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LGHL Column: Take a bow, Jake Diebler
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Column: Take a bow, Jake Diebler
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
A proud Ohio kid turned proud Ohio State coach took the Buckeyes on a thrilling, memorable run to end the season.
Sitting in the visitor’s locker room at the Target Center, not even 30 minutes after bowing out of the Big Ten Tournament following a 77-74 loss to No. seed 2 Illinois in the quarterfinal, a red-eyed Jake Diebler took questions about his future with the Ohio State men’s basketball program: the program that he has now worked at for eight seasons under four different titles — video coordinator, assistant coach, associate head coach, and now interim head coach; the program his younger brother, Jon, established himself as the greatest three-pointer the school has ever seen; the program he grew up having ultimate reverence for as a northwest-Ohio native and graduate of Upper Sandusky High School.
“There will be a time and place to think through that. Right now, there’s still a job to be done and my focus is on that.” Diebler said. “When Gene (Smith) asked me to do this… I just want to serve these guys the best that I possibly can, until the absolute last second of this year. And I want to serve this program. I love this program.
“This program means so much to me and my family, and I want to serve this program with everything I have. As far as kind of what’s next, I don’t think there’s been an appropriate time to fully think through that because the focus has been on the here and now. So, there will be a time for that. Sorry if that’s not now.”
When former Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann was fired on Feb. 14, Diebler was tasked with executing an emergency crash landing. The Buckeyes were 4-10 in Big Ten play and were jostling with Michigan on a game-by-game basis to not be in last place in the conference standings. Purdue was coming to town in four days; a daunting trip to Michigan State was on the schedule for one week later.
No one expected much from Diebler on Valentine’s Day, so saying “he exceeded expectations” would not do justice to the job he and the Ohio State coaching staff did over the final five weeks of the season. Diebler, Jack Owens, Mike Netti, Brandon Bailey, Terence Dials, Nick Kellogg, and Quadrian Banks galvanized a group of young men when it would have been so much easier to just go through the motions until the season ended. Somehow, they did the opposite.
Sitting in 13th-place in the Big Ten, how do you get a full team of 18 to 23-year-olds to fully buy in? How do you persuade the entire team that even though nobody believes in you — including your own fans — there’s still a reason to fight? Somehow, Diebler didn’t only get Ohio State to keep playing, he got them to take it up to another level.
The Buckeyes turned up the defensive intensity, holding Michigan State, Nebraska, Michigan, and Rutgers to an average of 59.5 points per game — all Ohio State wins. The Buckeyes' defensive efficiency ranking was worse than 100th in the country when Diebler took over. Following the loss to Illinois, Ohio State now sits at No. 65 nationally, allowing 100.2 points per 100 possessions — which is seventh in the Big Ten.
He got buy-in on the defensive end by holding players’ feet to the flames on the little things that win games. It didn’t matter if it was Bruce Thornton, Bowen Hardman, or anyone in between — if you don’t box out, you’re sitting on the bench. If you don’t immediately get back in transition, you’re sitting on the bench. With the thought of getting pulled (even for just a minute or two) lingering in the backs of their minds, the Buckeyes created more consistent habits — habits that just weren’t sticking with Holtmann.
Diebler also decided immediately that he wanted the Buckeyes to move more quickly. Ohio State has annually been in the bottom third of all college basketball teams in terms of tempo. The interim head coach decided that was going to change.
“We’re playing to win,” Diebler said after an 84-61 shellacking of Michigan on March 3. “We need to be aggressive. We need to play with pace. We need to strike early.”
The Buckeyes did just that, increasing their tempo, pushing the ball up the floor in transition, and trying to catch their opponents sleeping. After every missed shot by the opposition, you could see Diebler waving his right arm in a windmill motion, directing the offense to speed it up like a conductor commanding an orchestra.
These habits led to wins. First, the upset of No. 2 Purdue. With just four days to prepare for the National Player of the Year and reigning Big Ten Champions, Diebler guided Ohio State to its biggest home win in years. He did it while also managing the emotions of 15 young men — and staff — who were blindsided by the firing of Holtmann just a few days earlier. After the win, Thornton mentioned how Diebler was focused on helping them clear their minds in the days leading up to the Purdue game, because, “We can’t win the basketball game if our minds are focused on something else.”
Then, they knocked off Michigan State at Breslin for the first time since 2012. When Dale Bonner buried the game-winner with under one second remaining, Diebler fell to the floor before realizing that there was still time on the clock and that he needed to get his celebrating team off the court before they received a bench technical. It was an emotional win for the Buckeyes after trailing by double-digits at halftime. Even being down in the final minutes, Diebler said that’s exactly where he hoped they would be at the end — within a few points with a chance to win on the road. The win also snapped a program-record 17 consecutive road losses.
The Buckeyes then finished the regular season by winning three in a row, including yet another road win, this time over Rutgers at the RAC by 22 points. Jokes about making the NCAA Tournament quickly turned into something tangible. There was an arbitrary line drawn by ball-knowers everywhere — Ohio State could actually make the NCAA Tournament with two or three wins in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes did not need to win it all, although they certainly wanted to.
After out-pacing Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State fell in the final 70 seconds to Illinois in a game that — if that had won — may have completed the miraculous turnaround and put them in the NCAA Tournament. Evan Mahaffey and Felix Okpara both fouled out. Devin Royal and Battle were both playing with four fouls. Meanwhile, Dain Dainja and Terrence Shannon were drawing fouls left and right, leaving Diebler with few options or answers. The gas ran out. The bubble popped. The hourglass had flipped, and all of the sand had hit the bottom.
After (kind of) answering the question about his future, Diebler was asked how he would handle the next two days. Ohio State will likely get an invitation to the NIT, and it sounds like they will accept if offered. But that technically is not a guarantee, so there won’t be practice this weekend. Nobody knows if there’s another game coming up, who the next coach is, or which players may be transferring away in the coming days. Some members of the team may never play another game or go through another practice donning scarlet and gray.
“Just keep serving these guys the best I can,” Diebler said. “We’ve earned the right to play in the postseason. Considering where we were to where we are now, I just think that’s such a great thing. And we may have fallen a little short, we’ll see. Certainly, we’ve worked our way onto the bubble. But, I think [the] postseason is absolutely there for us in some way. And we’ve got a lot of guys who will embrace that.”
He went on, when asked specifically about the NIT, “I’ve had a lot of fun with this group. These guys are a joy to coach, and I think if we do play, there’s a championship to be won. And I know the competitive spirit of this group. So I would anticipate if that’s the case that we’ll be ready to go.”
NCAA Tournament or no NCAA Tournament, NIT or no NIT, head coach, assistant coach, or no coach at all. Regardless of how the next few days shape up, go ahead and take a bow, Jake Diebler.
Maybe Ross Bjork will remove the interim tag and make Diebler the permanent head coach. Maybe he won’t. But the six wins he and staff earned over the past five weeks showed all of America the type of person and coach that the elder Diebler is, and will continue to be, wherever his next stop is.
It may have only been six wins, but they were six wins that Buckeye Nation will never forget.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
A proud Ohio kid turned proud Ohio State coach took the Buckeyes on a thrilling, memorable run to end the season.
Sitting in the visitor’s locker room at the Target Center, not even 30 minutes after bowing out of the Big Ten Tournament following a 77-74 loss to No. seed 2 Illinois in the quarterfinal, a red-eyed Jake Diebler took questions about his future with the Ohio State men’s basketball program: the program that he has now worked at for eight seasons under four different titles — video coordinator, assistant coach, associate head coach, and now interim head coach; the program his younger brother, Jon, established himself as the greatest three-pointer the school has ever seen; the program he grew up having ultimate reverence for as a northwest-Ohio native and graduate of Upper Sandusky High School.
“There will be a time and place to think through that. Right now, there’s still a job to be done and my focus is on that.” Diebler said. “When Gene (Smith) asked me to do this… I just want to serve these guys the best that I possibly can, until the absolute last second of this year. And I want to serve this program. I love this program.
“This program means so much to me and my family, and I want to serve this program with everything I have. As far as kind of what’s next, I don’t think there’s been an appropriate time to fully think through that because the focus has been on the here and now. So, there will be a time for that. Sorry if that’s not now.”
When former Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann was fired on Feb. 14, Diebler was tasked with executing an emergency crash landing. The Buckeyes were 4-10 in Big Ten play and were jostling with Michigan on a game-by-game basis to not be in last place in the conference standings. Purdue was coming to town in four days; a daunting trip to Michigan State was on the schedule for one week later.
No one expected much from Diebler on Valentine’s Day, so saying “he exceeded expectations” would not do justice to the job he and the Ohio State coaching staff did over the final five weeks of the season. Diebler, Jack Owens, Mike Netti, Brandon Bailey, Terence Dials, Nick Kellogg, and Quadrian Banks galvanized a group of young men when it would have been so much easier to just go through the motions until the season ended. Somehow, they did the opposite.
Sitting in 13th-place in the Big Ten, how do you get a full team of 18 to 23-year-olds to fully buy in? How do you persuade the entire team that even though nobody believes in you — including your own fans — there’s still a reason to fight? Somehow, Diebler didn’t only get Ohio State to keep playing, he got them to take it up to another level.
The Buckeyes turned up the defensive intensity, holding Michigan State, Nebraska, Michigan, and Rutgers to an average of 59.5 points per game — all Ohio State wins. The Buckeyes' defensive efficiency ranking was worse than 100th in the country when Diebler took over. Following the loss to Illinois, Ohio State now sits at No. 65 nationally, allowing 100.2 points per 100 possessions — which is seventh in the Big Ten.
He got buy-in on the defensive end by holding players’ feet to the flames on the little things that win games. It didn’t matter if it was Bruce Thornton, Bowen Hardman, or anyone in between — if you don’t box out, you’re sitting on the bench. If you don’t immediately get back in transition, you’re sitting on the bench. With the thought of getting pulled (even for just a minute or two) lingering in the backs of their minds, the Buckeyes created more consistent habits — habits that just weren’t sticking with Holtmann.
Diebler also decided immediately that he wanted the Buckeyes to move more quickly. Ohio State has annually been in the bottom third of all college basketball teams in terms of tempo. The interim head coach decided that was going to change.
“We’re playing to win,” Diebler said after an 84-61 shellacking of Michigan on March 3. “We need to be aggressive. We need to play with pace. We need to strike early.”
The Buckeyes did just that, increasing their tempo, pushing the ball up the floor in transition, and trying to catch their opponents sleeping. After every missed shot by the opposition, you could see Diebler waving his right arm in a windmill motion, directing the offense to speed it up like a conductor commanding an orchestra.
These habits led to wins. First, the upset of No. 2 Purdue. With just four days to prepare for the National Player of the Year and reigning Big Ten Champions, Diebler guided Ohio State to its biggest home win in years. He did it while also managing the emotions of 15 young men — and staff — who were blindsided by the firing of Holtmann just a few days earlier. After the win, Thornton mentioned how Diebler was focused on helping them clear their minds in the days leading up to the Purdue game, because, “We can’t win the basketball game if our minds are focused on something else.”
DALE BONNER WINS IT FOR @OhioStateHoops
(via @CBSSports)
pic.twitter.com/ZRr6qZznNw
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 25, 2024
Then, they knocked off Michigan State at Breslin for the first time since 2012. When Dale Bonner buried the game-winner with under one second remaining, Diebler fell to the floor before realizing that there was still time on the clock and that he needed to get his celebrating team off the court before they received a bench technical. It was an emotional win for the Buckeyes after trailing by double-digits at halftime. Even being down in the final minutes, Diebler said that’s exactly where he hoped they would be at the end — within a few points with a chance to win on the road. The win also snapped a program-record 17 consecutive road losses.
The Buckeyes then finished the regular season by winning three in a row, including yet another road win, this time over Rutgers at the RAC by 22 points. Jokes about making the NCAA Tournament quickly turned into something tangible. There was an arbitrary line drawn by ball-knowers everywhere — Ohio State could actually make the NCAA Tournament with two or three wins in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes did not need to win it all, although they certainly wanted to.
After out-pacing Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State fell in the final 70 seconds to Illinois in a game that — if that had won — may have completed the miraculous turnaround and put them in the NCAA Tournament. Evan Mahaffey and Felix Okpara both fouled out. Devin Royal and Battle were both playing with four fouls. Meanwhile, Dain Dainja and Terrence Shannon were drawing fouls left and right, leaving Diebler with few options or answers. The gas ran out. The bubble popped. The hourglass had flipped, and all of the sand had hit the bottom.
After (kind of) answering the question about his future, Diebler was asked how he would handle the next two days. Ohio State will likely get an invitation to the NIT, and it sounds like they will accept if offered. But that technically is not a guarantee, so there won’t be practice this weekend. Nobody knows if there’s another game coming up, who the next coach is, or which players may be transferring away in the coming days. Some members of the team may never play another game or go through another practice donning scarlet and gray.
“Just keep serving these guys the best I can,” Diebler said. “We’ve earned the right to play in the postseason. Considering where we were to where we are now, I just think that’s such a great thing. And we may have fallen a little short, we’ll see. Certainly, we’ve worked our way onto the bubble. But, I think [the] postseason is absolutely there for us in some way. And we’ve got a lot of guys who will embrace that.”
He went on, when asked specifically about the NIT, “I’ve had a lot of fun with this group. These guys are a joy to coach, and I think if we do play, there’s a championship to be won. And I know the competitive spirit of this group. So I would anticipate if that’s the case that we’ll be ready to go.”
NCAA Tournament or no NCAA Tournament, NIT or no NIT, head coach, assistant coach, or no coach at all. Regardless of how the next few days shape up, go ahead and take a bow, Jake Diebler.
Maybe Ross Bjork will remove the interim tag and make Diebler the permanent head coach. Maybe he won’t. But the six wins he and staff earned over the past five weeks showed all of America the type of person and coach that the elder Diebler is, and will continue to be, wherever his next stop is.
It may have only been six wins, but they were six wins that Buckeye Nation will never forget.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State’s men’s hockey team battles Michigan State in Big Ten Tournament semifinal
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Ohio State’s men’s hockey team battles Michigan State in Big Ten Tournament semifinal
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes will look to pull another upset to move on to next week’s conference title game.
It has been a rough season for the Ohio State men’s hockey team, but the Buckeyes are playing some of their best hockey of the year when it matters most. Last weekend in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals, Ohio State went into Madison and upset the Wisconsin Badgers, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
The Buckeyes won two of three games in the best-of-three series to advance in the conference tournament, setting up a semifinal meeting with the Michigan State Spartans.
Prior to their meeting last weekend, Ohio State and Wisconsin had split the four games they played during the regular season. Back in early December, the Buckeyes made the trip to Madison and were smashed by the home team, falling by a combined score of 9-1 over two games. Ohio State was able to earn some revenge, sweeping Wisconsin in the two games the teams played in Columbus in the middle of February. The 3-2 win in overtime on Feb. 16 by the Buckeyes halted a seven-game losing streak.
In the opening game of the quarterfinal series, Brent Johnson gave Ohio State an early lead, scoring 9:08 into the first period. Wisconsin quickly responded, knotting the score at one just over two minutes later when William Whitelaw found the back of the net. After a scoreless second period, Max Montes scored what would end up being the game-winning-goal 2:21 into the third period as the Buckeyes were on the power play. Montes would add an insurance goal late in the period when Wisconsin pulled their goal to put an extra attacker on the ice.
Game two on Saturday night didn’t go quite as smoothly for Ohio State. This time the Badgers got on the scoreboard first when Christian Fitzgerald scored on the power play 13 minutes into the opening period. Late in the first period the Buckeyes responded with a power play goal of their own with a minute left in the period courtesy of Thomas Weis.
Unfortunately for Ohio State, Wisconsin took control of the game in the next period with two goals, and while Patrick Guzzo closed the deficit to one in the middle of the third period, the Badgers added an empty net goal late in the period to tie the series up.
In the deciding game, Ohio State jumped out on the Badgers early when Davis Burnside scored on the power play at the 6:16 mark of the first period. Scooter Brickley doubled the lead halfway through the second period, and Burnside iced the game with an empty net goal with three minutes left in the game. Wisconsin pulled one back to ruin the shutout but that would be the only goal they would score in the game.
Not only was the win by Ohio State the 1,000th victory in school history, the Buckeyes became the first seven-seed to win a quarterfinal series in the Big Ten Tournament.
With their victories in Madison, Ohio State will now hit the road again this weekend, this time traveling to East Lansing for a semifinal showdown with the Michigan State Spartans. Despite losing three of four games to the Spartans during the regular season, the lone win for the Buckeyes this year between the teams did come in East Lansing.
After Gavin O’Connell opened the scoring for the Spartans in the contest on Feb. 23, Ohio State reeled off four-straight goals, with two of them coming off the stick of Sam Deckhut. The Buckeyes would go on to win the game 6-2 before falling to the Spartans 5-2 the next night.
Michigan State enters the semifinal with a 22-9-3 record on the season. While Ohio State battled Wisconsin last week, the Spartans were able to relax at home, as they were the recipient of a bye in the Big Ten Tournament since they were the top team in the conference during the regular season. The last time Michigan State took the ice, they split a pair of games at Wisconsin at the beginning of the month.
Leading the charge for Michigan State is freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov. The Belarusian is a finalist for Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Defenseman of the Year, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Levshunov has scored nine goals and dished out 23 assists so far this season in 36 games.
Along with Levshunov, head coach Adam Nightingale is also in the running for conference honors, as the second-year head coach is a finalist for Big Ten Coach of the Year.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25338339/usa_today_22682555.jpg "Syndication: Journal Sentinel")
Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
One player Ohio State is going to have to keep tabs on in the semifinal is Gavin O’Connell. The freshman from Minnesota played his best hockey of the season against Ohio State, scoring two goals in three of the four matchups between the teams, finishing with seven goals over the four games. O’Connell is tied with Karsen Dorwat for the team-lead with 14 goals so far this season.
Dorwat is tied with Levshunov for the most overall points on the squad, with both players have recorded 32 points in Michigan State’s 34 games. Joey Larson and Issac Howard sit just a point behind Dowat and Levshunov, tallying 31 points on the year.
Along with a potent offense, Michigan State also has a strong defense. Starting between the pipes for the Spartans will be Trey Augustiine, who is a finalist for Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. Augustine is 20-8-2 this season, recording three shutouts, a 2.92 goals against average, and a .918 save percentage.
The Buckeyes will have to hope they catch Augustine on a bad night, much like they did in the first matchup in East Lansing when they were able to put six pucks past the freshman goaltender.
The winner of the semifinal between the Buckeyes and Spartans will go on to meet the winner of the other semifinal between Michigan and Minnesota, which will also be played on Saturday. The Big Ten Tournament Championship Game will be played on March 23 at the campus of the higher-seeded team.
If Ohio State is able to upset Michigan State, it will mark the third time the Buckeyes have advanced to the conference title game.
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes will look to pull another upset to move on to next week’s conference title game.
It has been a rough season for the Ohio State men’s hockey team, but the Buckeyes are playing some of their best hockey of the year when it matters most. Last weekend in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals, Ohio State went into Madison and upset the Wisconsin Badgers, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
The Buckeyes won two of three games in the best-of-three series to advance in the conference tournament, setting up a semifinal meeting with the Michigan State Spartans.
Prior to their meeting last weekend, Ohio State and Wisconsin had split the four games they played during the regular season. Back in early December, the Buckeyes made the trip to Madison and were smashed by the home team, falling by a combined score of 9-1 over two games. Ohio State was able to earn some revenge, sweeping Wisconsin in the two games the teams played in Columbus in the middle of February. The 3-2 win in overtime on Feb. 16 by the Buckeyes halted a seven-game losing streak.
In the opening game of the quarterfinal series, Brent Johnson gave Ohio State an early lead, scoring 9:08 into the first period. Wisconsin quickly responded, knotting the score at one just over two minutes later when William Whitelaw found the back of the net. After a scoreless second period, Max Montes scored what would end up being the game-winning-goal 2:21 into the third period as the Buckeyes were on the power play. Montes would add an insurance goal late in the period when Wisconsin pulled their goal to put an extra attacker on the ice.
Game two on Saturday night didn’t go quite as smoothly for Ohio State. This time the Badgers got on the scoreboard first when Christian Fitzgerald scored on the power play 13 minutes into the opening period. Late in the first period the Buckeyes responded with a power play goal of their own with a minute left in the period courtesy of Thomas Weis.
Unfortunately for Ohio State, Wisconsin took control of the game in the next period with two goals, and while Patrick Guzzo closed the deficit to one in the middle of the third period, the Badgers added an empty net goal late in the period to tie the series up.
In the deciding game, Ohio State jumped out on the Badgers early when Davis Burnside scored on the power play at the 6:16 mark of the first period. Scooter Brickley doubled the lead halfway through the second period, and Burnside iced the game with an empty net goal with three minutes left in the game. Wisconsin pulled one back to ruin the shutout but that would be the only goal they would score in the game.
Not only was the win by Ohio State the 1,000th victory in school history, the Buckeyes became the first seven-seed to win a quarterfinal series in the Big Ten Tournament.
With their victories in Madison, Ohio State will now hit the road again this weekend, this time traveling to East Lansing for a semifinal showdown with the Michigan State Spartans. Despite losing three of four games to the Spartans during the regular season, the lone win for the Buckeyes this year between the teams did come in East Lansing.
After Gavin O’Connell opened the scoring for the Spartans in the contest on Feb. 23, Ohio State reeled off four-straight goals, with two of them coming off the stick of Sam Deckhut. The Buckeyes would go on to win the game 6-2 before falling to the Spartans 5-2 the next night.
Michigan State enters the semifinal with a 22-9-3 record on the season. While Ohio State battled Wisconsin last week, the Spartans were able to relax at home, as they were the recipient of a bye in the Big Ten Tournament since they were the top team in the conference during the regular season. The last time Michigan State took the ice, they split a pair of games at Wisconsin at the beginning of the month.
Leading the charge for Michigan State is freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov. The Belarusian is a finalist for Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Defenseman of the Year, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Levshunov has scored nine goals and dished out 23 assists so far this season in 36 games.
Along with Levshunov, head coach Adam Nightingale is also in the running for conference honors, as the second-year head coach is a finalist for Big Ten Coach of the Year.
One player Ohio State is going to have to keep tabs on in the semifinal is Gavin O’Connell. The freshman from Minnesota played his best hockey of the season against Ohio State, scoring two goals in three of the four matchups between the teams, finishing with seven goals over the four games. O’Connell is tied with Karsen Dorwat for the team-lead with 14 goals so far this season.
Dorwat is tied with Levshunov for the most overall points on the squad, with both players have recorded 32 points in Michigan State’s 34 games. Joey Larson and Issac Howard sit just a point behind Dowat and Levshunov, tallying 31 points on the year.
Along with a potent offense, Michigan State also has a strong defense. Starting between the pipes for the Spartans will be Trey Augustiine, who is a finalist for Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. Augustine is 20-8-2 this season, recording three shutouts, a 2.92 goals against average, and a .918 save percentage.
The Buckeyes will have to hope they catch Augustine on a bad night, much like they did in the first matchup in East Lansing when they were able to put six pucks past the freshman goaltender.
The winner of the semifinal between the Buckeyes and Spartans will go on to meet the winner of the other semifinal between Michigan and Minnesota, which will also be played on Saturday. The Big Ten Tournament Championship Game will be played on March 23 at the campus of the higher-seeded team.
If Ohio State is able to upset Michigan State, it will mark the third time the Buckeyes have advanced to the conference title game.
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State’s women’s hockey team looks for a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four
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Ohio State’s women’s hockey team looks for a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes battle Minnesota-Duluth today in Columbus with a trip to New Hampshire next week on the line.
After falling 6-3 to Wisconsin in the WCHA Final Faceoff Championship Game last Saturday, the Ohio State women’s ice hockey team is itching to get back on the ice. After finding out on Sunday they were the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, on Thursday night the Buckeyes found out they would be taking on a familiar foe in Saturday’s regional final.
Minnesota-Duluth was able to outlast UConn in double overtime. The winner of today’s game between the Buckeyes and Bulldogs will move on to next week’s Frozen Four in New Hampshire.
Ohio State and Minnesota-Duluth have already met five times this season, with the most recent meeting coming just over a week ago in the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal, where the Buckeyes coasted to a 5-0 victory.
Joy Dunne and Kiara Zanon scored goals just over midway through the first period, Emma Peschel and Makenna Webster added second period goals, and Olivia Mobley closed out the scoring with a goal in the third period. Raygan Kirk saved all 17 of Minnesota-Duluth’s shots, notching her eighth shutout of the year, which is tied for most in the country.
The Buckeyes have won all five meetings with the Bulldogs this season, only allowing two goals to Minnesota-Duluth in those games.
Last time Ohio State took the ice, they put forth their worst performance of the season, losing 6-3 to Wisconsin last Saturday in Minneapolis. The Badgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Jocelyn Amos pulled one back for the Buckeyes early in the second period.
The momentum from the Amos goal was short-lived, as Wisconsin would score four unanswered goals before Hannah Bilka netted two goals in the third period to make the final score look a little more respectable. Bilka now has a team-high 45 points on the season. The six goals Raygan Kirk gave up was the most the standout goaltender has allowed this season in a game.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25338706/usa_today_22550369.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
This marks the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance for the Buckeyes, with all seven trips to the NCAA Tournament coming under head coach Nadine Muzerall, who last week was named WCHA Coach of the Year for the fifth time. Along with Muzerall, Joy Dunne was named WCHA Freshman of the Year after she was the only freshman in the country with at least 20 goals this season. The 38 points Dunne has amassed throughout the season is four more than the next highest total from a freshman this season.
To reach today’s regional final, Minnesota-Duluth was pushed to the limit by UConn on Thursday night in Columbus. After 60 minutes of hockey neither the Bulldogs or Huskies were able to find the back of the net, sending the game to overtime.
Following the first overtime period that saw Minnesota-Duluth outshoot UConn 12-7, things got spicy in the middle of the second overtime period when it looked like the Huskies won the game when Claire Peterson scored, but the goal was challenged by Bulldogs head coach Maura Crowell, and the goal was overturned when it was determined UConn was offsides. Seven minutes later Minnesota-Duluth would secure a rematch with Ohio State when Mannon McMahon scored to end the game.
While McMahon scored the game-winning goal for the Bulldogs, the star of the game for Minnesota-Duluth was goaltender Eve Gascon, who became the first freshman goalie to start a NCAA Tournament game for the Bulldogs since 2010. Gascon not only finished the game with 33 saves, she earned her seventh shutout of the season, which is the third-most in a season in program history.
For the season, Minnesota-Duluth goalies have 13 shutouts, putting them one away from tying the single-season school record of 14 shutouts, which was set last season.
Now Ohio State will be looking to earn their sixth win of the season over Minnesota-Duluth. Entering today’s game, the Buckeyes have outscored the Bulldogs 16-2 in the previous five matchups, shutting out Minnesota-Duluth in each of the last four meetings.
These two programs are no stranger to squaring off in high-profile battles. Not only did the teams meet just a week ago in the 2024 WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal, they also did battle in the 2022 NCAA Championship Game, where Ohio State came out on top 3-2. Minnesota-Duluth holds a 32-74-9 lead all-time, but the Buckeyes have closed the gap recently, winning nine of the last ten meetings with the Bulldogs.
Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV: B1G+
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The Buckeyes battle Minnesota-Duluth today in Columbus with a trip to New Hampshire next week on the line.
After falling 6-3 to Wisconsin in the WCHA Final Faceoff Championship Game last Saturday, the Ohio State women’s ice hockey team is itching to get back on the ice. After finding out on Sunday they were the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, on Thursday night the Buckeyes found out they would be taking on a familiar foe in Saturday’s regional final.
Minnesota-Duluth was able to outlast UConn in double overtime. The winner of today’s game between the Buckeyes and Bulldogs will move on to next week’s Frozen Four in New Hampshire.
Ohio State and Minnesota-Duluth have already met five times this season, with the most recent meeting coming just over a week ago in the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal, where the Buckeyes coasted to a 5-0 victory.
Joy Dunne and Kiara Zanon scored goals just over midway through the first period, Emma Peschel and Makenna Webster added second period goals, and Olivia Mobley closed out the scoring with a goal in the third period. Raygan Kirk saved all 17 of Minnesota-Duluth’s shots, notching her eighth shutout of the year, which is tied for most in the country.
The Buckeyes have won all five meetings with the Bulldogs this season, only allowing two goals to Minnesota-Duluth in those games.
Last time Ohio State took the ice, they put forth their worst performance of the season, losing 6-3 to Wisconsin last Saturday in Minneapolis. The Badgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Jocelyn Amos pulled one back for the Buckeyes early in the second period.
The momentum from the Amos goal was short-lived, as Wisconsin would score four unanswered goals before Hannah Bilka netted two goals in the third period to make the final score look a little more respectable. Bilka now has a team-high 45 points on the season. The six goals Raygan Kirk gave up was the most the standout goaltender has allowed this season in a game.
This marks the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance for the Buckeyes, with all seven trips to the NCAA Tournament coming under head coach Nadine Muzerall, who last week was named WCHA Coach of the Year for the fifth time. Along with Muzerall, Joy Dunne was named WCHA Freshman of the Year after she was the only freshman in the country with at least 20 goals this season. The 38 points Dunne has amassed throughout the season is four more than the next highest total from a freshman this season.
To reach today’s regional final, Minnesota-Duluth was pushed to the limit by UConn on Thursday night in Columbus. After 60 minutes of hockey neither the Bulldogs or Huskies were able to find the back of the net, sending the game to overtime.
Following the first overtime period that saw Minnesota-Duluth outshoot UConn 12-7, things got spicy in the middle of the second overtime period when it looked like the Huskies won the game when Claire Peterson scored, but the goal was challenged by Bulldogs head coach Maura Crowell, and the goal was overturned when it was determined UConn was offsides. Seven minutes later Minnesota-Duluth would secure a rematch with Ohio State when Mannon McMahon scored to end the game.
While McMahon scored the game-winning goal for the Bulldogs, the star of the game for Minnesota-Duluth was goaltender Eve Gascon, who became the first freshman goalie to start a NCAA Tournament game for the Bulldogs since 2010. Gascon not only finished the game with 33 saves, she earned her seventh shutout of the season, which is the third-most in a season in program history.
For the season, Minnesota-Duluth goalies have 13 shutouts, putting them one away from tying the single-season school record of 14 shutouts, which was set last season.
Now Ohio State will be looking to earn their sixth win of the season over Minnesota-Duluth. Entering today’s game, the Buckeyes have outscored the Bulldogs 16-2 in the previous five matchups, shutting out Minnesota-Duluth in each of the last four meetings.
These two programs are no stranger to squaring off in high-profile battles. Not only did the teams meet just a week ago in the 2024 WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal, they also did battle in the 2022 NCAA Championship Game, where Ohio State came out on top 3-2. Minnesota-Duluth holds a 32-74-9 lead all-time, but the Buckeyes have closed the gap recently, winning nine of the last ten meetings with the Bulldogs.
Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV: B1G+
Continue reading...
