BUCKEYES / WOLVERINES HOCKEY PREVIEW
MICHIGAN (7-7-0, 3-5-0) 11th in the CCHA
OHIO STATE (6-9-1, 4-5-1-1) 8th in the CCHA
Friday, 12/4 7:05 pm Saturday, 12/5 8:05 pm
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Can be seen:
http://video.bigtennetwork.com/index
$2.99 a game on BTN Online (Both Nights).
Rivalry Renewed:
Michigan travels down to the belly of the beast this weekend to take on the Scarlet and Gray. Michigan leads the all time series with Ohio State, 64-29-11, including a 27-14-5 mark in Columbus. The Buckeyes, though, have played Michigan fairly even in the past five years, splitting most of the series between the two rivals. Matter of fact, Michigan is only 6-4 in the last ten meetings, including a 3-1 advantage in 2008-09.
Hail, Hail The Gang’s All Here:
The gang of experienced Buckeyes, that is. Ohio State’s roster is well balanced, but features 1 Senior and 13 Juniors. Sophomore forward Zac Dalpe is the top gun, surging to a 9-8-17 line on the year. Dalpe has a team leading three PP goals and is tops in the CCHA with a +10 rating. Line mates (Jr) Peter Boyd and (Jr) Sergio Somma follow suit, adding 4-9-13 and 5-6-11, respectfully. “The AAA line” as they are called because each are alternate Captains, have scored a combined 30 points in seven of the past eight games, only held scoreless in last week’s 2-1 OT win over Bemidji State. Junior John Albert has chipped in with 3-8-11 to also lead a secondary attack. The Blue line is headlined by the play of Jrs. Corey Toy, Chris Reed and Shane Sims.
The Buckeyes are backstopped by the tandem of Jr. Dustin Carlson, who has been snake-bit by the lack of offensive support in front of him so far this season. He has a 1-7-0 record, with a 2.93 GAA and a .908 Sv%. So. Cal Heeter has fared better, with a 5-2-1 record, a 2.80 GAA and a .907 Sv%.
Hang on Sloopy:
The Buckeye power play unit has not produced this season, as they hold a dismal 11% (9/83) conversion, including 1 for their last 18 attempts in the past four games. The Penalty Kill unit is an average 73% (62/85), but was a remarkable 7/8 last weekend against North Dakota (4-1 loss) and the aforementioned Bemidji State.
Ohio State has not backed off of an impressive early season schedule, being swept at home by top 10 Quinnipiac, out of the ECAC. The Bucks also split a series with top 5 Denver, and went out to the Subway Holiday Classic in Grand Forks to tangle with top 5 ranked North Dakota and BSU. Ohio State has also been swept in conference by surprising #17 Ferris State, and suffered a loss and a tie (albeit winning a shootout) at Notre Dame.
The Buckeyes have had a frustrating pattern of losing their first game of the weekend, going 1-7 so far, and then rebounding to a 5-2-1 second game record.
Wolverine Notes:
Michigan rebounded last weekend in the College Hockey Showcase, trouncing Minnesota before upsetting Wisconsin. They have won three straight and look to make up some ground in conference.
Michigan increased their goals per game average up to 2.9, which jumped them to 25th in the country. At the same time, they lowered their goals against average to 2.3, which is good for 10th in the country.
Carl Hagelin continues to lead the Wolverines in offense, now at 7-5-12 on the year. Freshman Chris Brown added an assist last weekend to increase his line to 6-5-11, tied with Matt Rust’s 5-6-11 . David Wohlberg is slowly waking up, now with a team leading 7 assists. Louie Caporusso, Steve Kampfer and Chad Langlais have all chipped in with 6 assists.
Michigan ’s PP continues to improve, moving up to a 16% rate for the season, converting 12/75 chances, 39th in the country.
Conversely, the team moved up to 3rd nationally in their PK, at 91% (71/78). That is a good thing considering the team still leads the CCHA in penalty minutes.
Last season, Michigan dominated the Buckeyes, dropping them twice at Yost and splitting a series in Columbus. The Bucks had to rally from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Wolverines, 3-2, in the conclusion of the series.
Duly Noted Contributions:
Bryan Hogan was named CCHA Goaltending of the week, and Steve Kampfer was named CCHA defensive player of the week for their efforts in last weekend’s sweep of their WCHA foes. Hogan earned his first shutout of the season, and Kampfer chipped in with three assists and some solid defensive work in front of his netminder.
This week’s keys to the match up:
1. Playing a rivalry game (MSU, OSU, Notre Dame etc.) is always successful if your team can balance the emotion and physicality with solid fundamentals. If Michigan can take their effort from the Wisconsin game and plug it in at Value City Arena, they will be satisfied with the results. No dumb penalties and retain the poise, boys.
2. Ohio State is another experienced team that aggressively fore checks and looks to pound the opponent in the offensive zone. Michigan will be well served to move the puck quickly and use their speed to attack the OSU defense. If they get bottled up in the defensive zone, Michigan will be worn down, much like Wisconsin attempted to do.
3. Get on the offense to take the crowd out early. The Buckeye fans are luke-warm when it comes to hockey, but somehow come out of the woodwork to fill Value City when the Wolverines are in town. Jump on this team and keep the crowd, and the emotion, out of the game.
4. Lock down on the Buckeye AAA line- they have shown that most of the Buckeye offense rests with that unit. Better yet, force them to play defense and take penalties. The less traffic and shots that Hogan has to face on the road, the better.
Prediction:
Friday -- Michigan 3 Ohio State 2
Saturday -- Ohio State 4 Michigan 2
Written by Yostmeister
Go Blue -- Wear Maize!
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