CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio State had the better national ranking and perceived home-ice advantage, but Michigan had most of the fun Sunday at Progressive Field.
The Wolverines scored twice in each of the first two periods en route to a 4-1 victory in front of 25,864 fans at the inaugural "Frozen Diamond Faceoff." The Buckeyes, ranked No. 2 nationally, slipped to 14-6-3 overall. They are 10-5-3-1 in the CCHA. Michigan, ranked No. 15, improved to 14-8-4, 8-6-4-1. The Wolverines are 7-0-2 since Dec. 3.
The Wolverines swept a weekend set against Ohio State, including a 4-0 victory on Friday in Columbus.
"Let's give credit where credit's due: Michigan is very good,'' Ohio State coach Mark Osiecki said. "They certainly were better than we were (Sunday). I think they're a top five team in the country.''
Michigan upperclassmen participated in their third outdoor game in three seasons. The Ohio State program had not been outdoors since playing Wisconsin in Lambeau Field on Feb. 11, 2006 -- its first outdoor contest.
"This was a good game for Michigan to win, and an important victory in the big picture,'' Wolverines coach Red Berenson said. "It was a great spectacle. I think it came off really well.''
Buckeyes personnel, as much as those on the losing side can, relished the opportunity. Among their foremost thoughts postgame was a rematch -- same venue, same 20-something temperature.
"It's a hockey player's dream to be able to play on a big stage like this, especially against one of your biggest rivals,'' Ohio State sophomore forward Chris Crane said. "It was a blast, an unbelievable experience. It would be great to get a shot at redemption.''
Opening faceoff occurred at 5:10 p.m. in an electric atmopshere. The weather was positively dreamy for such an occasion: cold (27 degrees) with a few harmless clouds, no snow, excellent visibility and negligible wind. Skaters on both teams, no doubt feeding off the crowd's energy, traversed the ice in fifth gear in the early going. But Michigan did a better job on the forecheck and in getting to the front of the net.
At 7:31, the Wolverines' work paid off. Junior right winger Chris Brown executed a spin-o-rama from the edge of the left circle and beat goalie Cal Heeter for his ninth goal of the season. Defenseman Kevin Clare and left winger Alex Guptill earned the assists.
Brown and Guptill, part of Michigan's first line, were at it again six minutes later. In the middle of Michigan's effective high-low offense, Brown gathered a loose puck near the left post and feathered a no-look pass to Guptill, who scored his team-best 11th goal.
Guptill is a 6-3, 189-pound freshman with serious skill. The Dallas Stars drafted him in 2010.
"You could tell in the first period that we were a bit in awe,'' Ohio State captain Cory Schneider said. "They had some experience outdoors. But I'm not using that as an excuse. We weren't consistent with our compete level.''
Ohio State finally broke through at :50 of the second period when Crane beat goalie Shawn Hunwick. Just as Ohio State appeared to have found its form, however, Michigan struck with two goals in a 28-second span midway through the second.
At 9:47, sophomore forward Derek Deblois scored on a deflection off a well-timed line change. At 10:15, senior forward David Wohlberg stuffed the puck through Heeter's pads. Moments later, Hetter was pulled in favor of Brady Hjelle. Ohio State's backup goalie performed well.
Hunwick finished with 31 saves. On Friday, he made a career-high 46.
"Our team knows what it takes to play in a game like this,'' Berenson said.
The temperature had slipped to 25 degrees by the third period.
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