Next Steps for the Wolverines

Michigan enters a bye week with a 1-1-0 conference record before returning to Big Ten action against Penn State in a couple of weekends. The team will use the upcoming week off to tinker with bottom-six forward combinations and address the penalty kill. Ohio State drops to 3-5-0 on the season following the weekend series in Columbus.

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