Close Contests Expected for Buckeye Hockey against Minnesota, Bemidji

Happy Friday and merry game day, hockey fans. The women's Buckeyes are visiting No. 7 Bemidji State this week. Meanwhile the men host Minnesota. Here's the way the series are shaping up for your Puckeyes.  

Men

The Buckeyes welcome the Gophers to the Schott this week in a rematch of their Big Ten season opener. Both games of that December series went to overtime. Both times Minnesota prevailed. This looks to be another hotly contested match up. 

Ohio State and Minnesota are virtually identical teams on paper. Their average goals for and against are similar. The separation in their special teams numbers is negligible. (The Bucks PP/PK percentages are 21.4/84.6 and the Gophers 21.2/81.1)

The only major difference between these teams is their place in the Big Ten standings. Minnesota sits in a tie for first with Michigan. Ohio State languishes in midpack. That is due to the Gophers, despite their non-conference struggles, finding a way to win B1G games. Minny holds a record of at least .500 against every Big Ten opponent this season. That includes a split at Michigan just before the midseason break.

Close games are to be expected this week. More overtime wouldn’t surprise me, but another Minnesota sweep would. The Buckeyes have made significant strides since their last meeting with the Gophers. The team backslid a bit against Michigan State, true, but the bye week provided an opportunity to hit the reset button.

The Bucks have had plenty of time to prepare for Minnesota. Home ice should be to Ohio State’s advantage as well. The team is 5-5-1 in the friendly confines of the Schott this season compared to 3-11-0 on the road.

News and Notes

• There are a crap ton of promotions this week: buy one-get one free tickets, a Valentine’s date night deal, Script Ohio on Ice, the annual Teddy Bear Toss, postgame goals for kids, a meet and greet with players, and water collection for Flint, Michigan.
• Ohio State defenseman Josh Healey is eligible to return tonight after serving a two game suspension during the Michigan State series. 
• Sophomore Gopher defenseman Ryan Collins is a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect, selected in the second round (47th overall) of the 2014 NHL draft.
• Minnesota’s Tyler Sheehy was originally an Ohio State commit.
• Gopher defenseman Jack Sadek is the brother of Buckeye women’s defenseman Dani Sadek. Minnesota forwards Connor and Ryan Reilly are the twin brothers of former Buckeye defenseman Shannon Reilly. 

Around the Conference

A pair of splits last week both surprising (Michigan-Michigan State) and unsurprising (Penn State-Minnesota) kept the B1G leaders from taking a large stride away from Ohio State. However the Buckeyes need wins in the coming weeks if they’re going to climb into the race for a first round Big Ten tourney bye.

The Badgers take on the Wolverines this week to see which weasel reigns supreme. The Nittany Lions visit Munn where the Spartans try to continue to build on their recent success. The Gophers and Buckeyes have the lone BTN appearance this week, tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET. 

Women

The Ohio State women kept up their string of recent strong outings last week. Though they came out on the losing end of the scoreboard, the Buckeyes acquitted themselves well in a pair of games against juggernaut Wisconsin. It was the continuation of a trend which has seen the Bucks heal up and step up to play some fine games down the stretch.

Now OSU hits the road for its final regular season road trip. The Buckeyes have enjoyed more success away from the Ice Rink this season than at home. They’re 6-8-1 on the road. This week they schlep to Bemidji to take on the No. 7 Beavers.

The book on Bemidji State is the same as when Ohio State last faced the team. The Beavers are excellent defensively, backed by a skilled and veteran goaltender. If there’s a weakness it’s that they aren’t prolific scorers. They’re basically Wisconsin on a slightly off day.

I think we can expect another set of close games. The Bucks and Beavers battled to a pair of essentially one-goal decisions back in November. Bemidji is as good a squad as ever. The difference, I think, this week is that Ohio State is greatly improved in the last three months. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bucks chip a point or two off this series.

Conference Outlook 

Ohio State is likely set in seventh place. With four games (and a possible twelve points) remaining in the season, Minnesota State can’t catch them. The Buckeyes could (mathematically) move into sixth but they’d have to win out and also have either Duluth or St. Cloud lose out. This means that OSU travels to second place, either Wisconsin or (more likely) Minnesota, for the first round of the WCHA tournament.