The last time Michigan hockey and Ohio State met on the ice, outdoors in Cleveland in mid-February, the Wolverines struggled to find the net, not scoring until Gavin Brindley beat OSU goalie Jakub Dobes with less than two minutes left in the second period.
On Saturday night, warmly ensconced at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Brindley didn’t wait nearly as long: 23 seconds in, the freshman took a pass back from a driving Adam Fantilli (a fellow freshman) and fired his shot from near the top of the right circle past Dobes. Goal, and the Wolverines were off and running to their second consecutive Big Ten tournament final with a 7-3 victory over the Buckeyes.