Buckeyes Open Season Against No. 3/4 Friars

Men’s hockey kicks off the 2014-15 campaign by hosting No. 3/4 Providence while the ladies enter conference play at No. 2 Wisconsin. The season is young but this is a big weekend for both Ohio State squads.

Men 

The Buckeyes begin the 2014-15 season with back-to-back series against two of the nation’s top ten teams. First up is No. 3/4 Providence. This series is one of the first in the Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge which runs from this weekend through the end of November. (The schedule and results can be found here.) 

The Friars are expected to be one of Hockey East’s alpha teams this year. They return all but three players from last season’s NCAA tournament team. They also boast one of the nation’s top goaltenders in Jon Gilles. The series against Ohio State will be Providence’s first game action of the season.

The next few weeks will be challenging ones for Ohio State, but head coach Steve Rohlik says that’s a good thing: 

“For us when you look at it, when we start off this year with Providence, Miami and [Nebraska-Omaha] in three of our first four weeks, you’re going to find out in a hurry where you’re at across the board in college hockey, so we really like it.”

In addition to the trials brought by tough opponents, the Buckeyes will have to overcome challenges from within. Ryan Dzingel, Max McCormick, and Curtis Gedig, all prime contributors last season, have moved on to pro careers. They leave large gaps to be filled both offensively and defensively.

Ironically, given last season’s bizarre goalie-go-round, Ohio State is most stable in net. Sophomore Christian Frey and junior Matt Tomkins return to man the Buckeye nets. Frey was recognized by the Big Ten coaches as a Player to Watch. He is also long-listed for the Mike Richter Award. While most of the attention is (deservedly) on Frey, fans would be wise not to overlook Tomkins. I don’t think we’ve seen anything close to his best game yet.

Frey wasn’t the only Buckeye to earn a shout-out from the B1G. Senior Tanner Fritz and sophomores Drew Brevig and Nick Schilkey were also designated Players to Watch. With the early departures of Dzingel and McCormick, Fritz is OSU’s leading returning scorer. He is also team captain for the 2014-15 campaign. Junior defenseman Sam Jardine serves as alternate captain.

Ohio State’s veteran cast is bolstered by a talented rookie class. The Bucks welcome two smooth-skating European blue-liners, Janik Moser (Germany) and Victor Bjorkung (Sweden). Forwards Kevin Miller and Nicholas Jones were both valuable, high scoring players for their respective AJHL teams. From the USHL the Buckeyes get another reliable scorer in Matt Weis.

The USHL also sent forwards Christian Lampasso and Luke Stork to Columbus. Though Lampasso and Stork are two of the least heralded Buckeye rookies, I thought they were noticeable in Ohio State’s 7-1 exhibition win over Guelph. Lampasso fit well on a gritty line with Chad Niddery and Matt Johnson. Stork netted the prettiest goal of the game with a near-goal-line snipe.

Overall the Buckeyes looked alright against Guelph. They rolled out a surprisingly lethal power play (3 for 4). The rest of the game was mostly just ok. The only definitive judgment that can be made at this point is that the team needs some time to gel. They have a lot of new faces as well as old faces in new places. Unfortunately they don’t have much time to develop chemistry before squaring off with the nation’s elite. 

A person with a better grasp of science would make some kind of analogy here about heat or pressure and chemistry. I am clearly not that person. Like Rohlik said, we’ll find out where they’re at over the next few weeks. Get out to the Schott sometime in the next couple weeks. Check out your Buckeyes, enjoy the top-notch quality of competition, and let me know how you think the season’s stacking up.

Both Friday and Saturday’s games against Providence are set for 7pm. Fans not heading out to the Schott can follow the games via the radio broadcast on 1460 AM, a subscription to Buckeye Vision’s online video stream, and/or Twitter updates. Promotions for Saturday’s game include a family discount deal and a postgame meet-and-greet with the Buckeyes. Check out the Ohio State men's hockey page for more info.

Big Ten Outlook

Ohio State was picked fourth in the coaches’ preseason poll behind Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. I’m not mad at that. The Gophers are stacked again this year. The Wolverines and Badgers are in the same boat as the Bucks. They lost key players, are leaning on goaltending, and hoping the new guys click. Not much is expected from Michigan State and Penn State, but both are experienced teams that can’t be counted out.

Women

Ohio State begins its WCHA campaign this weekend at No. 2 Wisconsin. Defeating the Badgers at LaBahn is always a tall order. They come into the series fresh off a sweep of Minnesota-Duluth in which they rolled to 4-1 and 6-2 wins. UW trails only Minnesota in both the national and preseason WCHA polls. The Buckeyes have quite a challenge ahead of them this week.

The Lady Bucks are also undefeated coming into this series. They opened the season last week with a sweep of New Hampshire. Sophomore Claudia Kepler tallied the game winner in each contest, earning conference honors as Offensive Player of the Week. Seniors Kayla Sullivan and Danielle Gagne, and sophomore Alexa Ranahan also notched goals in the series. Freshman goalie Kassidy Sauve shut the Wildcats out on Friday and followed that up on Saturday with the second win of her young career.

Games begin on Friday at 8pm (ET) and Saturday at 2pm (ET). Fans not attending the games can follow the series via radio broadcast from WSUM, online video with a BTN Plus subscription, and/or Twitter updates. For more info check out the Ohio State women's hockey page.

Pregame Notes

• Sara Schmitt serves as the Buckeyes’ captain this season. Kari Schmitt and Kara Gust are assistant captains.
• Ohio State was chosen fifth in the WCHA coaches’ preseason poll.