Huskies Await Hockey Bucks This Week

Welcome to your weekly puck previews, hockey fans. This week, through a quirk of scheduling, both Buckeye squads face the Huskies. The men’s team hosts Connecticut while the women travel to St. Cloud. In both match-ups the Bucks and Huskies stack up fairly equally.

Men vs Connecticut 

The No. 14 Buckeyes come into this series off a loss and tie against Robert Morris last week. The defeat was OSU’s first of the season. Although the Bucks bounced back to a degree in Saturday’s contest, they would surely like to get all the way back to their winning ways with a victory or two this week.

The Buckeyes have quite a bit in common with their next opponent, the Connecticut Huskies. Each team owns a respectable record and a win over top-10 competition. Ohio State defeated No. 2 Denver while UConn upset No. 9 Notre Dame. 

Both squads have been successful thanks to strong opening periods and balanced scoring. Each side is getting solid, though not brilliant, goaltending. “Preparation” is a frequent topic in quotes by both coaching staffs.

The Bucks and Huskies are fairly evenly matched. Ohio State is a little better offensively. Connecticut has a slight edge on defense. The more closely matched two combatants are, the more important work ethic becomes. The victorious team this week is likely to be the one with better hustle.

This is the Buckeyes’ final home series before the holiday break. It should be a pretty exciting one for the fans. The Bucks have the firepower to take both decisions but I wouldn't be surprised to see a series split.

Additional Notes

• Per his pre-series remarks, Steve Rohlik expects all Buckeye players to be healthy and available this week.
• Ohio State honors active military and veterans during this series by wearing camouflage jerseys which will be auctioned off afterward to benefit the United Heroes League.
• Life conflicts with the hockey schedule this week so look for a recap of Saturday’s games on Sunday morning.
• Around the Big Ten: No. 12 Penn State (7-1-1) hosts Alaska-Anchorage, No. 18 Michigan (4-3-1) welcomes No. 4 Boston University, and Michigan State (2-5-0) is vs/at Ferris State. No. 7/8 Minnesota (4-2-2) and RV Wisconsin (5-3-0) are off this week.  

Women at St. Cloud 

The Buckeyes ended their losing skid last week by posting back-to-back shutouts in a sweep of Lindenwood. The Bucks look to keep up the good work this week in St. Cloud. Like their male counterparts, the Buckeyes share common ground with their opponents. 

The Bucks and Huskies have put forth some valiant efforts in WCHA play this season. OSU can boast of a tie against No. 1 Wisconsin. St. Cloud State has a win over No. 7 North Dakota. However both teams have struggled overall and languish near the bottom of the conference standings. 

Each squad relies firmly on its starting goaltender. If you’ve been following the Buckeyes at all this season you know how key netminder Kassidy Sauve has been for the team. You could say similar things about St. Cloud and Swiss freshman Janine Alder. 

Scoring has been low for each of these schools this season. Neither is excelling at special teams. Again, the more closely matched two combatants are, the more important work ethic becomes. I think a split is both a probable outcome and a positive one for Ohio State. 

Welcome, Buckeyes-to-be!

Five players have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their careers at Ohio State; Lisa Bruno, Emma Maltais, Elizabeth Schepers, Tatum Skaggs, and McKenna Wesloh. Maltais has international experience as a member of Team Canada’s 2016 Under-18 squad. Skaggs and Wesloh have been Team USA camp invitees.