Wrigley Field Transforms: Big Ten Hockey’s Historic Frozen Confines Showdown

Photo by Ryan Kuttler

Game #1 Boxscore
Game #2 Boxscore

CHICAGO, Ill. — As a frigid air descended over Chicagoland on Friday, excitement brewed at the corner of Addison and Clark with the inaugural college hockey games ever held at Wrigley Field.

The opening night of the Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series delivered two closely fought matches played in front of 25,709 spectators. Ohio State overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat Michigan, 4-3, while Notre Dame and Penn State battled to a 3-3 overtime draw, with the Fighting Irish claiming victory in the shootout after an exhaustive eight rounds.

With the temperature at 24 degrees at the start of the game, No. 13/13 Ohio State netted a power play goal from Riley Thompson with 38 seconds remaining to surpass No. 9/9 Michigan. This marked Thompson’s second goal of the match, having equalized the game halfway through the third period with a power play score. Kristoffer Eberly made 13 saves in the final period for the Buckeyes in a match that saw shots in a deadlock at 34-34. Freshman William Horcoff achieved a goal and an assist in his debut for the Wolverines, while T.J. Hughes and Michael Hage also registered multiple-point performances.

The second match of Friday’s doubleheader featured 86 shots on goal exchanged between the teams in a back-and-forth contest. Penn State took its initial lead just 10 seconds into the third period with Aiden Fink’s goal, before Notre Dame forced overtime midway through the period with a goal from Carter Slaggert. Ryan Helliwell scored the winning goal in the shootout, ending a streak of 11 consecutive shooters who were unable to find the net.

The Frozen Confines continues on Saturday with the top-ranked Wisconsin facing No. 2/2 Ohio State in a WCHA women’s match, followed by No. 1/1 Michigan State taking on Wisconsin in a Big Ten battle.

Tickets can be purchased at Cubs.com/ BigTenHockey.