MEN’S HOCKEY LOOKS TO CLINCH B1G TITLE IN MICHIGAN, WOMEN TRY TO LOCK UP HOME ICE
Aubrey Nelson on February 22, 2019 at 3:45 pm
@deadlynuts
Twitter/@OhioStateMHKY
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In this week’s puck previews the Buckeye women close out their regular season in Wisconsin. The men are also on the road, squaring off with Michigan at Yost Ice Arena. Conference implications abound.
NO. 5/6 BUCKEYE MEN AT MICHIGAN
GAME INFO FRIDAY SATURDAY
Opening Faceoff 6:30 p.m. ET 6pm ET
Television FS1 BTN
Local Radio 1460 AM 1460 AM
Online Stream
Fox Sports Go ($) BTN2Go ($)
Ohio State had a chance to clinch the regular season Big Ten title last week, their first conference championship since 1971-72. Instead they suffered a sweep at the hands of the visiting Gophers. It was the first time they’ve been swept this season.
“I think our guys were just as disappointed as anyone else with the results,” said Steve Rohlik. “We play in a great league and play against really good hockey teams. We’ve got to be at our best on Friday. I think our guys responded with a good week of practice.”
TEAM STATS OHIO STATE MICHIGAN
Records 19-7-4, 12-5-3-2 B1G 12-12-6, 8-8-4-2 B1G
National Polls (PWR) No. 5 / No. 6 (No. 7) N/A (Tied No. 24)
Avg. Goals For / Against 3.17 / 2.17 3.10 / 3.10
Power Play / Penalty Kill 22.4% / 82.1% 15.9% / 78.4%
Points Leader Mason Jobst (35) Quinn Hughes (29)
Leading Goal Scorer Mason Jobst (16) Will Lockwood (14)
Top Goaltender Tommy Nappier (1.76/.939) Strauss Mann (2.80/.897)
The Bucks have another opportunity to seize the conference crown this week on their final road trip of the regular season. And, oh hey, look. They’re in Michigan. Next to the Schott, I’m guessing Yost would be a Buckeye fan’s favorite place to see OSU celebrate a championship.
It won’t be easy. The Wolverines are pretty good at home (6-4-4). They’ve only played at Yost three times since the midseason break. Maybe that’s part of the reason they’re only 6-5-2 in the second half. Of course, part of it is that co-leading goal scorer Josh Norris suffered a season-ending injury at the World Juniors. And it doesn’t help that Michigan’s power play is 1-for-its-last-26.
BIG TEN STANDINGS PTS REMAINING SERIES
No. 5/6 Ohio State 41 at MCH, vs MSU
Minnesota 33 vs ND, vs ASU
(nc)
No. 16 Notre Dame 31 at MIN, vs PSU
Michigan 30 vs OSU, at WIS
No. 19 Penn State 29 vs WIS, at ND
Michigan State 27 Bye, at OSU
Wisconsin 25 at PSU, vs MCH
But don’t let that mediocre record fool you. The Wolverines are dangerous. “They’ve got great team speed, noted Rohlik. “I thought they played more structured [in our last meeting] than they have in the past. They played very well defensively. They didn’t give you much on the rush against.”
The Wolverines have defeated every Big Ten team save Wisconsin at least once in the second half of the season. If they can manage to sweep Ohio State this week, they’ll not only prevent the Buckeyes from claiming the Big Ten title, they’ll remain in contention for the crown themselves.
Michigan trails OSU by 11 points with four B1G games remaining for each team. Notre Dame is 10 points back of the Buckeyes. With each conference win counting for three points, both the Wolverines and Irish have the potential to earn another 12. Ohio State only needs one win in its next four games to take the title.
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...jE3a2sKpCMWBR5NtPNNc_yUTa2qSC6elK_mlXrGK1uWVg