The Ohio State men’s hockey Buckeyes host their final home series of the 2016-17 season this week. Michigan State rolls into town fresh off a 0-2-0-0 week against Penn State. The week prior, the Spartans suffered another sweep, this one courtesy of the Bucks.
| game info | friday | saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 7pm ET | 8pm ET |
| Radio | 1460 AM | 1460 AM |
| Online Video | BTN Plus ($) | BTN Plus ($) |
Although OSU came out on top of that series at Michigan State, it was a closely contested set of games. The Buckeyes edged the Spartans by a single goal each night and MSU had potential game-tying goals disallowed in both contests.
I think fans can expect another tight but ultimately positive series for Ohio State. The Buckeyes need a sweep and they have the tools to get the job done. I know the team has had some lethargic lapses of late, but I think the impetus of senior week will be enough to spark the Bucks this time out.
Senior Send Off
Ohio State honors its outgoing seniors in a pregame ceremony on Saturday. The group includes forwards Nick Schilkey and Dave Gust, defensemen Drew Brevig and Josh Healey, and all three Buckeye goaltenders - Christian Frey, Matt Tomkins, and Logan Davis.
| team stats | michigan State | ohio state |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Record | 6-21-3 | 17-9-6 |
| Avg. Goals For / Against | 2.40 / 3.80 | 3.97 / 2.97 |
| Power Play / Penalty Kill | 14.4% / 74.6% | 29.8% / 73.9% |
| Points Leader | Mason Appleton (25) | Mason Jobst (42) |
| Top Goaltender | Ed Minney (3.60/.884) | Christian Frey (2.92/.914) |
Schilkey and Gust have been primary cogs in Ohio State’s offense machine the last two years. Gust enters the Michigan State series with 86 career points. More than three-quarters of those were accrued in his junior and senior seasons.
Schilkey’s career point total stands at 125. The Buckeye captain has the golden touch when it comes to goal scoring this year. Schilkey has racked up 24 tallies already, the best mark in the program since R.J. Umberger scored 26 goals in 2003.
Healey and Brevig provided the blue line with some much needed experience. Both will end their Buckeye careers with over 100 games played. They are No. 1 and No. 2 on the team’s shot blocking chart with 54 and 46 blocked shots, respectively. Healey leads all Scarlet and Gray defenders this year with 20 points.
Though Frey and Tomkins have seen the majority of the action in the Buckeye net, each of the team’s senior goaltenders has enjoyed a stint as starter. Frey has been the goalie of record in 81 contests. Tomkins owns more than 50 decisions. Both are holding out on the right side of .500 for their careers. Davis went 3-2-0 as a freshman in his legendary run as starter during the Great Goalie Deficiency of 2013.
Big Ten Race
Ohio State sits in fourth place, well insulated from Michigan which trails the Buckeyes by 13 points. OSU’s best possible finish now is second place. While it is still within the realm of mathematical possibility for the Bucks to pass first place Minnesota, it is extremely unlikely. The Gophers are probably your B1G regular season champs. Again.
| b1G Standings | w | l | t | sow | pts | pwr | remaining series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 36 | No. 4 | at Michigan, at Michigan St. |
| Wisconsin | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 33 | No. 13 | at Penn St., vs. Ohio St. |
| Penn State | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 28 | No. 9 | vs Wisconsin, at Michigan |
| Ohio State | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 26 | No. 15 | vs Michigan St., at Wisconsin |
| Michigan | 3 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 13 | No. 40 | vs Minnesota, vs Penn St. |
| Michigan State | 2 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 8 | No. 53 | at Ohio St., at Minnesota |
However, the race is on for second place and the other first round bye in the Big Ten tournament. Wisconsin presently holds that position. The Badgers have a five point lead over Penn State and a seven point advantage over OSU.
Any one of those three teams could realistically finish in second. For Ohio State to do it, the Buckeyes need to win out. They also need Penn State to not win out and Wisconsin to drop at least one game to the Nittany Lions this week. (I am, like, 85% sure of my math. Feel free to check it.)
NCAA Hopes
The NCAA tournament is comprised of 16 teams. The six conferences get auto bids for their conference playoff champs. Two leagues, Atlantic Hockey and the WCHA, currently do not have a team in the top 16 of the PairWise rankings (which mimic the process used by the selection committee to determine the NCAA tourney field).
| no. | pairwise rankings |
|---|---|
| T-10 | Cornell |
| T-10 | Notre Dame |
| 12 | Providence |
| 13 | Wisconsin |
| 14 | St. Cloud State |
| 15 | Ohio State |
| 16 | North Dakota |
This means that, no matter who wins their conference tournaments, it is probable that the AHA and WCHA auto bids will bump the No. 15 and No. 16 teams from the field. The top 10 are securely in, regardless of what happens in the conference tourneys. Nos. 11-14 will be keeping their fingers crossed for no upsets.
So the national picture is rather grim for the Bucks who are presently No. 15. I think they absolutely must win out in the regular season and have a deep run in the B1G tournament to have any shot at an NCAA berth. Even then, the Buckeyes likely also need notable losses by the teams above them.
Truthfully, I don’t see an at large bid happening this year. There are too many good bubble teams playing higher quality opponents than the Buckeyes down the stretch. I think that if Ohio State is going to the NCAA tournament this season the Bucks will be punching their tickets at the Big Ten tourney.
Honors for Women's Hockey
Buckeye goaltender extraordinaire Kassidy Sauve was named to the WCHA’s Second All-Conference Team this week. Freshman phenom Jincy Dunne cracked the Third Team All-WCHA as well as the conference’s All-Rookie Team. Seven women’s hockey Buckeyes earned a place on the WCHA’s All-Academic Team: Jessica Dunne, Maddy Field, Julianna Iafallo, Erin Langermeier, Katie Matheny, Dani Sadek, and Lauren Spring. Read the full press release here.
