Women’s Hockey Set for Series at St. Cloud

Hello again, hockey friends. Welcome to your weekly puck preview. The men’s hockey team is enjoying another bye in its schedule. The squad travels to No. 6 Nebraska-Omaha next week. Meanwhile the women’s team is in action on the road trying to build on its recent efforts.

Women 

Ohio State comes into this series fresh from a split with No. 6/7 North Dakota. The Buckeyes pulled off a comeback upset in the series opener and then succumbed to a much sharper UND team in the series finale. Although the sweep bid fell short it was another positive outing for the Bucks. They look to keep the mojo rocking this week at St. Cloud State. 

St. Cloud seems to have a lot in common with OSU. The teams played virtually the same schedule with virtually identical results. They are separated in the standings by a single point, the difference being that the Buckeyes beat North Dakota while the Huskies only clung to a tie in their match against UND.

OSU has a few slight advantages in this series. The Buckeyes are a teensy bit more experienced. Their scoring is a tad more diversified. They’re better on special teams, especially the penalty kill (shutting down 81.5% of their penalties to St. Cloud's 69.8%), and more productive in the third period. (Over the last six games the Bucks have outscored their opponents 6-5 in the final frame while the Huskies have been outscored 10-3.) At least in my opinion, OSU is a little faster too. 

Any of those factors could tip the scales in Ohio State’s favor this week. Yet none is a big enough advantage to make up for poor execution and/or a lack of solid basics. Having an edge does not mean the Buckeyes can afford to cut corners.

However, if the team is fundamentally sound those advantages will result in at least one win. A pair of victories is also well within the realm of possibility.  Anything less than a series split would be surprising.  

Did You Know?

• St. Cloud's Molli Illikainen is St. Cloud's hottest player by a mile. The senior forward is on a five game point streak during which she has racked up an impressive 7-3--10 stat line. 
• This series will feature three of the WCHA’s top freshman scorers. Ohio State’s Lauren Boyle (0-8--8) ranks third in points. Teammate Maddy Field (5-1--6) is tied for fourth spot along with St. Cloud’s Julia Tylke (4-2--6). Field also leads all conference rookies in goals.

Conference Outlook

On one hand it's too early in the season to be watching the standings. On the other hand, some good results this week would put OSU back in touch with the conference contenders. The games aren’t must-wins but they are probably-oughta-wins. Also, I would love to hear the reasoning behind Minnesota-Duluth (4-8-0 overall) receiving votes in the national polls.