Good afternoon, puck heads. It’s time once again to run down the upcoming action on the ice. Here’s what’s ahead for your hockey Bucks this week.
Buckeye Men at Massachusetts
| Game Info | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 7pm ET | 8pm ET |
| Online Radio | UMass Radio | UMass Radio |
| Online Video | UMass Sports ($) | UMass Sports |
Against Rensselaer last Friday, Ohio State employed the fire-at-will method. Unfortunately the Bucks hit a brick wall named Chase Perry. They were pickier about their shot selection on Saturday. They might have over-corrected a little, though, with only 12 pucks on net in the first 40 minutes. OSU continues to look for a balance of quantity and quality shots this week at Massachusetts.
The Minutemen have momentum on their side, coming into the series on a three game winning streak. The hometown homecoming crowd will also pump them up. The Buckeyes need to get their feet moving early and squash that energy with a couple first period goals.
This has been a challenge for the Buckeyes, though. In four games this season Ohio State has recorded exactly zero first period goals. The team isn’t averaging an opening goal until over halfway through the contest. The Bucks have also given up the game’s first score in three out of their four tilts.
Buckeyes hit the road for two games at UMass this weekend. Head coach @SteveRohlik talked about the Buckeyes so far this season. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/RpjNqBQPSy
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) October 18, 2017
A good start could be critical to halting the streaking young Minutemen. Massachusetts' youngsters are thriving under the new management of Greg Carvel. UMass finished dead last in Hockey East last season with a record of 5-29-2 last season. This year the team is already halfway to surpassing that win total with a 3-1-0 mark.
Newcomers are leading the way for UMass. Their top six scorers are all rookies or transfers. Freshman John Leonard (3-4--7) leads the team in points. The rookie squad also includes two top notch NHL defensive prospects. Cale Makar is a first round (4th overall) selection of Colorado. San Jose chose fellow blue liner Mario Ferraro in the second round (49th overall).
Around the Big Ten
The conference boasts three top 10 teams in this week’s national polls: No. 5/6 Wisconsin, No. 6/5 Notre Dame, and No. 7/8 Minnesota. Penn State lurks outside the top 10 at No. 11. The Badgers (4-1-0) and Fighting Irish (2-1-1) are the only B1G teams with winning records at this point. Everyone else is .500.
No. 4 Buckeye Women at St. Cloud State
| Game Info | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 4:07 p.m. ET | 3:37 p.m. ET |
| Online Video | via St. Cloud ($) | via St. Cloud ($) |
Ohio State’s women are also on the road this week, carrying a 5-0-1 record and program best ranking into St. Cloud State. The Huskies, on the other hand, are struggling. They returned six of their top eight scorers from last year but the whole group is off to a slow start. St. Cloud has skated 12 periods of NCAA hockey in 2017-18 and was scoreless in 11 of them.
The team did face a formidable foe last (official) time out in No. 5 Colgate and shutout machine Liz Auby. But the Huskies weren’t just thwarted by a hot netminder. They had significant trouble even getting shots on net. St. Cloud managed only two shots in the opening period of Friday’s tilt and none at all in the second.
Despite the Huskies' struggles, Buckeye head coach Nadine Muzerall knows her team must remain sharp if it hopes to avoid being upset: "The minute you get caught sleeping or being lazy, you’re exposed and you can wind up taking a loss. St. Cloud has beaten us in the past. They’re a well-coached team, and they always fight. We can’t overlook them, and we won’t."
The first period has been especially difficult for the Huskies this season. They have been outshot 47-14 in the opening frame so far. If that trend continues, the productive Buckeye offense can seize command early on.
| Polls | WCHA Standings | W | L | T | SOW | PTS | This Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 | Ohio State | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | at St. Cloud |
| No. 7 | Minnesota | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | at Minn.-Duluth |
| No. 1 | Wisconsin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | vs Bemidji State |
| St. Cloud State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | vs Ohio State | |
| RV | Bemidji State | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | at Wisconsin |
| No. 8 | Minnesota-Duluth | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | vs Minnesota |
| Minnesota State | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bye |
OSU’s offense is currently ranked fourth in the nation, scoring an average of 3.67 goals per game. That’s an improvement of nearly two full goals from last season. Buckeyes up and down the lineup are contributing. Nine different players have goals already. After six games the team total stands at 22, almost a third of the squad’s entire output in 2016-17.
The Bucks’ greatest opponent this week may well be themselves. Ohio State has a reputation for overachieving against difficult foes and then dropping winnable contests to teams of equal or lesser rank. If the Buckeyes are going to be serious contenders this season they need more than just the big upsets. They need consistent wins against the teams they’re supposed to beat.
