It's the week. THE week. The week by which entire seasons can be measured. And, since Covid-19's still a thing, we get a double dose. Let's hit it.
The past two games have been horrible. No way to sugarcoat it. But this week is an opportunity to set things right. Against the rival of rivals, no less. And Ohio State should have plenty to go on.
The Wolverines have a decent, not great, offense. Attackman Josh Zawada, #49, is the big gun, who can hurt you in a variety of ways. Zawada lights up the scoreboard, usually in a losing effort, and would be a starter pretty much anywhere in the country.
He is a better scorer than dodger, and would be a Tewaraaton finalist somewhere else. Michael Boehm, #17 and an Ohio native, is the 5-star heir apparent in the fold. Boehm has been good but not spectacular. Bryce Clay, #3, rounds out the starters for the attack unit. And this line has been the lone bright spot for a pretty bad season in Ann Arbor.
The attackmen generally make the O go, and it's pretty much been a sparse offensive effort in 2021. Against Rutgers, the Wolverines finally managed to get into double-digit goals, by virtue of a lot of garbage time. Against Johns Hopkins and Maryland, the Wolverines were held under 10 goals in each contest.
In midfield, returner Alex Buckanavage, #42, has been disappointing this year after being a star on 2019 and 2020. Jacob Jackson, #15, scored 3 goals against Rutgers as the team got railroaded by an identical 22-12 score as the Buckeyes.
Tyler Papa, #4, came over from Limestone, and hasn't had quite the impact that was expected. Papa had a single tally against the Scarlet Knights, but definitely isn't in the Charlie Bertrand class of transfer. The Buckeye defense, after being shredded two weeks in a row, has an easier matchup this week to work out the kinks.
Defensively, the Wolverines are dreadful. Even worse than Ohio State has been in two weeks. They've yet to hold an offense, even Johns Hopkins, under 14 goals. Two of three opponents have scored 20 goals or more. The opportunity is there for Ohio State to get out of its rut.
Defensively, the Wolverines trot out Jack Whitney, #14, Andrew Darby, #19, and Brendan McCabe, #25, at close D. The trio managed just one caused turnover in their last game, and have been a sieve all year. The defense has been back cut to death, and will ball watch like mad.
Additionally, the Wolverines will slide early, and commit, even when there isn't really a threat. That provides ample opportunity for throwbacks and quick rollbacks to get to goal. The Buckeyes should have a lot of opportunities, if they can get a good dodging threat going.
In goal, the Wolverines started John Kiracofe, #7, but replaced him quickly with Shane Carr, #41. Much like Ohio State, there's been a run of really poor goalkeeping, with no end in sight. Hopefully this trend continues, as Ohio State could really use a turkey shoot kind of day. Wither option is going to be acceptable.
At the faceoff dot, the Wolverines are actually in pretty decent shape. Nick Rowlett, #37, won 25 of 38 faceoffs against Rutgers. He will provide a pretty good test for Justin Inacio this week. Even with a 65% win rate, Rowlett's team got absolutely wrecked by Rutgers. If it's a 50-50 line, the Buckeyes will be in really good shape.
At the end of the day, these two teams are essentially identical, though the team from Ann Arbor is worse in every category. This is a week for Ohio State to exact vengeance for 2019, and to right the ship for 2021. Ohio State could pour it on, or win in a squeaker. But I believe they will win.
Final prediction: Ohio State 17, TTUN 12.
Go Bucks!
UPDATE: Going to post since this slipped by me in the recap and film study. Ryan Terefenko was OUT for the Penn State game. No word on TTUN availability. But his absence makes the Penn State game a lot more palatable, and will have a huge effect tomorrow. Let you all know if he can go or not once they start up tomorrow.
