Men's Ice Hockey: Bucks Ready for Rival RedHawks

Good afternoon hockey fans! The Ohio State men are prepping for a home-and-home this week with their old nemesis, Miami. Meanwhile, over at the Ice Rink, the lady Bucks look to rebound against Bemidji State. Here’s the lowdown on all the action. 

Men

By all accounts the Buckeyes played well enough last week against (now) No. 5 Providence, splitting a pair of overtime thrillers. Junior Anthony Greco tallied his first career hat trick in Friday’s victory and made the nation’s top five plays of the week. Tanner Fritz picked up two goals and two assists on the weekend, earning Big Ten Second Star of the Week honors. Rookies Matt Weis (3a), Nicholas Jones (1a), and Luke Stork (1g) notched their first collegiate points. 

It seems as though they continued to make progress as a team which is all you can ask for at this point in the season. That they split with, and were thisclose to sweeping, a top five team was some pretty sweet icing on the cake. The Bucks' progress comes up against another big test this week, the No. 11 Miami RedHawks. Miami underachieved last season, finishing the regular season dead last in the NCHC. They are expected to do much better this time around. The team returns all of its key pieces including All-American senior Austin Czarnik and junior Riley Barber, both 40+ point scorers in 2013-14.

One area where Ohio State could have an advantage this week is on special teams. Miami coughed up a lot of power play chances, both against Bowling Green (11) and in their two exhibition games (11). While they haven’t been horrible at killing them off (10-11 in exhibition and 8-11 vs BG), they haven’t been awesome either. The Buckeyes’ power play unit has been one of their early season strengths. If the RedHawks can’t stay out of the box this could shape up to be a very successful weekend for Ohio State. 

There may not be conference points on the line for these two teams anymore. However there is still pride at stake as well as state bragging rights. Miami is the reigning Ohio Cup champion. (I’m unsure whether it could technically be awarded last year without a series between Miami and Bowling Green but either way the RedHawks are defending champs.) A good series by the Buckeyes this weekend is the first step toward claiming the title for the Scarlet and Gray. 

Both tonight’s game and Saturday’s get underway at 7pm. Ohio State’s game day page has the full list of ways to follow the action from home. Folks attending tonight’s game with young fans will want to take note of the postgame promo allowing kids down to the ice to take a shot at the net. Also, fans not making the trek down to Oxford on Saturday may want to check out the Scarlet Liners’ watch party at Cbus Sports Pub.

Big Ten Outlook 

There isn't a big match up this week outside of the Bucks-RedHawks series. PSU vs. Alaska could be interesting although most of us will be asleep before that game even hits intermission. This is Alaska and Anchorage's second crack at the Big Ten. They dusted Wisconsin last week, 1-0 (Alaska) and 4-2 (Anchorage).  

Women

The Buckeyes had a rough week in Madison where they were shut out entirely by (now) No. 1 Wisconsin. Special teams were a particular struggle for Ohio State. The team went 0-14 on their power play chances, gave up four man-advantage goals to the Badgers, and surrendered a shorthanded marker. If there was a bright spot in the series it looks to have been freshman goalie Kassidy Sauve stopping 44 of the 47 shots she faced in Sunday’s contest.

But last week is old news. The ladies are back in the friendly confines of the Ice Rink this week to take on Bemidji State. The Bucks went 1-2-1-0 vs BSU last season. Danielle Gagne was OSU’s most productive player in the series, notching points in three of the four games (2g, 1a). Get head coach Nate Handrahan’s take on the series here. 

Bemidji really struggled to put points on the board last season, but they don’t’ seem to be having any trouble finding the back of the net this year. The team is on a four game win streak, during which they’ve averaged four goals per game. Players throughout the Beavers’ lineup are contributing to the offensive surge.

BSU is led by junior Megan Lushanko (2-3--5). She’s followed closely on the stat sheet by classmates Stephanie Anderson (3-1--4), Kaitlyn Tougas (1-3--4), and Ivana Bilic (0-4--4). Sophomore goalies Brittni Mowat (1.00 GAA, .958 SV%) and Erin Deters (0.50 GAA, .978 SV%) have split the net time equally.

It isn’t panic time, but the ladies do need a good series this week. If not wins, then at least some positives to build on going into their bye week. Games are tonight at 6pm and Saturday at 12pm at the OSU Ice Rink. You can follow along at home with a subscription to Buckeye Vision or by listening to the Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio broadcast.

As always, admission to the women’s games is free. Fans should note, though, that there will not be free parking for Saturday’s game on account of the football team playing at home. Check out OSU’s series info for more on game day parking prices, locations, etc.

WCHA Outlook

Badgers-Gophers should be a doozy of a series. Whoever made this season's schedule must hate Duluth. The Bulldogs opened against Wisconsin and faced Minnesota last week. Now they have to tackle North Dakota.