Men's Hockey Season in Review

Last week saw a fitting end to the Ohio State Buckeyes’ regular season, as they were swept in Notre Dame and were sent home disappointed. Not long ago, the Buckeyes were ranked as high as second in the nation. Now the only thing they can do is wonder about the season that could have been. For the Buckeyes, the fall and winter of 2011 was a time of endless promise. At one point they went eleven straight games without a loss. 2012 was far less auspicious, as they only won a single game and picked up points in a few shootout losses. What was once a comfortable lead atop the CCHA quickly evaporated to the point where they were forced to go on the road to play Notre Dame in the first round of the playoffs. They lost the first game 2-0 and the second game 4-2. A third game was not required.

The real trouble for the Buckeyes in the second half of the season was the offense. (The defense wasn’t consistent by any means, but it didn’t have the slumps the offense had.) Coming up with only one goal wasn’t uncommon for the Buckeyes in 2012, and with Cal Heeter putting together some subpar games that wasn’t going to be a recipe for success. For half the season, this was a team that was working tremendously well as a cohesive unit. For the second half of the season, they frequently seemed disorganized and out of sorts. This was a heartbreaking season for Ohio State, and now they have nothing more to do but bid farewell to the seniors and hope their considerable young talent comes back and puts together some impressive seasons in the years to come.

It should also be noted that next year is the final year for the CCHA, with Big Ten hockey beginning in 2013. That’s nothing that matters in the immediate future, but it’s important for the Buckeyes to be ready for this transition and what it will mean for a) scheduling, and b) recruiting. This is a very young team, and ideally they will only get better as the years go on. The real question is: will they be able to put this season behind them?

Final Record: 11-12-5 in the CCHA, 15-15-5 overall.