Hockey Teams Seek Return to Winning Ways

Good afternoon, hockey fans. Wondering what’s up in the puck world? You’ve come to the right place. Scroll ahead for the latest lowdown on Ohio State hockey.

Men 

The Buckeyes have eight games left in the 2015-16 season. They are probably going to win no more than six of those games. Six wins would be a truly fantastic finish for this team and would give the Bucks 30 conference points.

Unfortunately Michigan and Minnesota already have more than 30 points. They only, or possibly Penn State, will claim the top two spots in the Big Ten. A first round B1G tournament bye is off the table for OSU.

Barring utter collapse by the Gophers or Wolverines, Ohio State’s first tourney opponent will be Penn State, Michigan State, or Wisconsin. The Bucks split earlier series with each of those teams. I’m not sure there’s a match up that would particularly favor the Bucks.

So, there’s no real need to watch the standings over the last month of the season. We will, out of curiosity. However, where the Buckeyes finish the season is less important at this point than how they finish it.

The team has played some less than inspired games lately. Though they powered out of the holiday break with a 3-0-2 record, in their last seven games the Buckeyes are just 2-5-0. They’ve played some close contests. Three of those losses came in overtime. But the team seems to have lost the extra spark that was tipping the balance in its favor in those earlier games.

This road trip might be coming at a perfect time for OSU. A road trip can really help a team regroup. With fewer inherent distractions, a team is almost forced into a renewed focus.

That focus is going to be tested, though. It’s extremely difficult to beat Penn State at Pegula Arena. This week is Senior Week for the Nittany Lions. The desire to send those players out on a positive note will likely add some juice to No. 15 PSU’s already potent game.

Ohio State and Penn State met once already this year. The teams split a series in Columbus. The Nittany Lions pulled out a 3-2 OT win before the Buckeyes rolled to 5-1 victory in the series finale. As long as both games are well-played, another split would be a decent result for the Bucks. 

Women 

The Ohio State women wrap their season up this week by hosting No. 8/9 North Dakota. The Buckeyes faced plenty of challenges this year. The team was hit hard by injuries as took its first steps through a coaching transition.

Still, the Bucks managed to shine on more than one occasion. They upset the Fighting Hawks (then ranked No. 6) back in November. More recently, the Buckeyes pulled off a road win over long-time nemesis Minnesota-Duluth. Through the ups and downs of 2015-16 Ohio State has been led by a solid corps of seniors. 

For much of the season Kendall Curtis topped the Buckeyes in point production. She heads into the season finale with a career best 13-9--22 stat line. Cara Zubko also posted a career year. The defenseman’s five goals and thirteen assists crushed her previous best marks. Zubko’s efforts on and off the ice were recognized with a nomination for the prestigious Hockey Humanitarian Award. 

Team captain Melani Moylan has been a stabilizing presence for the Scarlet and Gray, skating in a whopping 135 games over the course of her career. Goalie Stacy Danczak hasn’t seen quite as much ice time. She didn’t get her first chance at the Buckeye net until her junior year, but when given the opportunity she ran with it. Her appearances have been infrequent this year, but she still managed to add a couple wins to her total.

Buckeye fans have long known what an asset Julia McKinnon can be offensively. This season she also showcased her defensive prowess and team spirit, stepping up to bolster the injury-plagued blue line. Maggie Rothgery rounds out the stellar senior class. She scored the first goal of 2015-16 way back in October. Will she get the last one as well?

The Buckeyes honor these women this weekend as the team skates its final regular season series. Their opponent, North Dakota, is no small challenge. Like many of the WCHA’s top squads, the Fighting Hawks are formidable defenders. They don’t score much, but then they don’t usually need to.

It’s going to be difficult for Ohio State to pull off a win over NoDak. However the Bucks are pretty well versed in difficulties by now. Perhaps the team has just enough magic left to send its seniors out in style.