Hockey Bucks Look to Keep Momentum Rolling against Sun Devils, Beavers

The forecast for Columbus this weekend is icy. That's less than ideal. The outlook on the ice, however, is pretty good. Read on for series details.

No. 10 Buckeye Men vs. Arizona State

Ohio State got back to its pre-holiday break form last week with a hard fought split against No. 3 Penn State. Now the Bucks take a brief detour from Big Ten play to host college hockey’s newest Division-I squad, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The Sun Devils intend to join a conference next year. The internet would have you believe that conference is the Big Ten. However, when the school originally announced its move to D-I, Arizona State was reportedly destined for the NCHC or WCHA.

ASU’s roster is truly a melting pot. It includes players from ten different states, three Canadian provinces, and two European countries. There are newbies, incumbent players, and six transfers from three separate college hockey conferences. Former Boston University forward Robbie Baillargeon leads the team in points though many players contribute to its balanced offense. 

Arizona State averages 2.62 goals per game. (For reference, Miami is just a hair less score-y at 2.60 GF/GM.) Defense is another story. The team allows an NCAA-worst 4.50 goals against per game. None of the Sun Devils’ rotating cast of goaltenders can boast a GAA less than 4.03 or save percentage over .886.

But Arizona State has found some success in spite of its defensive struggles. The Sun Devils finished on the winning side of the scoreboard seven times. Their first victory this season was an upset of then-No. 18 Air Force. They followed this up with wins over New Hampshire, RPI, Colgate, and AIC along with a sweep of UMass just before the break.

Respect to Arizona State for the strides the program has taken in such a short time. This should be a productive weekend for Ohio State, though. The Sun Devils are capable scorers but it’s difficult to see them outdoing the Bucks’ No. 3 offense, even with OSU's banged up roster.

Ohio State hasn’t been as noteworthy on the back end this season. However, you have to think that if the Buckeyes can manage to hold the visitors to three or fewer goals then this series is going to go well for the Scarlet and Gray. And, truthfully, anything less than two Buckeye wins would be disappointing at this stage. 

• ASU's Robbie Baillargeon and Joey Daccord (Ottawa), and Wade Murphy (Nashville) are NHL draftees.
• Two Sun Devils have connections to the Buckeye State. Jake Clifford hails from Brecksville, Ohio. Tyler Busch was a verbal commit for the Buckeyes before landing at Arizona State. 
• A heartfelt, though belated, congratulations to OSU goalie Christian Frey for earning Big Ten Hockey’s Second Star of the Week. (Sorry. Like quite a few other Ohioans, I was without electricity on Tuesday.)

Buckeye Women vs. Bemidji State 

Ohio State’s women return home after a triumphant sweep of Penn State last week. The Bucks logged season-high 5-0 and 6-0 wins over the Nittany Lions. The victories capped OSU's non-conference schedule for 2016-17 at a stellar 6-0-0. Standout netminder Kassidy Sauve and the Buckeye defense surrendered only one goal against in the entire six game set.

Now the team dips back into conference play with a series against Bemidji State. The Bucks and Beavers met at Bemidji back in October. The teams split the series. BSU was ranked No. 8 in the polls at the time. The Buckeyes’ win in the series opener was Ohio State’s first victory of the season against a nationally ranked opponent.

Bemidji prevailed in the series finale. The game is most notable for being the last occasion on which the Bucks allowed a power play goal against. Since going 3-for-6 in that outing OSU’s penalty kill has been flawless in 16 consecutive contests. 

The Buckeyes are already rolling in the second half of the season. The Beavers have yet to play a competitive game in 2017. I think we’ll see at least a split, though OSU’s momentum could easily carry the team to even better results. The fly in the ointment for Ohio State might be Bemidji goalie Brittni Mowat. She’s one of the WCHA’s best.

• A heartfelt, though belated, congratulations to OSU freshman Jincy Dunne for earning WHCA Rookie of the Week honors. (Like I said, power outage on Tuesday.)
• More honors! Former Ohio State coach Jackie Barto is getting the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Founders Award. 
• Even more congrats! Current head coach Nadine Muzerall returns to the team this week after helping to guide Canada’s Under-22 squad to a silver medal at the Nations Cup.