Laissez les bons temps rouler, my fellow hockey fans. Hope you’re enjoying the heck out of Fat Tuesday. Sean Romeo is. After playing a major role in Ohio State’s split with No. 1 Notre Dame, the Buckeye goaltender is Big Ten Hockey’s Second Star of the Week.
| Men's Hockey | Star of the Week Honors |
|---|---|
| Mason Jobst, Jr. F | B1G First (1x) |
| Tanner Laczynski, So. F | NCAA First (1x), B1G Second (3x) |
| Sean Romeo, RS-Jr. G | B1G First (1x), B1G Second (2x), B1G Third (1x) |
| Matt Weis, Sr. F | B1G Second (1x) |
Romeo was solid in last Friday’s contest, despite taking the loss. He allowed only two goals to the nation’s No. 1 team and backstopped the Buckeye penalty kill to a perfect 6-for-6 mark. On Saturday he was near impenetrable. The Cary, North Carolina native stopped a career-high 39 shots. He surrendered only one power play goal. This came in the midst of an eight-minute stretch which saw the Irish outshoot the Bucks 16-2.
Look back at highlights from the No. 6 Buckeyes' split with the No. 1 Irish on the road this weekend. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/qA7dRzvfpX
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) February 13, 2018
Romeo ranks among the NCAA’s top ten goalies in GAA (2.10) and save percentage (.925). He is 16-7-4 overall on the season and 11-7-1-0 in the Big Ten. This is his fourth B1G Star of the season and his second honor in the last three weeks.
| Big Ten Standings | Points | Polls | PairWise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 50 | No. 1 | No. 2 |
| Ohio State | 37 | No. 6 | No. 6 |
| Michigan | 32 | No. 18 | No. 15 |
| Minnesota | 29 | No. 9/10 | No. 9 |
| Wisconsin | 28 | RV | No. 20 |
| Penn State | 25 | No. 16 | No. 17 |
| Michigan State | 15 | N/A | No. 37 |
Minnesota forward Tyler Sheehy took home First Star honor this week. He recorded five points in the Gophers’ sweep of Wisconsin. Minnesota goalie Mat Robson is the conference’s Third Star after backstopping the Gophers to that sweep with 61 saves on 64 shots.
These players will all be in action this week when the No. 6 Buckeyes (19-7-4, 12-7-1-0 B1G) travel to No. 9/10 Minnesota (18-13-1, 9-10-1-1 B1G) for their next-to-last regular season series. Friday’s game is a late one. It doesn’t get underway until 9pm ET, but the tilt does air live on BTN. Saturday’s contest begins at 5pm ET. ESPNU has the coverage on that one.
- The Bucks stand pat at No. 6 in both national polls. They remain No. 6 in the PairWise rankings as well.
Women’s Hockey Rankings and Coming Attractions
After splitting at Minnesota State last week, the Buckeye women dip to No. 6 in both national polls. They also fall back to No. 6 in the PairWise rankings. It’s not a terrible position to be in, and I still believe they’re headed for the NCAA tournament. But a strong regular season finale wouldn’t hurt matters any.
| WCHA Standings | Points | Polls | PairWise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 58 | No. 1 | No. 1 |
| Ohio State | 46 | No. 6 | No. 6 |
| Minnesota | 42 | No. 7 | No. 8 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 29 | RV | No. 16 |
| Bemidji State | 27 | N/A | No. 22 |
| St. Cloud State | 23 | N/A | No. 27 |
| Minnesota State | 9 | N/A | No. 36 |
Ohio State (20-8-4, 13-5-4-3 WCHA) welcomes Bemidji State (13-16-3, 8-12-2-1 WCHA) this week for a final pair of games. OSU sits in second place in the conference, four points ahead of third place Minnesota. The Bucks seek to secure their spot this week against the Beavers. They also look to send their seniors out in style and take over sole possession of the program’s season win record. Opening faceoffs are set for Friday at 6pm ET and Saturday at 3pm ET.
- Check out highlights from last week's split with Minny State here.
