Opponent: Lake Superior State Lakers
Where: Taffy Abel Arena; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan – Friday and Saturday at 7:05 pm
The Buckeyes’ slide continued last weekend against the Ferris State Bulldogs, as they skated to a 4-3 loss and a 3-3 tie (shootout loss), which means in the six games they’ve played in 2012 the Buckeyes have only been able to get three points. Going into their fourth series of the year, they are still searching for their first win since the Robert Morris game in Pittsburgh and their first conference win since the overtime victory in Oxford. While much more good came out of the Ferris State series than the previous two games against Michigan, the Buckeyes are still having a great deal of trouble developing any real rhythm. Their special teams have been weak across the board, which comes as quite a shock considering at one point they had both the best power play and penalty kill in the CCHA.
The good news? The Buckeyes are still hanging on to first place in the conference by the skin of their teeth. Since the other top-tier teams in the CCHA have had some trouble in their own right, the conference has gotten really tight across the board. Only ten points separate first place and ninth place, and—most vitally—only six points separate first place and eighth place. If the Buckeyes continue to struggle, it’s possible that they slide all the way out of the top eight, meaning they wouldn’t host a playoff series in Columbus. (OSU is also disadvantaged in that they have played two more conference games than most, and they have a rather inconvenient week off on the horizon.) The Lakers, meanwhile, are currently in seventh place and can overtake Ohio State with a series sweep. Throughout the first half of the season, the Buckeyes built a large enough conference lead that they had a bit of a cushion coming into the new year. But now that cushion is gone, and any more bad series could be deadly.
The good news for the Buckeyes is that Lake Superior State hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire lately. They’ve been around a .500 team all year, and when the Buckeyes and Lakers met in Columbus back in December it was OSU that came away with the sweep. After a couple high-pressure home series against nationally-ranked teams, it might actually be healthy for the Buckeyes to hit the road and not worry about anything but playing their game. This is a team that knows that time had run out for them. They now find themselves in a situation where every last point is crucial. This is how it is in the CCHA.
If there’s one thing you’re happy about on the Buckeye side, it’s that Cal Heeter seems to have rebounded from his tough series against Michigan. He came in to replace Brady Hjelle last Friday and pitched a shutout in the Buckeyes’ near comeback, and on Saturday he played solid enough in the tie. He’s going to have to keep that up if OSU is to get back on the winning side of things. The most important thing this weekend for this team? They need to score first. The Buckeyes have not led in a game since January 8 at Bowling Green.
Weekend Prediction: This may seem like a leap of faith, but I’m picking the Buckeyes to get things back on track and come away with a sweep. Here’s hoping.
Both games can be viewed on the America ONE subscription service, or a live radio broadcast can be found at yesfm.net.
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