Men's Hockey Faces Michigan, Women Play NoDak

Both OSU hockey programs return home this week after long absences. The men's team makes a brief stop in Columbus to face the Wolverines before resuming The Road Trip That Never Ends. Meanwhile the ladies try to keep rolling against North Dakota. 

Men

It's time once again for that week you love to hate. The Buckeyes take on Michigan in another single game outing. (Because who needs normal two-game series?) Hopefully you don't need to be reminded of the results of the last one because I would really like to never discuss that game again, ever. 

Ohio State is among good company in the blown out by Michigan club, at least. The Wolverines' high octane offense has dropped five or more goals on an opponent six times this season. Two of those offensive onslaughts came against then-top ten ranked teams, No. 7 UMass-Lowell and No. 9 Minnesota. The 8-3 win over OSU wasn't even the team's biggest margin of victory this season. That would be an 8-1 annihilation of Penn State. 

Michigan's defense has been more mortal, but sufficient to get the job done. In seven of its last nine outings the D allowed three or fewer goals. The only concern fans of the Maize and Blue can have at this point is whether the team is peaking too early in the season.

The Wolverines roll into Columbus after sweeping aforementioned Minnesota. They took the series opener 4-3 in overtime and finished the weekend with a 7-5 win. With these victories Michigan has now won four consecutive games and eight of their last nine. 

Michigan is led on the stat sheet by senior Zach Hyman (11-15--26, Florida Panthers) and freshman Dylan Larkin (6-14--20, Detroit Red Wings). The two forwards are also the Big Ten's reigning first and second stars. Sophomore Zach Nagelvoort (2.83, .903, Edmonton Oilers) has seen the majority of the Wolverines' net time this season, appearing in 14 games.  

The puck drops at 7pm tonight. If you're headed out to the game be sure to dress appropriately for "Scarlet-Out the Schott." For fans who can't make it to tonight's game, the action will be broadcast live on SportsTime Ohio and available through BTN2Go. Herb has the radio call on 1460 AM. 

A few more pregame notes...

• Free stuff! Fans who show their ticket from tonight's game at the door of the women's tilt with North Dakota on Saturday get a free fleece (while supplies last). 
• Michigan coach Red Berenson earned his 800th career victory last week in the Wolverines' sweep of the Gophers. 
• Buckeye captain Tanner Fritz is still stuck at 96 career points. 
• Per The Lantern, Ohio State's walking wounded include: Darik Angeli, Janik Moser, Chad Niddery, Tyler Lundey, and Luke Stork. 
• A few seats remain for the Scarlet Liners' bus trip to Michigan State next week. For more info talk to a group member at tonight's game or contact them through their website. 

Conference Outlook 

Michigan is ascending while Minnesota is in decline. Wisconsin's season continues to be hilarious for non-Badger fans. UW and Minnesota are on BTN tonight at 9pm. Penn State and Sparty play on ESPNU at 5pm on Saturday.

Women

The OSU ladies return to the Ice Rink after sweeping the Huskies at St. Cloud. The victories boosted the Buckeyes' conference status. They hold third place in the WCHA, two points ahead of Minnesota-Duluth (which has two games in hand). The lady Bucks look to keep the good mojo flowing this week as they host North Dakota.

OSU and North Dakota last met in November with UND taking four of the series' six points. Claudia Kepler staged a one woman comeback in the series opener to steal a shootout win for the Scarlet and Gray. North Dakota prevailed in the finale by a final score of 4-3. 

North Dakota closed out the first half of the season with a 5-2-1 record in its last eight games, including a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 3 Wisconsin. However the team is off to a slow start in 2015. UND saw its first action in nearly a month last week, splitting a series with Syracuse.

Ohio State, on the other hand, is firing on all cylinders. Offense is up. Goals against are down. The Buckeyes are winners of six straight games (kaerts, kaerts) dating back to mid-December. The lady Bucks outscored their opponents 20-3 over that stretch.

Expect this to be a hotly contested series. North Dakota is a tough team, better than a rust-shedding split with the Orange. NoDak is led in scoring by juniors Becca Kohler (8-13--21) and Meghan Dufault (7-14--21). The goaltending duties have been split by junior Shelby Amsley-Benzie (1.67, .936) and sophomore Lexie Shaw (2.25, .912). 

Both tonight's game and tomorrow's are scheduled for 6pm starts. Fans unable to attend can follow along with live stats, Twitter updates, or a Buckeye Vision subscription from Ohio State. 

A few more pregame notes... 

• North Dakota (248) and Ohio State (233) have blocked the third and fourth most shots in the country, respectively. 
• Free stuff! Fans who show a ticket stub from the men's game at the door of the women's tilt on Saturday will receive a free fleece (while supplies last). 
• With three goals against St. Cloud State, senior defenseman Kari Schmitt was named the WCHA's defensive player of the week. 
• The Women's World Under-18 Championship wrapped up earlier this week. Team USA and future Buckeyes Mikaela Gardner and Jincy Dunne defeated Team Canada and fellow nut-to-be Madison Field. Dunne scored netted two goals in the gold medal game, including the overtime winner. Check out the highlights here. 

Conference Standings