With 2017-18’s regular season schedule winding down, the No. 5 women’s hockey Bucks look to keep rolling at Minnesota State while the No. 6 Buckeye men try to bounce back against No. 1 Notre Dame.
No. 6 Buckeye Men at No. 1 Notre Dame
| Game Info | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 7:30 p.m. ET | 7:05 p.m. ET |
| Television | NBCSN | None |
| Radio | 1460 AM | 1460 AM |
| Streaming Video | NBS Sports app | NBCSports.com and app |
Losing one of last week’s games to the Big Ten’s last place team tarnished the Bucks’ national standing a bit. Ohio State dropped a spot in the polls and in the PairWise rankings. Still, as long as the team puts together a solid finish, its position should be secure enough that the late season hiccup won’t spell disaster.
| Team Stats | Ohio State | Notre Dame |
|---|---|---|
| Records | 18-6-4, 11-6-1-0 B1G | 21-5-2, 15-2-1-1 B1G |
| Avg. Goals For / Against | 3.14 / 2.21 | 3.07 / 2.00 |
| Power Play / Penalty Kill | 23.5% / 90.4% | 21.5% / 88% |
| Points Leader | Tanner Laczynski (37) | Jake Evans (31) |
| Top Goaltender | Sean Romeo (2.15/.921) | Cale Morris (1.68/.952) |
Six games remain in the regular season. The Bucks start their final push this week with a pair of tilts at top-ranked Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish is the only team to sweep the Buckeyes this season. They downed the Scarlet and Gray by 4-1 and 3-2 scores back in November.
| B1G Standings | Pts | PWR | Remaining Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 47 | No. 1 | vs OSU, vs/at MCH, vs MSU |
| Ohio State | 34 | No. 6 | at ND, at MIN, vs WIS |
| Wisconsin | 28 | No. 18 | vs MIN, Bye, at OSU |
| Michigan | 27 | No. 16 | at MSU, at/vs ND, vs ASU (nc) |
| Penn State | 25 | No. 15 | Bye, at MSU, vs MIN |
| Minnesota | 23 | No. 9 | at WIS, vs OSU, at PSU |
| Michigan State | 14 | No. 34 | vs MCH, vs PSU, at ND |
Goaltender Cale Morris starred in that series and continues to be not only the top goalie in the B1G, but one of the best netminders in the nation. His 1.68 GAA and .952 save percentage ranks second and first, respectively, in the NCAA. Morris is protected by a veteran defensive corps. He doesn’t get a ton of goal support. Scoring is one of the few areas in which the Irish don’t excel. But they net enough to get the job done.
Notre Dame deserves its status as one of the country’s top teams yet the Irish have looked a little vulnerable in the last month. They are 2-2-1-0 in their last five outings. Recent janky loss aside, the Buckeyes are one of the nation’s hottest squads, 8-2-0 in its last 10. And as the Bucks, on the whole, tend to play up (or down) to their competition. I’m going with a series split.
- Check out pre-series chatter with Steve Rohlik, Ronnie Hein, and Wyatt Ege here.
- Best of luck to Buckeye men’s hockey alum Matt McIlvane, assistant coach of Team Germany at this year’s Olympic Games.
No. 5 Buckeye Women at Minnesota State
| Game Info | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 7pm ET | 3pm ET |
| Streaming Video | via MSU ($) | via MSU ($) |
Ohio State is on an almighty roll. The Buckeyes are 7-3-0 since the midseason break with sweeps of then No. 9 Robert Morris, No. 5 Minnesota, and No. 1 Wisconsin. With just two weeks left in the regular season, they sit second in the WCHA and No. 5 in both the national polls and in the PairWise rankings. They are also the reigning winners of all the things. Barring utter anarchy in the upcoming conference tournaments, OSU is about to make the program’s first-ever trip to the NCAA tourney.
| Team Stats | Ohio State | Minnesota State |
|---|---|---|
| Records | 19-7-4, 12-4-4-3 WCHA | 4-23-1, 2-18-0-0 WCHA |
| Avg. Goals For / Against | 3.00 / 2.13 | 1.68 / 3.68 |
| Power Play / Penalty Kill | 17.2% / 84.9% | 10.7% / 76.5% |
| Points Leader | Emma Maltais (36) | Brittyn Fleming (17) |
| Top Goaltender | Kassidy Sauve (2.05/.931) | Chloe Crosby(3.42/.883) |
But in the meantime, there is still some hockey to be played. The Bucks should get their big tourney invite but it won’t mean much if their game’s gone dull. They’ll only be popping into the postseason long enough to say hello and get shellacked by some east coast snipers. That’s no bueno, so the Scarlet and Gray need to stay sharp throughout their final four regular season games.
| WCHA Standings | Pts | PWR | Remaining Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 53 | No. 1 | at UMD, vs MIN |
| Ohio State | 43 | No. 5 | at MSU, vs BSU |
| Minnesota | 42 | No. 6 | Bye, at WIS |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 28 | No. 14 | vs WIS, at MSU |
| Bemidji State | 27 | No. 16 | vs STC, at OSU |
| St. Cloud State | 17 | No. 27 | at BSU, Bye |
| Minnesota State | 6 | No. 32 | vs OSU, vs UMD |
Plus there’s the matter of the program record for wins in a single season. It stands at 20. This year’s Buckeyes currently own 19. Ohio State has a good chance to smash that mark. The team has four games left, two at Minnesota State and then two at home against Bemidji State. The Bucks went 3-0-1-0 against those teams in the first half of the season.
First up is a road series at MSU. The Mavericks have a grand total of four wins on the season. They struggle to score and also give up quite a few goals. Their special teams rank among the worst in the country. Anything but a pair of wins here is a disappointing result for the Buckeyes. However, the Mavs do ice an experienced squad and one that gave Ohio State some trouble back in November. The Bucks had to rally in both those games to secure the series sweep.
While they might be a little closer than is comfortable, I think the games will go OSU’s way again. Back-to-back wins would clinch the second spot in the conference and set the new program mark for wins. Celebrating stuff is fun so I’m going to go ahead and predict that.
- Associate head coach Peter Elander previews this week's series here.
- Good luck to the Buckeye women’s hockey alums and their respective teams at this year’s Olympic Games: Tessa Bonhomme (NBC hockey broadcasters), Natalie Spooner (Canada), Annie Svedin (Sweden), and Minttu Tuominen (Finland).
