Hey, hockey fans! Happy opening day of the NCAA tournament. I am absolutely, 100% not at all confident in my championship pick of North Dakota. How are you feeling about your brackets?
Unfortunately this was another season in which we were not able to include the Buckeyes in our NCAA picks. This was a rough year in the rebuilding process for the Scarlet and Gray. Just about everything that could go badly did. Veterans struggled to adapt to expanded roles. Freshmen struggled to adapt to the collegiate game. A plague of injuries hampered those adjustments as well as the building of line chemistry.
Adding to the Bucks’ struggles, this season’s non-conference schedule was one of Ohio State’s toughest in years. Three of OSU’s non-con opponents earned a place in this year's NCAA tournament and a fourth, Bowling Green, was the first team out (bumped by Atlantic Hockey’s auto-bid).
2014-15 had some ups, some downs, and a few really spectacular downs which made OSU’s season seem like a big step back for the program. In reality, though it was an off year, the overall results were not that bad. The Buckeyes finished the season with 14 wins, only a couple off their typical 15-16.
Transitional seasons are tough but there isn’t anything to do yet other than hang on and give head coach Steve Rohlik a chance to do his job. It takes anywhere from three to five seasons to fairly pass judgment on a college hockey coaching change. Next season will be Rohlik’s third at Ohio State and the first to feature a freshman class in which every player made their commitments to the current coaching staff. (Players particularly recruited because their skills match up well with the kind of system Rohlik wants to coach.)
To give you some idea of where we are in the process, look at couple of familiar schools. This past season was Tom Anastos’ fourth behind the Michigan State bench. The Spartans have improved their win percentage in each of the last three years and were Big Ten regular season runners-up in 2014-15. Chris Bergeron fared even better this season in his fifth year at Bowling Green, narrowly missing out on an NCAA auto-bid.
There’s no guarantee that Rohlik’s tenure will follow a similar trajectory however he has to be given the time to succeed. No one likes to hear it but for now we just have to be patient. Waiting is the worst! No one likes you, waiting! Ugh! Blech! Phooey! Arghafrgl! As long as we're waiting, let’s award some awards.
Post Holiday-Break Awards
(For first half awards, see this post.)
Best Team Performance - Men vs Penn State, Feb. 27
Eleven Buckeyes recorded points and Christian Frey stopped 46 shots as the Buckeyes defeated Penn State 5-3. Frey also posted a victory the following night with some more fantabulous goal support. Eight of the Bucks’ Friday point-getters made Saturday’s score sheet too.
Best Individual Performance - Matt Johnson at Mercyhurst, Jan. 2
Before the Buckeyes kicked off the second half of the season Rohlik awarded Johnson an alternate captaincy. In the team’s first game back the senior certainly led by example, recording the first hat trick of his collegiate career (including the game winning goal) in Ohio State’s 6-3 win.
Biggest Win - Women vs Wisconsin, Feb. 14
The Bucks got goals from Kayla Sullivan, Melani Moylan, Claudia Kepler, and Danielle Gagne while Stacy Danczak made 28 saves to cement the 4-3 Valentine's Day upset of the No. 3 Badgers.
Most Heartbreaking Game - Men vs Minnesota, March 20th or Women vs North Dakota, Feb. 28
The men poured their guts out in the Big Ten semifinal with no help at all from the hockey gods, losing to a Minnesota defense playing well above its 31st place ranking. The ladies’ competed ferociously for 100+ minutes in a marathon triple overtime loss to North Dakota which eliminated the lady Bucks from the WCHA tournament. Both games were well-played with awful results. Take your pick.
Second Half MVP - Christian Frey
The Buckeyes’ goaltending struggled right along with the rest of the team for much of the season. Frey was able to pull his game together in the last couple months, providing a solid enough foundation for OSU to build some steam going into the postseason. It wouldn’t have mattered how many goals the Bucks scored if Frey hadn’t been (mostly) holding their opponents to three or fewer.
Most Improved - Matt Weis
Weis was a much bigger presence in the final months of the 2014-15 season. He was more noticeable on the stat sheet, recording seven goals and seven assists. He was also more noticeable in general, generating scoring chances and drawing penalties. Weis is one to watch next year.
(Honorable mention to Johnson continuing a career year, Tanner Fritz’s impressive three week run and 5-6--11 point streak, and Tyler Lundey racking up a 5-2--7 line over the Bucks’ final 12 games.)
Oddest and Also Somehow Greatest Arena Promotion - Concourse Haircuts
Because it’s perfectly natural to run out at intermission for a soft pretzel and a quick trim. One year I’m going to see photographic proof that someone actually participated in this, but alas it was not this season.
Unsung Hero - Craig Dalrymple
Dalrymple missed most of the first half recovering from an injury dating back to the middle of the 2013-14 season. Once he found his sea legs he became the Buckeyes’ plus/minus leader (+8 in the second half, +7 overall). Dalrymple was notable defensively (in a positive way), chipped in a handful of points, and blocked his fair share of shots (34 after the break, 52 overall) while making very few trips to the penalty box.
Bringer of the Pain - Josh Healey
Healey was the Buckeyes’ preeminent physical threat all season, but he was particularly active after the break. The Hurt-a from Alberta decked opponents left and right in the latter months of the season. He did some of his best work in OSU’s February 7th victory over Minnesota. The Gophers spent a large portion of that game peeling their faces off the glass while the Buckeyes mounted a comeback. The sophomore defenseman doled out plenty of hits including an open ice takedown of Kyle Rau. (Healey also hit Minnesota where it really hurts, on the scoreboard, assisting on the game winning goal.)
That about does it for me this season. As always it has been a pleasure talking hockey with you guys. Thanks for reading, especially through a rather trying year. Peace out, puckheads.
