No. 8 Hockey Bucks Set to Face Wisconsin on B1G Stage

By Aubrey Nelson on January 26, 2017 at 2:00 pm
Here we see the Buckeyes' leading scorer in his natural habitat.
Ohio State Athletics
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There’s a full slate of Buckeye hockey on tap this week. First, Ohio State’s men square off against the Badgers at the Schott tonight. Then the teams tangle at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The women’s team faces a challenge at No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth on Friday and Saturday. Here’s the lowdown on all the action. 

Men vs. Wisconsin

game info thursday saturday
Opening Faceoff 7pm ET 7pm ET
Location Columbus, OH New York, NY
Television None BTN
Radio 1460 AM 1460 AM
Online Stream BTN Plus ($) BTN2Go ($)

We pegged Wisconsin as a sleeper team at the outset of Big Ten play. In the intervening weeks the Badgers have indeed proven to be a dangerous squad. They sit third in the B1G, one point ahead of Ohio State, coming off a win and overtime loss to Minnesota.

Wisconsin and OSU have each skated six conference games this season. Statistically the Badgers fared slightly better than the Buckeyes in those Big Ten games. UW scored an average of 4.33 goals per conference outing while giving up 2.38. The Bucks netted 4.17 and allowed 3.00.

team stats wisconsin ohio state
Overall Record 11-8-1 12-4-6
PairWise Ranking Tied at No. 25 No. 8
Avg. Goals For/Against 3.65 / 3.30 4.23 / 2.77
Power Play/Penalty Kill 22.5% / 86.9% 26.1% / 77.3%
Points Leader Luke Kunin, Grant Besse (22) Mason Jobst (28)
Top Goaltender Jack Berry (2.58/.895) Christian Frey (2.66/.923)

Ohio State has faced the tougher schedule and should be considered the favorite in the series. Still, the gap between these two teams is not as wide as the polls would have you believe. Like the Bucks the Badgers have scoring depth. Four of their skaters average better than a point per game. Another three are just off that pace.  

WJC Team USA captain Luke Kunin (Minnesota Wild, 2016) and senior forward Grant Besse (Anaheim Ducks, 2013) lead the team in points. The Buckeyes are fully aware of their scoring abilities. Last season the duo combined for 13 points in four outings against Ohio State.

B1G standings w l t sow pts pwr this week
Minnesota 6 2 0 0 18 No. 7 UMD/BSU or STC (nc)
Penn State 5 2 1 0 16 No. 4 at Princeton (nc)
Wisconsin 4 2 0 0 12 No. 25 at Ohio State
Ohio State 3 2 1 1 11 No. 8 vs Wisconsin
Michigan 1 6 1 1 5 No. 38 Bye
Michigan State 1 6 1 0 4 No. 48 Bye

Badger freshman Jake Berry has performed adequately and veteran Matt Jurusik is 2-0-0 after returning from injury. However, the Bucks should have an edge in net where Christian Frey is .946 in Big Ten games and gaining steam since ending his sojourn on the injured list. 

Special teams could be a big factor in this series. Wisconsin is a physically aggressive team. Ohio State has to walk a fine line, rising to the challenge without taking the penalty box bait.

Women at No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth

game info friday saturday
Opening Faceoff 8pm ET  5pm ET
Online Stream NCHC.tv ($) NCHC.tv ($)

Four weeks - eight games - remain in the Buckeye women’s regular season. Ohio State continues to be a tough out for opponents thanks to the ridonkulous goaltending of Kassidy Sauve and increasingly consistent scoring from the team’s premier line of Julianna Iafallo, Maddy Field, and Katie Matheny.

team stats ohio State minn-duluth
Overall Record 11-12-3 16-4-4
Avg. Goals For/Against 1.88 / 2.00 3.17 / 1.71
Power Play/Penalty Kill 8.2% / 91.2% 15.7% / 75.7%
Points Leader  Maddy Field (19) Lara Stalder (39)
Top Goaltender Kassidy Sauve (1.80/.950) Maddie Rooney (1.70/.938)

OSU pulled off its most impressive result of 2017 last week with a shootout win at No. 4 Minnesota. Now the Bucks face another top team. They are at No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth for a Friday-Saturday series. If you haven’t followed the women’s team for long you may not realize this is a big match up for Ohio State, regardless of rankings or standings.

Duluth is the Buckeye women’s Miami, a hockey-specific rivalry with a history of bad blood and conference battles, both in the regular season and the postseason. The Bulldogs have had the advantage of Ohio State in recent years. The Bucks own only one outright win in the last two seasons.

wcha teams pts this week
No. 1 Wisconsin 53 vs Minnesota State
No. 4 Minnesota 44 at St. Cloud State
No. 2 Minn.-Duluth 43 vs Ohio State
RV North Dakota 33 at Bemidji State
Ohio State 19 at Minn.-Duluth
St. Cloud State 19 vs Minnesota
Bemidji State 18 vs North Dakota
Minnesota State 11 at Wisconsin

Bettering that mark will be a challenge. UMD is in the middle of a standout season. The Bulldogs are undefeated in the new year. They are 3-0-1-0, including a sweep of the Gophers. Barring some catastrophe in the final weeks of the regular season, Duluth is set to make a return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011.

But Minnesota-Duluth is just one of many “scary” teams the Buckeyes have faced. Despite the daunting competition Ohio State has managed to win at least one point off each of their foes including Wisconsin and Minnesota. I’d be surprised if the Bucks can’t do the same to the Bulldogs. 

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