Men's Hockey Update: Previewing the Broncos

Opponent: #18 Western Michigan Broncos

Where: Lawson Ice Arena; Kalamazoo, Michigan – Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Ohio State Buckeyes (14-10-5, 10-9-5-1 CCHA) has a firm hold on first place in the conference. Now, the picture is slightly bleaker. They have yet to win a game in the year of 2012, and they came up short twice in two very winnable games last weekend against Michigan State. Now they enter the final three weeks of the regular season tied for fourth, and only five points away from losing the opportunity for a home playoff series. The situation has just gotten dire for the Buckeyes, and their remaining games are against teams above them in the standings, and only one of them is at home. Throw a week off in there and the Buckeyes have really put themselves up against the wall.

This weekend they travel up to Kalamazoo to face the Western Michigan Broncos, who are currently second in the CCHA with 39 points. The good news for the Buckeyes? They are only three points behind. Only six points separate first and eighth place, so the final conference standings can wind up any of a million ways. Despite their long winless streak, the Buckeyes are still in a position where they can make up ground. It stinks that they’ll be sitting around next week while everyone else picks up points, but that’s just the nature of the beast. This road series is crucial, and if they don’t pick up any wins this weekend they’ll be fighting just for the right to play any more home games. They weren’t able to break through last week, and time is quickly running out.

One of the biggest causes of the Buckeyes’ slide of late has been their dire power play. At one point, OSU had the best power play and penalty kill in the conference. In the last five games, they have but two power play goals, and they went 0 for 14 with the man advantage last weekend against the Spartans. If you keep getting these opportunities, you have to convert.

Despite the continued slide, the polls have been incredibly kind to the Buckeyes. They enter this weekend ranked #15 in the country, and if they want to still be ranked going into the off week they’ll need a strong showing against the Broncos. These two teams have not met since last season, when the Broncos won the first game then tied the Buckeyes in the second. Western Michigan hasn’t exactly been all that hot lately in their own rate, as they’ve lost 4 of their last 6 games. This series will go a long way toward determining the final CCHA standings, which will likely begin to come into focus by Sunday.

Weekend prediction: The Buckeyes have to win eventually, right? They’ll get one this weekend in a split.

Both games can be heard on 1460 AM radio in Columbus.

Men's Hockey Update: Previewing the Spartans

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.

Men's Hockey Update: Previewing the Lakers

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.

Men's Hockey Update: Previewing the Bulldogs

Opponent: #13/14 Ferris State Bulldogs

Where: Value City Arena; Columbus, OH - Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

After an surprisingly hot start in 2011, the first month of 2012 has not been particularly kind to the Ohio State Buckeyes. They've yet to get their first win of the year; they lost two shootouts at Bowling Green, and last weekend they were handled by the Michigan Wolverines both at home and in the Frozen Diamond Face-off in Cleveland. The Buckeyes scored just one goal on the weekend, and over the course of both games they were outscored 8-1. As a result, they have fallen in the polls to number 5 in the nation. Now that the outdoor game and the Michigan series is over, the Buckeyes now can worry about getting back to the game they were playing in the fall. It doesn't get any easier going forward. The #13/14 Ferris State Bulldogs are the next team coming into town, and they will provide their own set of challenges.


The good news for Ohio State is that they no longer have to face Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick, who put together two dominant games for the Wolverines last weekend. The bad news is that the Bulldogs' goaltender isn't so bad either; Taylor Nelson comes into the series with a 2.20 goals against average. The backup C.J. Motte also has a great goals against average of 1.99. Scoring draughts are always tough to come out of, and it's not going to get any easier at home this weekend.


However, if the Buckeyes want to remain at the top of the CCHA they'll need to take advantage of this series. After these two games, they only have three home games remaining. (2 against Michigan State and 1 against Miami.) Besides that, they will have to deal with road trips to Lake Superior State, Western Michigan, and one game in Miami. The Buckeyes' great start has set them up so that they don't need to play lights-out in order to stay at the top of the standings, but you also don't want to go into the CCHA tournament on a cold streak. These past few games have been a step backward, but there's still plenty of time to make sure it doesn't become a trend.


One thing that's a bit troubling for the Buckeyes is the slight shakiness of Cal Heeter, who hasn't looked as sharp over the past couple of games. It even got to the point where backup Brady Hjelle came in during the Frozen Diamond Face-off. He's still made his fair share of saves, but in both Michigan games there were a couple goals that were slightly concerning. Heeter has more than earned the starting job going forward, but it will be interesting to see if Coach Osiecki ever brings in Hjelle to try and give Heeter some rest. With the way the Buckeye offense has performed of late, this team will need all the saves they can get.


This is a crucial series for the Buckeyes. The cushion they once had is starting to dwindle away, and the sooner they can get a W on the board the better and more confident they will be going forward.

Weekend prediction: The Buckeyes split the series and end the winless streak.

Friday's game can be heard on OhioStateSports.net. Saturday's game will be streaming live at BTN.com.

Men's Hockey Update: Previewing the Wolverines

Opponent: #13/15 Michigan Wolverines

Where: Value City Arena; Columbus, OH (Friday) – 7:30 p.m.
Progressive Field; Cleveland, OH (Sunday) – 5 p.m.

Despite skating to two ties (and shootout losses) against the lowly Bowling Green Falcons last weekend, the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s hockey team enters their series against rival Michigan this weekend ranked second in the nation behind only Minnesota Duluth. The Buckeyes are first in the CCHA with 34 points and a conference record of 10-3-3-1. Despite getting only two points last weekend in Bowling Green, Ohio State has a seven point lead over the second place team in the CCHA: Notre Dame. (In their last 16 games, OSU is 12-1-3.) The Buckeyes are in a great position going into the tail end of the season, but this does not diminish the importance of this series against the Wolverines.

Despite a subpar start, the Michigan Wolverines have put together an impressive string of games heading into this crucial series. As a result, they’ve been able to re-enter the national rankings. They have not outright lost a game since December 2, and since then they’ve gone 5-0-2. They remain in seventh place in the CCHA, but with a sweep vs. OSU they could potentially move up second place. However, that would require some outside help.

The big story this weekend is, of course, the Frozen Diamond Faceoff on Sunday at Progressive Field in Cleveland. While the series gets started at home for the Buckeyes on Friday—with Script Ohio on ice, no less—it will be interesting to see how both teams react when they take the game outside. Despite some unseasonably warm weather in Ohio of late, all seems like it will cooperate on Sunday, with highs in the 20s and a chance of snow. This spares us all the possibility of the game turning into a water polo match.

With all the external forces that could throw the rhythm of Sunday’s game out of whack, it is vitally important for the Buckeyes to get a win on Friday to put themselves in a good position before they take it outside. In a game like the Frozen Diamond Faceoff, anything could happen. It would be in OSU’s best interest to take advantage of what is sure to be a charged home crowd at the Schott. If the Buckeyes can sweep the Wolverines up in Ann Arbor, they should be able to turn this into a productive series.

The good news for the Buckeyes? They currently have both the highest scoring offense and the best scoring defense in the CCHA. The potential problem? Michigan’s got the second highest scoring offense in the CCHA. If these games turn into offensive shootouts, this may benefit the Wolverines more than the Buckeyes. The key for both teams to get the lead early, then spend the rest of the game playing from ahead.

Weekend prediction: The Buckeyes win one for the home fans on Friday, and then skate to a tie at Progressive Field on Sunday. The Wolverines will take the shootout.

Free Internet broadcasts for both games can be heard on Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio and OhioStateSports.net. Sam Obermyer and I will be on the call.