Hello, hockey fans. Welcome to your weekly puck preview. In today’s edition, the Buckeye men prepare to host Big Ten trailer Michigan State. Meanwhile, the OSU women marshal their forces for a clash with top-ranked Wisconsin. Here’s what you need to know.
No. 5/6 Buckeye Men vs. Michigan State
| Game Info | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 7pm ET | 7pm ET |
| Television | None | None |
| Radio | 1460 AM | 1460 AM |
| Online Video | BTN Plus ($) | BTN Plus ($) |
Last week Ohio State delivered a series and a season sweep of rival Michigan. Sean Romeo was stellar in net. Eight different players contributed goals. Tanner Laczynski and Matt Weis extended their personal point streaks to ten games each. Now the Bucks prepare to wrap their regular season series with Michigan State.
Ohio State rides a tidal wave of momentum into this series. The Buckeyes are 7-1-0 since the holiday break. They have scored four or more goals in six of those eight games. The record includes a sweep of the Spartans in East Lansing just a few weeks ago. The Bucks are favored to repeat the feat this weekend in Columbus.
| Team Stats | Michigan State | Ohio State |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 9-16-1, 3-12-1-1 B1G | 17-5-4, 10-5-1-0 B1G |
| Avg. Goals For / Against | 2.38 / 3.15 | 3.12 / 2.08 |
| Power Play / Penalty Kill | 20.4% / 79.8% | 20.8% / 90.8% |
| Points Leader | Taro Hirose (30) | Tanner Laczynski (36) |
| Top Goaltender | John Lethemon (2.76/.905) | Sean Romeo (1.99/.927) |
Michigan State, on the other hand, went 1-7-0 in January. The Spartans come into this series off a bye week. Before that, they were swept by Minnesota. MSU rallied to tie both games in the third period before coughing up game-winning goals inside of four minutes to play. The team lost Taro Hirose to injury in the finale of that series but, per Neil Koepke, the Spartans’ scoring leader is good to go this weekend.
It seems that the series goes sideways whenever I suggest OSU has got it in the bag. And the Spartans have, at times, performed much better than their record. But they still struggle to score beyond their talented top line. MSU's offense is the third worst in the NCAA. The Bucks’ defense is the nation's fourth best. As long as the Buckeyes play at a level close to that of the last few weeks, the outlook is positive for the Scarlet and Gray.
- Going to the games this week? Check out the myriad of fan promotions on tap.
- You can check out pre-series interviews with Steve Rohlik, Sean Romeo, and Mason Jobst here.
- As of Friday morning, the Big Ten standings are as follows: Notre Dame 42 points, Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 25, Penn State 24, Michigan 24, Minnesota 23, Michigan State 11.
No. 6 Buckeye Women vs. No. 1 Wisconsin
The women’s hockey Bucks suffered a setback last week. Ohio State fell in back-to-back games to Minnesota-Duluth. It was just the second time all season the Buckeyes had been swept.
| Game Info | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 6pm ET | 3pm ET |
| Online Video | Buckeye Vision ($) | Buckeye Vision ($) |
In spite of the outcome head coach Nadine Muzerall didn’t fault her team’s effort. Following Saturday’s game she noted, “I thought the girls played fantastic. They did all the right things and they did the little things right too... We just couldn’t score. I thought we were the better team, but sometimes sports don’t go your way.”
| Team Stats | Wisconsin | Ohio State |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 26-1-1, 17-0-1-1 WCHA | 17-7-4, 10-4-4-3 WCHA |
| Avg. Goals For / Against | 3.57 / 1.07 | 3.07 / 2.25 |
| Power Play / Penalty Kill | 17.2% / 88.0% | 17.8% / 84.4% |
| Points Leader | Abby Roque (31) | Emma Maltais (33) |
| Top Goaltender | Kristen Campbell (1.07/.945) | Kassidy Sauve (2.17/.927) |
The Bucks seek better results this week but they’ll attempt it against much stiffer competition. The nation’s top team, Wisconsin, makes its annual trek to Columbus. The Badgers are 7-0-1 in their last eight contests with five of those wins coming by way of shutout. All of those games were contested against the bottom half of the WCHA, but it is an impressive record nonetheless.
Wisconsin only recently ceded its first conference point of the season. The Badgers fell to Bemidji State in a shootout. It is the sole blemish on their otherwise spotless WCHA record. Former Buckeye Claudia Kepler (17-3--20) leads the team in goals with 17.
This is going to be a challenging week for Ohio State. Wisconsin is a significant cut above the rest of the opponents the Bucks have faced. The results of this series won’t necessarily determine its success or failure.
That said, the Buckeyes do have the skills to nab a victory. They boast phenomenal scorers and a solid defense backed by a goaltender who is more than capable of stealing a game. Win or lose, I predict a much better showing by OSU than the one we saw in their last matchup against the Badgers.
- As of Friday morning, the WCHA standings are as follows: Wisconsin 53 points, Minnesota 38, Ohio State 37, Minnesota-Duluth 28, Bemidji State 24, St. Cloud State 15, Minnesota State 3.
