Bucks Face Pennsylvania Teams in Second Half Openers

The Ohio State hockey programs begin their respective second halves on the road. The men face Mercyhurst this week in the inaugural Snowtown Throwdown at Erie Insurance Arena. A little further to the east, the ladies take on a very good Penn State team before diving into their final dozen conference games. 

Men

As holiday byes go this one was Rip van Winkle-esque. It's been a month since the Buckeyes' last game. Fans wouldn't ordinarily look forward to such a long layoff, but in Ohio State's case it may be just what the doctor ordered. In spite of a few terrific games, I doubt anyone was sorry to see the team hit reset on a wildly inconsistent first half. 

When the Bucks are clicking this season they can hang with the top teams in the country. However, they have not yet been able to carry a high level of play through consecutive games. Fortunately with 19 games remaining in their schedule, including the bulk of their conference tilts, there's still plenty of time to string some wins together and turn this season around. 

The team's first challenge is Snowtown Throwdown host Mercyhurst. Ohio State and the Hurst met in Columbus last season where the Buckeyes swept the series. The Lakers struck first in each game but OSU rallied to win by 6-3 and 7-2 scores. 

The Lakers are currently fifth in the AHA, only two points out of second place. Prior to the break, Mercyhurst split a series with No. 17 Robert Morris. A 7-4 defeat that weekend snapped the squad's streak of eight consecutive games without a regulation loss. 

The team's point production is distributed fairly evenly throughout the lineup. Lakers seniors Matthew Zay (3-11--14) and Kyle Just (5-7--12) are the leading point-getters. They're also two of Mercyhurst's hottest scorers. Zay is on a four game point streak, recording two goals and four assists in that time. Just has three goals and three assists in his last five games. 

Another baker's dozen goals would be shocking, but an Ohio State victory wouldn't be surprising. Holiday series usually consist of weird, messily played games. Weird, messily played games are the Buckeyes' specialty. Plus, for all their struggles, the Bucks actually have a decent record on the road (3-2-1).

Games are set for tonight at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. There isn't any radio or television coverage this week. Your only options for following along are Twitter, the live scoreboard, or a subscription-based online stream via AtlanticHockey.tv. 

A few more pregame notes...

• Ohio State will be without the services of Janik Moser this series. The freshman defenseman is skating for Team Germany at the World Juniors.
• Congratulations to Nick Oddo who earned a degree in logistics management over the holiday break. (Not to worry, per OSU he retains his eligibility.) 
• At the break your Buckeye leaders are... points, Tanner Fritz (11); goals, Anthony Greco (7); plus/minus, Oddo and Josh Healey (+3); blocked shots, Justin DaSilva (29); faceoff wins, Matt Weis (56.2%).
• Matt Johnson has been promoted! The senior now sports an assistant captain's "A." Said coach Steve Rohlik, "We think Matt exemplifies what we want on and off the ice. He is well deserving of this honor." 

Conference Standings

Women

The Buckeye ladies, on the other hand, were probably not looking forward to the holiday lull. (Aside from the opportunity to indulge in wassail and figgy pudding, of course.) Ohio State closed out 2014 with a sweep of No. 9 Bemidji State. The lady Bucks are on a roll, having suffered just one regulation loss in their last five outings.

A good first half means OSU begins the back end of the season in fourth place, smack dab in the race for home ice in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs. A dozen conference games remain in the Buckeyes' schedule, but the first item on their agenda in 2015 is Penn State.

On paper this looks to be an exciting series. Both Ohio State and Penn State boast similar records and stats. Both enter this series after sweeping a top 10 team. OSU took out No. 9 Bemidji and PSU defeated No. 6 Mercyhurst. The Nittany Lions also won three of their last four game. 

Though the results are the same, the way the teams achieve those numbers differs. While Ohio State's offense has been of the scoring-by-committee type, Penn State's relies heavily on sophomore forwards Laura Bowman (11-12--23) and Amy Petersen (11-11--22). Bowman and Petersen both rank among the top 20 scorers in the nation. 

PSU's goalies have split minutes in net. Freshman Hannah Ehresmann has a better overall stat line (2.05 GAA, .934 SV%) but junior Celine Whitlinger is red hot. In her last three starts Whitlinger recorded two shutouts and allowed just one goal in 100 shots. 

The Buckeyes counter with either freshman Kassidy Sauve (2.38 GAA, .910 SV%) or senior Stacy Danczak (1.48 GAA, .935 SV%) . Danczak has started more frequently lately while Sauve deals with an injury but both ladies have seen their share of net time. They have also both turned in some superb performances. Sauve has three shutouts to her credit this season, Danczak two. 

This weekend's games are slated for Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm. There is neither television nor radio coverage, but an online video stream is available via Penn State for a fee. 

A few more pregame notes...

• At the break your Buckeye leaders are... points, Sara Schmitt (14); goals, Claudia Kepler (7); game winning goals, Kepler and Danielle Gagne (3); power play goals, Taylor Kuehl (6); plus/minus, Julia McKinnon (+6); blocked shots, Alexa Ranahan (38).
• Kuehl's six power play tallies are also tops in the WCHA. 

Conference Standings 

Note that these rankings are still the old ones from mid-December. the new ones won't be out until next week. No need to get your knickers in a twist yet.