Now that the schedule has turned to the back half of the home and home, we get to have deja vu all over again. The Wolverines finished their opening half 1-4, defeating Penn State 14-12 last week. After such a short turnaround for Ohio State in their second matchup with the team up north, there's not much to really cover personnel-wise that's new.
Given this weird season, I will go to more of a trending model for the back half, because who wants to read me pad a word count for no good reason?
To start, the Wolverines have found a goalie. By rights, they should have lost last week to Penn State, but new starter John Kiracofe really stepped up.
Kiracofe had 17 saves, stonewalling the Nittany Lions who had more quality shots than the Wolverines on the day. Kiracofe was just getting comfortable in Columbus, so the Buckeyes will have to be much better to get a season sweep.
On offense, Bryce Clay exploded for 5 goals in the win over PSU, while Josh Zawada had 4. Clay had a pair of tallies two weeks ago, so the Buckeyes are really going to have to tighten things up to keep the gelling attack at bay. Zawada, Boehm, and Clay are studs, and can really help make up for a porous defense.
Biggest question for the Buckeyes this week is the status of Ryan Terefenko. He was on the sideline without a sling last week against Maryland. He seemed to be moving his arms okay, but as usual, we have no idea what the injury is or how serious it is going to affect Terefenko.
If he plays, this game might be a little more open. If he doesn't, then it's going to be a squeaker.
Watching the Maryland game, Jack Myers may be the best option for Ohio State to generate offense in their open set. Tre Leclaire excels at shooting. That's obvious, as he is now the best goalscorer in OSU history. But Leclaire should never, ever be initiating offense. He is best as an off-ball guy.
That's been obvious since 2018, but because of his size and stick skills, the staff keeps trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. If Grant Mitchell, Johnny Wisemam, and Jack Myers can get a set of good dodges from the opposite side of the field, Leclaire could go off. Whether it is from high wing or mid-wing, the Buckeyes need to keep Leclaire away from the ball until he's open to shoot.
And I think they know this, as a staff, the problem is finding a dodger to make the defense respect the sweep. The three names I mentioned can do that. Doing the same thing with Connor Mitchell or Jackson Reid on the other side as shooters would be a good way to get some pressure generated too from that same set. We will see if anything like that comes to fruition.
Tomorrow is going to be another tough game. I will feel much more confident if Ryan Terefenko comes back. If not, it's going to be a grind. The boys up north are rounding into form, and Ohio State is still struggling to right the ship. That said, Jack Myers and Tre Leclaire still suit up for Ohio State, so I think the Bucks have just enough O to do the job.
Final prediction: Ohio State 13, Wolverines 12.
Go Bucks!
Game is at 1 pm EDT on BTN+.
