Well unfortunately we saw that coming. Big Ten Hockey today meted out a two game suspension for Ohio State defenseman Josh Healey. The benching is a result of this illegal contact-to-the-head check delivered by Healey in the second period of Saturday's loss to Minnesota.
The Josh Healey hit on Darian Romanko that got Healey ejected pic.twitter.com/oDhiSaG2wM
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) February 12, 2017
The length of the suspension is due to the fact that he only recently returned to the Buckeye line up after serving a single game sentence for a similar hit.
Healey has always been a double edged sword for the Bucks. His physicality is a valuable asset to the team, but also the very trait which lands him in trouble with the long arm of the hockey law. Though bone rattling checks are the loudest of Healey's contributions, he enriches the team in other areas as well.
The Alberta native plays a ton of minutes for Ohio State. He is the Buckeye blue line’s leading scorer (4-16--20), its top shot blocker (53), and by far its most experienced active member (125 career games). He leaves a large gap to be filled.
There is never a good time to lose a key defender. However if it was going to happen, then this week is at least the least terrible time for it. The Buckeyes are headed to East Lansing for a series at Michigan State (6-17-3, 2-8-2-0). To say that it’s been a difficult year for MSU would be an understatement. The Bucks and Spartans square off Friday and Saturday with the puck dropping at 7pm ET each night.
- Ohio State falls to No. 14 in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey polls this week.
- After splitting with Minnesota the Buckeyes cling to No. 15 in the PairWise rankings, the final in-by-the-skin-of-the-teeth, please-no-conference-tourney-upsets, bubbliest of bubble spots.
