Bucks Face Minnesota, Ladies Host Mavs

The lady Bucks are in residence this week, playing host to struggling Minnesota State. Meanwhile the guys log another road trip. They look make progress against a sinking Minnesota squad. Any one of these four teams could use a win. Here’s how things shake out this week.

Men

Ohio State is at Minnesota this week, facing the Golden Gophers for the first time this season. The Buckeyes come into the series off a bye. They were swept in their last outing by Michigan State, though the team did show significant progress in its defensive efforts.

The high scoring Gopher offense should be a bigger challenge, though Minnesota is not as bulletproof now as it was in the first half. Minny began the season atop the polls and a frontrunner for a trip to the national title game. Since mid-November the Gophers have been slowly sinking into mediocrity.

Over the last three months they’re 5-6-3 and have slid completely out of the rankings. In its most recent series Minnesota gave up nine combined goals to Wisconsin, barely scraping out a win and a shootout loss.

The downturn is a puzzling one. The Gophers are a talented, veteran team. They should be one of the country’s top squads. Instead they’re well on their way to missing the tournament all together. 

Adding to Minnesota’s struggles is the recent loss of their best goal scorer. Connor Reilly (11-5--16) was injured by a knee-on-knee hit last week. The team is expecting him to be out for an extended length of time. 

The Gophers still have plenty of players who can light up the scoreboard. Mike Reilly (4-22-26, CBJ), Kyle Rau (8-16--24, FLA), and Travis Boyd (9-11--20, WSH) all average more than a point per game. As long as goalie Adam Wilcox (2.67, .901, TBL) holds opponents to three or fewer goals Minnesota is going to have a chance.

The Buckeyes don’t post big scores on a regular basis but they are capable of the occasional offensive outburst. If Ohio State is to earn some good results this week it will take a complete team effort. A (hopefully) continued commitment to net protection will help, as will a full complement of forwards for the first time in almost a month. The depleted roster get a boost this week with the return of guys like Darik Angeli and Matt Johnson.

Tonight’s contest is scheduled for a 9pm ET start. It’s the second half of a BTN doubleheader. Wisconsin and Penn State have the early game at 6:30 pm. Ohio State and Minnesota conclude their series tomorrow night at 8pm ET. That tilt airs live on Fox Sports North and SportsTime Ohio. The usual BTN2Go streams, 1460 AM radio broadcasts, Twitter updates, etc. should apply as well.

One more thing…

OSU’s Matt Weis sits out tonight’s contest as a result of a suspension handed down from the Big Ten following a questionable hit on Michael Ferrantino of Michigan State.

Conference Outlook

If defense really does win championships then Michigan State, as the only Big Ten team consistently putting forth a decent defensive effort, has this thing in the bag. Right? The Spartans’ D gets a test this week against Michigan. The teams play outdoors at Soldier Field tomorrow night at 8pm. The game airs live on BTN. 

Women

While the men's team continues its road warrior ways the ladies roll out the Ice Rink's welcome mat for Minnesota State. Ohio State pulled a point out of last week's series at No. 2 Minnesota. The Bucks remain in fifth place in the WCHA, two points ahead of Bemidji State and seven behind North Dakota. 

Points should be easier to come by in this series. Minny State is not having a good year. The Mavericks are just 3-23-1 this season. They won a pair of games against Lindenwood last month and defeated St. Cloud last week to earn their first conference victory of the season. 

MSU's youngsters head up the stat sheet. Freshmen Nicole Schammel (7-10--17) and Hannah Davidson (6-7--13) lead the team in points. Goalies Erin Kirchiver (3.97, .907) and Brianna Quade (4.74, .893) are splitting the net time in the second half. 

The Buckeyes' most dangerous opponent this week is likely to be themselves. The visitors don't have the most stellar resume. OSU is coming down off an intense battle at Minnesota. This series seems like a sure thing on paper, but it could play out very differently if Ohio State doesn't stay on its toes.

Games are scheduled for 6pm this evening and 2pm tomorrow afternoon. Admission and parking is free for those heading out to the Ice Rink. Fans can also follow from afar with Twitter (@OhioState_WHKY) or a Buckeye Vision subscription.

One more thing…

The lady Bucks don’t draw a ton of attention outside the OSU community so it was nice to see Arlan Marttila of USCHO writing about the impact of the team’s seniors. 

Conference Outlook

With a mere six games left in the season the chance of Ohio State moving up in the standings is slight. They face a tough road out while UND and BSU have much easier final schedules with four games each against the conference's strugglers. Home ice would be sweet, but the important thing now is for the Bucks to be operating at the top of their game come tourney time.