B1G Hockey Gets Going - MSU Offense Does Too

We are into the new year, and the non-conference games (for the most part) have been completed, now all six conference teams are going to be seeing a lot of each other between now and March. This weekend will be the first full weekend of Big Ten Hockey with all six teams in action.

Friday/Saturday

Michigan State at Ohio State  (Fri - BTN)
Michigan at Wisconsin  (Fri - BTN, Sat - FSW)

Sunday/Monday

Minnesota at Penn State (Mon - BTN)

Conference Standings

	GP	W	L	SOW	SOL	Points	Total Points Possible
Minnesota	4	3	0	0	1	10	59
Michigan	2	2	0	0	0	6	60
Wisconsin	4	2	2	0	0	6	53
Michigan State	2	0	1	1	0	2	56
Ohio State	2	0	2	0	0	0	54
Penn State	2	0	2	0	0	0	54

Each team only has a handful of non-Big Ten games remaining. Minnesota plays in the Minnesota Cup with St. Cloud State, Minnesota State, and Minnesota-Duluth. Michigan State only has an exhibition contest with the U-18 USA Development Team. Penn State has a single game with BC remaining. Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin are all done with their non-conference games.

The RPI

The conference will play a major hand in the NCAA tournament process. Here is where the Big Ten teams rank in the RPI (59 teams):

Minnesota - #1
Michigan - #9
Wisconsin - #14
Ohio State - #26
Michigan State - #45
Penn State - #50

Minnesota and Michigan are sitting in good position, and Wisconsin is right up there as well. Ohio State could certainly play their way up the rankings. To a lessor extent, Michigan State and Penn State would need to go on a pretty big run, but when you are playing nothing but top 30 RPI teams, you could move up quickly.

The current Pairwise ranking - which has changed a bit this year on the formula, but it will still be used in the selection process:

Minnesota - #1
Michigan - T-#9  (9th based on RPI)
Wisconsin - T-#13 (14th based on RPI)
Ohio State - #25
Michigan State - #45
Penn State - #50

So the conference is looking like they could get 3 teams into the tournament, but obviously there is still a lot of hockey left to be played.

GLI Recap

Michigan State entered the GLI looking to improve their 4th place finish from a season ago. Offense had been a struggle and for the first 40 minutes of the GLI, it continued to be a big issue. Michigan Tech held a 1-0 lead going into the final period, and the Huskies dominated most of the play as they out-shot MSU 27-11 in the first two periods.

Then the offense began to wake up. The Spartans doubled their shot total in the final frame with 12 in that period alone. Michigan State actually rallied to take a 2-1 lead in the game as Matt Berry and Ryan Keller put the Spartans ahead in the first 4:02 of the period. The lead was short lived though as Tech found their footing again, and Michigan Tech would eventually advance in a shoot-out. The game though went down as a tie. This was the second straight year MSU lost in the GLI semi-finals in a shoot-out.

For the second straight year the Spartans played Michigan in the 3rd place game. Michigan dominated the game a year ago, but this time around the Spartans controlled the play for pretty much the entire 60 minutes. Offense wasn't an issue, as MSU got 40 shots on goal - many of them of high quality. Steve Racine stood tall for UM, but it wasn't enough as the Spartans won 3-0. Hildebrand was strong in net as well earning the shutout. Matt Berry added an insurance marker in the 3rd period giving MSU a 2-0 lead.

The question becomes where does MSU go from here. Is this a springboard? MSU may have only gotten 3rd, but more importantly - they seemed to finally find a little more flow in the offensive end from just more than 1 line. They didn't lose on the weekend either. Plus the win against Michigan was the first for MSU away from Munn this season. Now can MSU win a true road game? MSU is 0-5 in true road games (1-5-1 away from Munn), and they only have 9 of those remaining (1 UM game is at Joe Louis Arena). Can they build upon this tournament this upcoming weekend at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes aren't exactly setting the world on fire - though they are coming off an impressive sweep of Mercyhurst (6-3, 7-2), and they have been very good at home this season (9-3-0). OSU is 0-2 in the Big Ten though after being swept by Michigan in a home and home about five weeks ago. Ohio State's schedule gets tougher too with back to back road trips to Minnesota and Wisconsin after this weekend, so they will be gunning for as many points as possible this weekend.

Ohio State swept the series last year winning both games in East Lansing (1-0, 3-1). The last time the teams met in Columbus, Michigan State actually swept the series. In fact going back to last year, the road team has won 5 in a row and 7 of the last 10 games.

Should be interesting to watch to see how the Spartans come out in the second half.

Ohio State Fires Coach Osiecki ....... Would they go after Gwozdecky?

Ever since Denver University somewhat surprised the college hockey world by letting George Gwozdecky go (all he did was win 2 national titles there and get DU back to being a national power), there has been a lot of speculation on what he might do next.

In an equally surprising move - Ohio State has let Coach Osiecki go

This is just thinking out loud - but could Ohio State be going after Gwozdecky next?

Coach Gwozdecky is 59 years old and has stated he's not done coaching yet.

I've always thought Ohio State was a sleeping giant in the college hockey world, only without the past. Ohio State has the resources to build a championship program, but they need to find the right guy to build it up, that can recruit - pulling in kids to Columbus.

Gwozdecky certainly has done that at Denver.

The timing certainly seems odd. It's not that Ohio State has dominated the CCHA or anything, but they have gone longer with other coaches before letting them go, and the results really haven't been much different. Is this a case of - they see a guy they feel they MUST have - and now they are going after him?

Could Columbus be his next stop?

Buckeyes Sweep Spartans 3-1

Another night, another loss.

Again, it's not for a lack of effort - the Spartans battled hard for 60 minutes. In fact, Michigan State did a better job of getting to the net, but Brady Hjelle played very well in net again tonight stopping 21 of 22 shots he faced.

The first period started out pretty well for Michigan State. The Spartans were attacking the net with some success, making Hjelle make a handful of tough saves. Chris Forfar then powered a shot between his legs to give Michigan State a 1-0 lead, and ending a scoring drought that lasted 160 minutes and 27 seconds. John Draeger and goaltender Jake Hildebrand got the assists on the play. The first period ended that way with Ohio State holding an 11-10 edge on shots.

The second period looked a little similar to yesterday, as Ohio State got stronger as the game progressed. Unlike last night though, the Buckeyes managed to solve Jake Hildebrand in the middle period. Both on plays to the front of the net, the first from Tanner Fritz 6:50 into the middle stanza, and then Tyler Lundey at the 18:55 mark. Ohio State took a 2-1 lead into the 2nd intermission, but Michigan State held the edge on shots 19-18. The Spartans did have a couple chances in the period, but either they missed the net or Hjelle was there.

The final period saw some chances at both ends - including a mini-break away for Michigan State that Hjelle once again stopped. Ohio State hit the post early on in the period, but then they took a couple late penalties that gave Michigan State a chance. The first came with about seven minutes to go in regulation, but the Spartan power play had some problems settling a bouncing puck down. Michigan State kept pressing though, and the pressure nearly paid off with just over one minute to go as a bouncing puck found its way behind Hjelle, but tipped off the post. Ohio State was then penalized for too many men on the ice, and Michigan State had a power play over the final 41 seconds.

Michigan State got some initial pressure on the two man advantage (6x4), but the puck was eventually stolen, and Tyler Lundey buried the empty net goal to put the game away and give Ohio State a 3-1 win in front of 6,115 fans.

Things don't get much easier for the Spartans either, as they travel down to South Bend for a pair of games next weekend - as Michigan State is now looking to end a four game winless streak.

Across the Country

A lot of games are in progress right now. Notre Dame  is destroying LSSU late in the 3rd period by a 6-1 score. Michigan and Ferris State are tied at 3 late in regulation. Western Michigan finished off its sweep of Northern Michigan with a 1-0 win. Alaska and Miami play later tonight.

Across the country - Boston College holds a 4-1 lead over BU. If that score holds, Jerry York will tie Ron Mason on the all-time career coaching wins list.

More to come tomorrow evening.

Friday Night Woes Continue: Buckeyes Blank Spartans 1-0

At times both Michigan State and Ohio State have struggled to find the net this season. Tonight was one of those nights where neither team could get much to the net - as both teams defended well in front of their own goals.

In fact, one of the few times either team got anyone to the net, it resulted in goals - or near goals. Ohio State thought they had a 1-0 lead in the second period, but replays confirmed the puck went off the post and crossbar - never crossing the goal line. The Spartans later on in the second period tallied what they thought was a goal good enough for a 1-0 lead, but that too was disallowed after replays showed goaltender interference.

That set the stage for the 3rd period when Ryan Dzingel crashed the net with 2:13 remaining to lift the Buckeyes to the 1-0 victory before over 6,400 at Munn Ice Arena. Michigan State actually played one of their better first periods of the season out-shooting the Buckeyes 14-8 in the opening frame, but the Buckeyes slowly gained control of the pace and eventually out-shot MSU 33-31 for the game. Neither team could convert on the power play as Ohio State went 0 for 3 and Michigan State went 0 for 1.

The officials might as well not have been on the ice over the final 10 minutes as they missed a handful of potential penalties. I swear Philo does this all the time. He missed a potential one on MSU, but all the officials missed a too many men on the ice penalty on Ohio State along with deciding to ignore Brady Hjelle's side kick interfering (and tripping) a streaking Spartan forward. But it's tough to lean on any CCHA official.

It wasn't for a lack of effort, but the Spartans need to try to get to the net more. Ohio State did a great job in front of Hjelle, but the Spartans didn't really challenge him much tonight. On the flip side, the Spartans defense did a nice job in front of Hildebrand, until the final couple minutes when Ohio State finally chipped one in. It was a solid road game by Ohio State - and a well earned three points.

Michigan State is now 1-5-1 on Friday nights this season. They've only scored nine goals in those seven games, and three came in one. Oddly enough, the three goal game was the win. The good news? MSU is 3-2-1 on Saturday (both losses on the road against top 5 teams - at Minnesota, at Miami)

The Spartans haven't scored a goal since November 16th at Miami (2-2 tie).  To be fair that's only two games - or to be exact - 146 minutes and 7 seconds (18:53 of the 2nd period in Miami, Jake Chelios).

The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 6 pm at Munn. The game can be heard on 1240 AM or seen on Comcast Channel 900.

Across the Country

 Boston University 4 Boston College 2. I only bring this up, because Jerry York could have tied Ron Mason for most career coaching victories. Obviously he'll get it at some point this season (possibly tomorrow).

Ferris State 5 Michigan 0. Ouch. That's a butt kicking in Big Rapids. Michigan continues to struggle.

Notre Dame 3 LSSU 2. The Lakers played tough in South Bend, but Notre Dame continues to roll in CCHA play.

Western Michigan 4 Northern Michigan 2. No surprise here as the Broncos hold home ice.

Miami at Alaska (result pending)

Know Thy Enemy: Ohio State University

The Michigan State Spartans are looking to get things rolling after a weekend off over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Spartans currently sit in 9th place in the CCHA with a 3-4-1 league and 4-6-2 overall mark. The 10 points is only 6 points behind first place Miami in a league that continues to be tight from top to bottom. Michigan State hosts Big 10 rival Ohio State this weekend at Munn Ice Arena.

The Buckeyes come into the weekend sitting in a tie for second place with 15 points (4-2-2-1 CCHA, 5-4-3 overall). Ohio State is on a bit of a roll going 4-2-2 in their last eight games. Last weekend, they split with LSSU winning 4-1 on Friday and dropping a 3-2 game on Saturday.

TV Notes

Both games are on TV this weekend. Friday's game is on the BTN at 8:05 pm. Saturday's game is at 6:05 pm on Comcast (Channel 900). Both games are on 1240 AM on your radio dial.

All-Time Series

The Spartans hold a slim 84-26-8 edge in the series. This includes a much slimmer 40-8-3 mark at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans won three of the four games last season, but the two teams actually split in East Lansing. Ohio State actually hasn't been swept in East Lansing since 2002. 

The teams actually have played six series in East Lansing since that 2002 sweep, and Ohio State is 7-4-1 in those (one of the series MSU won & tied the second game - so it wasn't a clean sweep).

After this season, you'll see the Buckeyes four times a year - twice in East Lansing, twice in C-Bus - yay! (Yes, I can't wait for B1G hockey).

Buckeyes Leading Scorers

Tanner Fritz      2 goals, 11 points
Ryan Dzingel   5 goals, 10 points
Max McCormick   4 goals, 8 points
Matt Johnson      4 goals, 5 points
Chris Crane       3 goals, 5 points

In Goal:

Brady Hjelle  3-2-2,  1.45 GAA, .950 save %
Collin Olson  2-2-1,  2.68 GAA, .914 save %

OSU Power Play:  10.5%  (6 for 57)
OSU Penalty Kill:  83.0%  (44 for 53)

Ohio State has scored and given up 25 goals this year (7-8, 8-8, 10-9). It doesn't get much more even than this. Ohio State is 4-1 when leading after 1. They are 1-3-3 when tied or losing after 1. By comparison MSU is 3-0 when leading after 1, and they are 1-6-2 when tied or losing after 1. MSU has tallied 30 goals and given up 35 (7-15, 9-11, 14-9).

Final Thoughts:

So, the rumor is Ohio State is actually bringing their entire student section to this series (approx. 75 students). I chuckled when I heard this, because I've gone to games in Columbus before, and it's tough to really see much of a student section in the giant basketball stadium they use for a hockey rink. 75 actually sounded about right. So beware Spartan fans - bring your shouting voice to shutdown the Buckeye travelers.

The end of the video includes Ohio State's Regional Win Over MSU at Yost sending them to the Frozen Four (yes, those are Michigan fans cheering for Ohio State)

Ohio State has always been the "little engine that couldn't" in the CCHA. The University obviously has the money to support the program. That "large basketball stadium of a hockey rink" actually is a nice arena to watch a game - the only bad part is that it's usually half filled (which still means about 6-7k in the stadium, though it feels very empty) unless Michigan or MSU roll into town (I imagine Miami might draw a good crowd too). Yet, they've never been able to find any consistency. A lot people refer (or used to) to Michigan State football as the 'sleeping giant' of the Big 10. Ohio State is a lot like that in the CCHA - only the history isn't quite as rich. They just have one Frozen Four appearance (Ohio State defeated Michigan State at Yost - if you ever wanted to see Michigan fans cheering for Ohio State - you just needed to be at Yost that day). They only have one conference championship (1971-72), two tournament titles (1972, 2004), and only six NCAA appearances (last in 2009). With that said, I've always thought the Buckeyes were a 'sleeping giant'. If they ever get it going - they could be one of the best programs in the country. Maybe the switch to the Big 10 conference will be the final boost they need.

Also, what a lot of people don't remember is Ohio State was actually in first place in the CCHA on January 1, 2012. They were 15-4-1. After back to back ties against Bowling Green that pushed their record to 15-4-3, the wheels not only fell off - but exploded. They finished the 2012 portion of their season 1-11-4 (which includes the two ties to BGSU). The lone win was February 11th at Western Michigan. Heck, they even lost all four shoot-outs they played in. This resulted in a first round loss at Notre Dame - and a team that was 15-4-1 failed to make the NCAA tournament.

Ouch.

But that was last year, and this season the young Buckeyes are looking to improve and make the tournament. They seem to be somewhat starting to put it together. They've played well lately (despite the set back last weekend). They are in second place in the CCHA, and they are gaining confidence through a difficult stretch of their schedule.

Bottom line: The Spartans need to come to play 60 minutes both nights. They will also need to come with the emotion that they had in the Michigan game. The crowd usually is larger when Ohio State is in town, because even the casual MSU fans know the "Ohio State" name. It'll be tough to top the last home crowd though, so the Spartans need to play with some fire from the get go.

This should be two hard hitting, tightly contest games.

CCHA First Round Game 1 Recaps

#10 Alaska at #7 LSSU

 Two of the more defensive teams in the CCHA tallied 7 goals on 69 shots as the Lakers edged the Nanooks 4-3 in the first game of their best of 3 series. Alaska jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal from former Spartan Adam Henderson just 4:55 into the game. LSSU tallied the next three goals in the game, including two in the final three minutes of the first period, and one in the first five minutes of the second period.

Alaska did manage to make it a 3-2 game just 14 seconds into the 3rd period, but Kellan Lain responded just 46 seconds later to put LSSU up for 4-2. Alaska would add a late power play marker to get us to a 4-3 final. The Nanooks out-shot LSSU 39-30 for the game, and both teams went 1 for 4 on the power play.

Game 2 is tomorrow night in the Soo.

#11 Bowling Green at #6 Northern Michigan

It took Bowling Green just 53 seconds to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the Wildcats, but Northern fought hard scoring a pair of third period goals to break a 2-2 tie and pull out the 4-2 victory. Bowling Green beat Northern last season in the best of three series. Northern won game one last year as well.

Bowling Green was trailing 2-1 in the second period before Adam Berkle tied it up. Andrew Cherniwchan broke the 2-2 tie just 1:27 into the 3rd period with a power play goal. Tyler Gron added the insurance marker with just over 8 minutes to go. BGSU out-shot Northern 33-26 for the game. Bowling Green was 0 for 3 with the extra man, and Northern was 1 for 2.

Game 2 is in Marquette tomorrow night.

#9 Ohio State at #8 Notre Dame

 Steven Summerhays made 33 saves to earn the shutout as Notre Dame beat Ohio State 2-0. Billy Maday scored both goals for the Irish, the first 9:08 into the game, and the second one just 2:50 into the second period. Ohio State out-shot Notre Dame 33-30 for the game. OSU was 0 for 5 on the power play and ND finished one for four.

Game 2 is in South Bend tomorrow night.

So what did we learn?

Well, getting out-shot seems to be the best recipe for winning. Though it usually stands the team with more shots means more opportunities, unless the quality shots just aren't there. The only margin that was somewhat shocking was Alaska with 39. The Nanooks aren't known for their offense, but they looked like they were throwing a lot of rubber on net.

Michigan State also moved up the PairWise into a tie for 10th place (up from a tie for 11th). Go byes!

Thoughts on the CCHA Weekend Ahead

After our short mid-week hiatus, we are here to talk about playoffs.

Yes coach, we are here to talk about playoffs. Though the Colts won't be in it. Specifically, we are talking about the Mason Cup.

 The Chase For The Mason Cup Begins March 2nd

 
The CCHA playoffs get started this weekend with three first round series, and although Michigan State is off this weekend (and we already know who the Spartans will play), three more quarterfinal spots are up for grabs in the best of three series this weekend.

This could be one of the most interesting CCHA tournaments ever since any one of these teams could make a run given how close the league standings have been all season long. 

Here is a look at each of the series this weekend:


#11 Bowling Green (10-21-5) at #6 Northern Michigan (16-12-6)

Bowling Green travels up to Marquette for a first round series for the second straight year. Last season, no one really gave Bowling Green a chance. Things went worse from there as Northern dominated the opening game of the series 6-3. However, they fought back to tie the series and ending up shocking the Wildcats in game three in a double OT thriller.

The two teams played just three weekends ago, and Northern swept the series 4-2, 2-0 in Bowling Green.

Northern Offense:   2.88 Goals/Game  (4th CCHA)
Bowling Green Offense:   1.67 Goals/Game  (11th CCHA)

Northern Defense:   2.68 Goals/Game (9th CCHA)
Bowling Green Defense:  2.83 Goals/Game (11th CCHA)

Northern Power Play:  19.5%  (24 for 123, 2nd CCHA)
Bowling Green Power Play  9.4 %   (15 for 159, 11th CCHA)


Northern Penalty Kill:  85.3 %  (133 for 156, 3rd CCHA)
Bowling Green Penalty Kill:  83.3 %  (145 for 174, 9th CCHA)

Thoughts:  Even though the Falcons have been playing better hockey, it is tough to see them winning two out of three again this year. I have to believe the playoff series last year will be in the back of the minds of all the Wildcats. With that said, the Falcons are going to be able to have some measure of confidence knowing they have done this once before.

My Pick:  Northern Michigan in Two.


#10 Alaska (12-18-4) at #7 LSSU  (16-15-5)

Alaska faces the task of coming back down to the lower 48 where they have only won three games this season (two of which were in Bowling Green). The teams split the season series (1-1) in Fairbanks. Alaska took the opening game 4-2, but they lost the second game 3-2. This series also took place just three weekends ago.

LSSU Offense:    2.56 Goals/Game  (9th CCHA)
Alaska Offense:  2.38 Goals/Game  (10th CCHA)


LSSU Defense:   2.67 Goals/Game (8th CCHA)
Alaska Defense:  2.59 Goals/Game (6th CCHA)

LSSU Power Play:   20.1 %  (27 for 134, 1st CCHA)
Alaska Power Play:  16.0 %  (25 for 156, 9th CCHA)


LSSU Penalty Kill:  83.8 %  (109 for 130, 7th CCHA)
Alaska Penalty Kill:  81.0 %  (119 for 147, 11th CCHA)

Thoughts:  On paper, this is probably the most even first round series. This series is very important for LSSU as they sit in 20th in the Pairwise (which means the Lakers will need a long CCHA tournament run to get them into the NCAA tournament). The numbers are fairly even until we start to talk about special teams. Obviously matching up the worst PK with the best power play will figure to favor the Lakers. With the lower scoring offenses this figures to be first to two wins (either that or one game will probably be 9-8).


My Pick:  LSSU in Three

#9 Ohio State (15-13-5) at #8 Notre Dame (17-16-3)

To be honest, I didn't think this would be a first round series for a couple of reasons. Notre Dame came in with very high expectations, but they struggled to find consistency.  With that said, the Irish have beaten just about everyone they faced which simply led to a lot of splits. On the flip side, Ohio State was in first place in the CCHA when 2012 started. But they finished 1-9-4 in their last 14 games after that impressive 14-4-1 start. That lone win though was at Western Michigan. Ohio State and Notre Dame split this season in South Bend. That series occured all the way back in October with Notre Dame winning the opening game 5-2 and dropping the second one 4-3.

Notre Dame Offense:  2.64 Goals/Game (8th CCHA)
Ohio State Offense:  2.70 Goals/Game (6th CCHA)


Notre Dame Defense:  2.78 Goals/Game (10th CCHA)
Ohio State Defense:  2.61 Goals/Game  (7th CCHA)

Notre Dame Power Play:    19.0% (33 for 174, 4th CCHA)
Ohio State Power Play:      18.1%  (30 for 166, 6th CCHA)


Notre Dame Penalty Kill:   81.5%  (110 for 135, 10th CCHA)
Ohio State Penalty Kill:    83.4 %  (126 for 151, 8th CCHA)

Thoughts: With the tail spin that the Buckeyes have been in, you can pretty much count on everyone picking Notre Dame in this series. Despite that 1-9-4 streak, Ohio State still finds themselves in the NCAA picture coming in 18th (tied) in the current Pairwise rankings. Notre Dame is the team that they are tied with, so the winner of this series could find themselves back in the hunt for a NCAA at-large bid (though the winner of this series probably will need to win next week as well). Everyone is waiting for Notre Dame to turn the light switch on with the amount of talent they have on their roster, and a short series could be the jump start they need. This time I'm going to agree with the majority, but I think Ohio State will make the Irish work for it....

My Pick: Notre Dame in Three.

This figures to be a great CCHA playoff season as the conference was tight from start to finish. So it wouldn't be too shocking to see a few series this weekend and next go the distance. Though, now that I've said that, here come the sweeps......

Krug Honored Yet Again

Torey Krug was named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month for February. A nice feather in his cap, as he makes his claim for the CCHA player of the year.