Road Trips Bring Winning Opportunities for Hockey Bucks

Hello again, hockey fans. Welcome to your weekly puck previews. Upcoming series bring an excellent chance for victory for both your men’s and women’s teams. Let’s get right to it. 

Men at RPI

The Buckeyes continue to roll through their non-conference schedule. They defeated Connecticut 7-4 last Friday. They were the clear aggressor in Saturday’s contest, outshooting the Huskies 46-17, but the game ended in a 3-3 tie.

This week Ohio State travels to New York for a series at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Engineers have posted a lackluster record so far this season. They faced some quality competition including No. 8 North Dakota, No. 17 Union, and No. 20 St. Lawrence but the team has rarely come away with a victory. RPI’s two wins were both at the expense of other struggling teams, Brown and RIT.

In all but one of their 11 games the Engineers have allowed three or more goals. They’ve also scored two or fewer goals in eight of their matches. The only thing which really seems to be clicking for RPI is its penalty kill which is tied for eighth best in the country and boasts three shorthanded tallies. 

Wins are well within Ohio State’s grasp this week. If the Buckeyes score three goals they should have an excellent shot at securing victory. And goodness knows the team can score. OSU owns the top offense in the nation, scoring an impressive 4.55 goals per game. Six players are netting a point per game or better.

If there is an area of concern for the Bucks it’s in their own end. They are slipping a bit defensively. Over the first seven games of the season Ohio State gave up four goals against just one time. The Buckeyes have surrendered that amount in three of their last four outings.

There’s no need to panic just yet. However this is a trend which needs nipped in the bud before Big Ten play begins. Fortunately, Steve Rohlik reports his team is as ready as it can be to close out November with a bang:

“I think last week was one of our best weeks of practice. We followed that up again this week with another good week of practice. I don’t know how that’s going to translate, but I like my chances more than not being prepared.”

Did you know?

The six Buckeyes averaging a point or better per game are Nick Schilkey (1.36), Matt Weis (1.36), Tanner Laczynski (1.27), Dakota Joshua (1.09), Dave Gust (1.00), and Josh Healey (1.00).

Women at Minnesota State

Ohio State wraps up the first half of its WCHA schedule with a trip to Minnesota State. The Buckeyes come into the series off a split at St. Cloud. They are 3-1-0 in their last four tilts.

The Bucks have a great chance to improve their record this week. The Mavericks are an opponent OSU traditionally plays well. Ohio State has not lost season series to MSU in the last seven campaigns. 

The Mavs are 2-9-1 this year with no wins since a season opening sweep of RIT. They have been shut out five times, once in every conference series. They mustered a three goal output on only one occasion, a 4-3 overtime loss to No. 9 North Dakota. 

The Buckeyes had a little bit of a setback in their last outing against St. Cloud but they are generally progressing in a positive direction. I think they will get the job done this week. What's more, I don’t think they'll need Kassidy Sauve to make eleventy-nine saves to do so.

Did you know? 

Buckeye rookie Jincy Dunne (2-6--8) leads all WCHA freshman defensemen in points.