Opponent: Michigan State Spartans
Where: Value City Arena; Columbus, Ohio – Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
Despite another series where the Buckeyes could only come up with one point, the Ohio State men’s hockey team remains ranked at number 10 in the nation. This is a team that has not won a game in the year of 2012, and now their lead in the CCHA has completely disappeared. They are tied for third with 36 points, and if they are swept again this weekend they could fall even further. As we are used to seeing year after year, the CCHA standings are downright claustrophobic. Despite their recent struggles, a good series for the Buckeyes could catapult them right back to the top. However, a winless streak like this is a tough one to back out of.
Their opponents for this week (The Michigan State Spartans) are coming off a weekend where they got swept at Ferris State. They currently sit in eighth place in the CCHA, but are only seven points behind the Buckeyes. With the end of the season in sight, every last point is crucial to every team in the conference. The Spartans are looking to get a home series in the first round, and if the Buckeyes aren’t careful they may fall far enough so that this becomes a concern of their own. This really is do or die time for Ohio State: after this series, they have only one home game (Feb. 25 vs. Miami) remaining in the regular season. There are six points up for grabs this weekend, and OSU could go a long way just by picking these up. After this weekend, the Buckeyes travel to Western Michigan, then—unfortunately—they have a week off. They will not be able to get any points while many of the teams around them will pick them up. This is a team that is up against it now, but there is still time to right the ship.
The biggest problem for the Buckeyes right now is that they can never quite get over the hump into winning territory. Their defense can give up only one goal, but they can lose 1-0. When they score four goals, they end up giving up five. There have been promising aspects to many of these losses, but it has yet to add up to a winning effort. The good news this weekend is that Michigan State is a team that struggles on the road, and actually hasn’t gone on the road all that much. Before getting swept at Ferris State last week, they hadn’t played a true road game since December 9. The Spartans’ road record is 3-6-0, and OSU is going to need to take advantage of this weekend.
However, if you can make it out to the Schott this weekend to the games, make sure to do so. Saturday night is the Teddy Bear Toss, which I was able to see at the game last year and it was pretty darn amazing. More than 500 stuffed animals hit the ice, and they were later donated to the Ronald McDonald House.
Weekend prediction: I’ve gone optimistic every week since I’ve started these recaps, and darn it all I’m doing it again. Buckeyes sweep at home, because hope springs eternal.
Friday’s game can be heard on Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio at OhioStateSports.net, while Saturday’s game is available on BTN.com.
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