Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

[osualum86]

Ohio State welcomes Wisconsin to Columbus this weekend for Senior Weekend. The Buckeyes snapped a four-game winless streak with a sweep vs Minnesota State this past weekend. The Bucks are currently fifth in the WCHA Standings with 37 points. Wisconsin comes into the weekend with 55 points, good for second place in the WCHA behind first place Minnesota with 60 points. As has been discussed, the top two positions and bottom two positions are basically locked up, other than Wisconsin possibly overtaking Minnesota (mathematically, they still have a shot). Where the conference race gets interesting is in positions 3 thru 6 where seven points separate those teams. UMD checks in at 3rd with 42, North Dakota is 4th with 41, Ohio State is 5th with 37, and Bemidji is 6th with 35 points. The point here is that every game is important. Ohio State needs to somehow get points this weekend to keep up with UND and UMD, as well as stay ahead of Bemidji. Earlier this season, Ohio State was swept in Madison by scores of 6-0 and 3-0. Good luck to both teams and safe travels to any Wisconsin fans making the trip down.

[robertearle]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Ohio State welcomes Wisconsin to Columbus this weekend for Senior Weekend. The Buckeyes snapped a four-game winless streak with a sweep vs Minnesota State this past weekend. The Bucks are currently fifth in the WCHA Standings with 37 points. Wisconsin comes into the weekend with 55 points, good for second place in the WCHA behind first place Minnesota with 60 points. As has been discussed, the top two positions and bottom two positions are basically locked up, other than Wisconsin possibly overtaking Minnesota (mathematically, they still have a shot). Where the conference race gets interesting is in positions 3 thru 6 where seven points separate those teams. UMD checks in at 3rd with 42, North Dakota is 4th with 41, Ohio State is 5th with 37, and Bemidji is 6th with 35 points. The point here is that every game is important. Ohio State needs to somehow get points this weekend to keep up with UND and UMD, as well as stay ahead of Bemidji. Earlier this season, Ohio State was swept in Madison by scores of 6-0 and 3-0. Good luck to both teams and safe travels to any Wisconsin fans making the trip down.

Badger men's team also traveling to Ohio this weekend. Doing a 'double-header' is possible on Saturday (3 PM CST women and 6 PM CST men), but not Friday, when the pucks drop at 5 and 5:30 CST.

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Badger men's team also traveling to Ohio this weekend. Doing a 'double-header' is possible on Saturday (3 PM CST women and 6 PM CST men), but not Friday, when the pucks drop at 5 and 5:30 CST.

Absolutely. Mrs 86 and I are going to do the double-header thing Saturday.

[ARM]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Mrs 86 and I are going to do the double-header thing Saturday.

The more interesting question is which are you attending on Friday?

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

The more interesting question is which are you attending on Friday?

Going to the women's game on Friday night!

[Timothy A]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Going to the women's game on Friday night!

I'd do the men's game. UW is a trainwreck on the men's side, I think it will be a more entertaining game. The gal's game will undoubtedly be a tighter defensive game. Hopefully UW's newly assembled top line and the redesigned pp stay hot.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Going to the women's game on Friday night!

I'd do the men's game. UW is a trainwreck on the men's side, I think it will be a more entertaining game. The gal's game will undoubtedly be a tighter defensive game. Hopefully UW's newly assembled top line and the redesigned pp stay hot.

Might be the last weekend of the season to see the OSU Women's team at home. And with a little bit of light jogging, it might be possible to catch the end of the Men's game after the festivities at the Ice Rink have concluded.

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

I'd do the men's game. UW is a trainwreck on the men's side, I think it will be a more entertaining game. The gal's game will undoubtedly be a tighter defensive game. Hopefully UW's newly assembled top line and the redesigned pp stay hot.

Timothy, your point is certainly well-taken, but as Pgb alluded to, this could be the last two home games for our women's team. I am not going to disagree with you on your men's team being a trainwreck, but OSU isn't exactly lighting it up this season either. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this weekend's men's games produced a split. We are not playing good enough hockey on the men's side to sweep anyone. I agree with you that the women's games will be tight defensively. Are you coming down?

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Wisconsin takes game one tonight by a final score of 2-0. Both goalies were staunch tonight. Ann-Renee Desbiens got the shutout for Wisconsin, stopping all 24 shots she faced. On the other side, Kassidy Sauve kept the Buckeyes in the game by stopping 22 of 24 shots. Blayre Turnbull scored both Wisconsin goals, one on a power play. The two teams are back at it tomorrow for Senior Day. Puck drops at 4:07. I encountered a gentleman who came to the OSU Ice Rink looking for the men's game. I hope he made it over to the Schott for that one! Kudos to Wisconsin's penalty kill, which was 4-4 tonight. On the other side of that coin, Wisconsin converted one of their three power plays.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Tonight's game wasn't angry, but it certainly was defensive. Further details are available in the Three Stars, over on the WCHA thread.

Saturday Stars: Might as well mention this right up front: The Saturday Stars will be delayed a bit. For one thing, I'm doing the hockey double-header tomorrow and expect to be a bit tired when getting home. But more importantly, I usually take a little extra time on the Senior Night write-up. We're talking Sunday or Monday, nothing extreme. Here's to hoping that it will be worth the wait.

[Timothy A]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Timothy, your point is certainly well-taken, but as Pgb alluded to, this could be the last two home games for our women's team. I am not going to disagree with you on your men's team being a trainwreck, but OSU isn't exactly lighting it up this season either. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this weekend's men's games produced a split. We are not playing good enough hockey on the men's side to sweep anyone. I agree with you that the women's games will be tight defensively. Are you coming down?

No, a trip to Columbus won't be in the plans, it's just too far away. I'd like to get to Mankato, Duluth or Minneapolis for a series if it's Saturday/Sunday.

I'm a little bummed by UW's lack of shots. That has to be one of the lowest of the year. We'll take the win, though.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

No, a trip to Columbus won't be in the plans, it's just too far away...

I define a day's drive as 10 hours or less. I'd usually budget for 9 hours for a drive to Madison. As you're NE of Madison, maybe the same 9 hours would apply.

To me, that's a reasonable four day, three night, weekend. One day for driving at each end of the trip, game days in the middle. I suppose it's time off work and/or lodging cost that's really the issue.

I'm a little bummed by UW's lack of shots. That has to be one of the lowest of the year. We'll take the win, though.

As indicated on the WCHA thread, it was a night when neither defense took a shift off. Your team found a way to win a road game against a genuinely stubborn defense. What's not to like?

[Puckdrop14]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

I would not get too concerned with the perceived low shot count. Although difficult to see shots cleanly online at times, it really looked like both teams were short changed with their SOG's!

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

Always a fair question to ask.

Still, it does need to be kept in mind that when a shot misses by inches, or even hits the post, it isn't a SOG. It is an attempt, but that's a separate stat. Conversely, a weak shot on target gets rung up as a SOG, even if the only realistic chance of scoring was an empty net. Last and perhaps most importantly, a Goalie can make a nice play on the puck, even freezing it, but if the puck was headed wide it's only an attempt.

Given all of that, the SOG stat is an indirect measure of offensive pressure -- at best. But I still say it was a decent indicator in last night's contest. The defenses were pretty suffocating, especially UW's.

[CrazyDave]

Re: Ohio State vs Wisconsin 2/13 - 2/14

I have two words for the Buckeyes: Thank you.