The Buckeyes and Wolverines don’t need any extra incentive to beat the tar out of each other, but they’ll have a little extra on the line this week anyway. Ohio State and Michigan square off in a single-elimination Big Ten semifinal game on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The tilt will take place downtown at Nationwide Arena since the OHSAA wrestling tournament occupies the Schott.
| B1G Semifinal | Saturday |
|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Nationwide Arena |
| Television | Big Ten Network |
| Online Stream | BTN2Go ($) |
| Local Radio | 1460 AM The Fan |
Both teams ride a wave of momentum into the semifinals. Third seed Michigan is on a seven-game winning streak. Second seed Ohio State is unbeaten in its last five outings.
Both teams also feature electrifying scorers. The Wolverines’ Tony Calderone (18) and OSU captain Mason Jobst (16) lead the Big Ten in goal scoring. Whether they’re scoring the goals or setting them up, B1G Player of the Year finalists and Philadelphia Flyers prospects Cooper Marody (12-32--44 for Michigan) and Tanner Laczynski (15-26--41 for Ohio State) are always a threat.
| Team Stats | Michigan | Ohio State |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Record | 20-13-3 | 23-8-5 |
| National Polls | No. 11 / No. 11 | No. 6 / No. 6 |
| Big Ten Seed | No. 3 | No. 2 |
| Avg. Goals For | 3.39 (seventh in NCAA) | 3.22 (eleventh in NCAA) |
| Avg. Goals Against | 3.03 (thirty-eighth in NCAA) | 2.08 (fourth in NCAA) |
| Power Play | 17.6% (thirty-seventh in NCAA) | 23.6% (eighth in NCAA) |
| Penalty Kill | 76.1% (fifty-seventh in NCAA) | 90.6% (first in NCAA) |
| Points Leader | Cooper Marody (44) | M. Jobst, T. Laczynski (41) |
| Goals Leader | Tony Calderone (23) | Mason Jobst (19) |
| Top Goaltender | Hayden Lavigne (2.78/.910) | Sean Romeo (2.08/.925) |
Prolific scoring is especially important for the Wolverines who live or die by the goal light. They are, as stated, currently on a 7-0-0 run. During those games, Michigan has surrendered an unimpressive 2.71 goals per game. But the team is undefeated because, over the same stretch, the Wolverines have scored 4.71 goals per game. They advanced to the B1G semis after outscoring Wisconsin 13-9 in a two-game series sweep.
The Buckeye offense is also operating like a well-oiled machine. OSU posted four or more goals in nine out of its last 13 games. Two of those, 4-0 and 5-3 decisions, were wins over Michigan back in January. With those results, Ohio State swept its season series with the Wolverines, 4-0-0-0.
The difference in this match-up is that the Buckeyes add a team-wide defensive effort to their high-powered scoring. And Mike Richter Award semi-finalist Sean Romeo and the OSU defenders are on a heck of a roll. A three-goal outing by Michigan State in last week’s quarterfinal-clinching win snapped a seven-game streak during which the Bucks allowed two or fewer goals per game. This stretch included series against current No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 15 Minnesota.
Heading into Saturday's Big Ten Tournament single elimination semifinal game vs the Wolverines, Coach Rohlik talked about the matchup and the Buckeyes. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/SkOr3orQ3R
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 8, 2018
Dakota Joshua is always a factor, for better or worse, in tilts with Michigan. The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect is also a big-game guy. If he’s in the lineup this week expect him to have a say in the outcome. Brendon Kearney also seems to bring his best (i.e. most annoying) game against the Wolverines. If the Bucks do advance to the B1G final, I’ll take one of those two for the game-winner.
The winner of this game takes on the victor of the other semifinal, Notre Dame or Penn State, in the Big Ten championship game on March 10. The Nittany Lions advanced to the semis after sweeping Minnesota at home. They face a Fighting Irish squad that struggled down the stretch (1-4-0 in the last five games).
Notre Dame had a bye through the B1G tourney’s opening round. I think this will hurt the Irish more than help them. Barring a spectacular steal of an outing by Notre Dame goalie Cale Morris, I like PSU for the upset here. This semifinal game airs live this Saturday on ESPNU at 5:30 p.m.
NCAA Tournament Watch
The Buckeyes are pretty much a lock to make their second-consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. At No. 4 in the PairWise rankings, they are currently in position to be a No. 1 seed. If this holds up through the conference tournaments, it will be the first-ever No. 1 seeding for Ohio State. The program’s current best is a No. 2 seed in 2004.
Other B1G teams in good standing in the PairWise are No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 7 Michigan. No. 11 Penn State and No. 13 Minnesota are in the running, though closer to the bubble, for the 16-team field. (Which is like a 15-field team because the AHA champ’s autobid eats up a spot). The Gophers can’t afford many conference championship upsets. If they falter in the B1G semis, the Nittany Lions could drop to the bubble too.
Illinois Has Positive Outlook for D-I Hockey but That’s All For Now
This week the University of Illinois released the findings of a year-long NHL, NHLPA, and College Hockey Inc.-commissioned study on the feasibility of adding a D-I men’s hockey program. The results of that research were, in a nutshell, that Illini hockey would “in a relatively short time frame become financially viable and competitive on a conference and national level.” However, the university did not announce any concrete plans to begin that process, committing only at this time to looking into funding for the project.
