Hockey Hits the Road for Conference Contests

Things are about to get very real for the hockey Buckeyes. Both the men’s and women’s teams resume their conference battles this week. With only a couple months remaining in the season every point counts if the Bucks hope to climb the conference standings. Here’s the outlook for both series.

Men

Ohio State is coming off its best week of the season. The team got a major confidence and momentum boost at the Florida College Classic where it defeated both (current) No. 7 Boston College and No. 9 Cornell. They’ve been a long time coming round but the Bucks finally look as though they may have the game to be competitive in the Big Ten.

The first challenge to OSU’s fledgling success is a trip to Wisconsin. The Badgers have a few impressive results on their resume. They knocked off No. 1 North Dakota in the first half of the season. They also traveled to Yost and gave Michigan all it could handle, losing Game 1 by a slim 6-4 margin and rallying to tie the Wolverines 6-6 in Game 2. They’ve also played a few stinkers, losing to BC 6-0 and coughing up a two-goal lead to the struggling Spartans just before the holiday break. 

Wisconsin is an extremely young team. The roster contains just seven upperclassmen. However there are some gems among the small veteran unit. Junior Grant Besse (ANA), last season’s leading scorer, tops the charts again this year. Senior Eddie Wittchow (FLA) anchors the defense corps. The most significant change for the squad is in net where freshman Matt Jurusik replaces departed goaltending stalwart Joel Rumpel.

Though they’ve posted mixed results so far, the youthful Badgers are a dangerous group to overlook. They’re basically the Buckeyes with slightly worse overall offense/defense and slightly better special teams. Ohio State should have an edge this week but expect a close series.

Homecomings and Familiar Faces

• Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik and assistant coach Mark Strobel are former Badger captains.
• Wisconsin assistant coach JB Bittner is a former Buckeye captain.
• Freshman Buckeye forward John Wiitala is the son of former Badger, Marty Wiitala.
• Senior Buckeye forward Tyler Lundey hails from Middleton, Wisconsin.

Around the Conference

Everyone is back to Big Ten play this week. Fresh off their GLI tournament win, Michigan faces a home-and-home series with Michigan State. The Wolverines welcome back World Juniors bronze medalist and Team USA captain Zach Werenski. The Spartans hope to right their floundering ship against their bitter rivals. Both of these games will be televised. ESPNews has tonight’s contest at 6:30 p.m. BTN airs Saturday’s game at 7:00 p.m.

In the other series Penn State hosts Minnesota. The Nittany Lions look to rebound from a mediocre outing at the Three Rivers Classic where they lost to Robert Morris before topping Clarkson in the tournament’s consolation game. The Golden Gophers are also looking to bounce back after dropping the Mariucci Classic’s championship game to No. 5 Harvard in overtime. BTN broadcasts tonight’s tilt live at 6:30 p.m.

Women

The forecast for the Ohio State women is not so sunny. They’re in Minnesota this week where they face a pair of games against the No. 3 Golden Gophers. The last time these teams met the Gophers pounded the Buckeyes by scores of 7-2 and 11-2. 

Minnesota boasts the highest scoring offense in the nation, averaging over five goals per game. It also operates an astoundingly effective (46.4%) power play that is second to none. These stats are bad, bad news for the Buckeyes who struggle defensively and are the most penalized team in the country. 

The odds of Ohio State stealing points from this series are slim. The Gophers are crazy talented. The Buckeyes have a lot of heart. With luck they may even have a full bench. But they would have to improve their game in a big way to have a shot at a win. Any victories for the Scarlet and Gray this week are likely to be the moral kind.

Minne-Buck Connections

• Minnesota forward Caitlin Reilly is the sister of former Buckeye defenseman Shannon Reilly.
• Four Buckeyes call the North Star State home: defensemen Lauren Boyle, Dana Rasmussen, and Dani Sadek, and goaltender Alex LaMere.