WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

[osualum86]

We are at the point in the season where there aren't any secrets here. Minnesota is Minnesota. Amanda Kessel has made a triumphant return and the Gophers just completed an impressive sweep of Wisconsin. As is normally the case, Minnesota is getting solid goaltending and defense as they held Wisconsin to 3 goals in last weekend's sweep. As some have noted on here, Minnesota can get scoring from all four of its lines. The Buckeyes got off to a rough start as the girls were getting used to tougher practices and new schemes, but the team has steadily improved as the season has gone on. Ohio State is coming off a split with North Dakota, winning 3-1 on Friday night, but dropping Saturday's game 3-2 after taking a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Win or lose, Ohio State will give it their all as I am sure the Gophers will give it their all as well. Good luck to both teams. Hopefully, fans will see some great hockey, and no injuries. Game times are 7:07 pm, 4:07 pm, and 2:07 pm CST.

[ARM]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

As some have noted on here, Minnesota can get scoring from all four of its lines.

Don't believe everything you read. If Minnesota is getting scoring from a fourth line this weekend, then the game has likely already been decided.

I'm anxious to see how much Ohio State has progressed over the last couple of months.

[KTDC]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

Don't believe everything you read. If Minnesota is getting scoring from a fourth line this weekend, then the game has likely already been decided.

I'm anxious to see how much Ohio State has progressed over the last couple of months.

The third line has been enhanced in a big way by the addition of Piazza. Really a shame to lose Reilly who was playing very well, but I think this line can still be very good with Skarzynski. I love the perpetual grinding of Piazza.
The second line has been enhanced in a big way by the addition of Cameranesi. Much more of a scoring threat again, and the change seems to have been good for Kate Schipper.
The first line is somewhere between really enhanced by the addition of Kessel and primed for improvement as she gets more acclimated to playing again and gets closer to real game shape.

The first round of the WCHA tourney has traditionally been amongst the low points of the year attendance-wise. The return of Kessel has goosed attendance. If we can do 1500+ per game that would be good.

I'm with osualum86, let's see some good hockey and no injuries!

[D2D]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

No one would argue that Minnesota isn't a big favorite this weekend. But I do think Ohio State is catching the Gophers at a good time, coming right after their very emotional series with Wisconsin. I don't think it will be enough of an issue to matter, but the possibility of a letdown is something that everyone (especially the team!) needs to be aware of. And as you so often hear, ending your opponent's season can be very difficult.

Series preview: http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w...022216aaa.html

[osualum86]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

Thanks for the posts, everyone! I can always count on Gopher fans to keep these threads going! Even though she is probably going to have a big weekend against us, I was really happy to read that Amanda Kessel was playing again. I wasn't sure if she would ever be able to play again.

[ARM]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

Even though she is probably going to have a big weekend against us, I was really happy to read that Amanda Kessel was playing again. I wasn't sure if she would ever be able to play again.

We feel the same about Jincy Dunne. Great players should be on on the ice.

[ne7minder]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

We feel the same about Jincy Dunne. Great players should be on on the ice.

Speaking of which, any word at all? I was looking forward to seeing her play.

[osualum86]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

Everyone, I don't really have any definitive information on Jincy, but we are all hopeful that she will be on the ice next season. ARM, thank you for the kind words on Jincy! We sure hope she is able get back on the ice. For those of you who have been to the OSU Ice Rink, you know how our team locker room is actually next door in St. John Arena and they have to walk across a breezeway in between the two buildings, then walk through a roped off area in the lobby before entering the ice surface. I have this little tradition where I stand there, clap, and fist bump all the girls when they come in. One game, Jincy walked through, in street clothes of course. I held out my hand to do the usual fist bump. Jincy said something along the lines of (don't remember her exact words) she hoped she would actually be able to do that in uniform someday. I could hear the hurt and frustration in her voice and my heart just sank for her. Thank you for the thoughts on Jincy, ARM and Ne7minder.

[BigFan]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

No reason to play this year, save a year of eligibility and come back next year hopefully. Ohio State will have a strong defence if that happens and jet needs to find some offence.

[osualum86]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

No reason to play this year, save a year of eligibility and come back next year hopefully. Ohio State will have a strong defence if that happens and jet needs to find some offence.

Once the second half of the season rolled around and Jincy still was not in the lineup, I thought the same thing ... no reason to put her out there ... get her a medical redshirt for this season and come back strong next season. We will have a lot of talented kids coming back next season. Should be interesting.

[ARM]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

... the Buckeyes were competitive against both the Gophers and Badgers after the break.

Moving this from the WCHA thread because my comments are specific to this series. I think that the Buckeyes at Gophers series happened so long ago that it isn't really that relevant at this point. The opening game of that series was Minnesota's first out of the break, Brandt and Kessel weren't in the lineup then, and Ohio State has had essentially two more months to get used to Jenny Potter and vice versa. Add in the intensity of playoff hockey and freshmen experiencing it for the first time, and who knows what direction this series will go. I guess we'll start to find out in a few hours.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

Relevant or not, Minnesota outscored Ohio State in four league games this year 30-5. Ohio State is the second most penalized team in women's D1 hockey and Minnesota is the least penalized team. Minnesota's power play finished the regular season at 47.19%. Ohio State's penalty kill was 78.4%. However, Minnesota's PP against Ohio State in the 4 league games was only 35% so maybe a little hope there.

It seems like the only thing that potentially makes this series a contested one is if Minnesota has a big letdown from last weekend and comes out "uninspired" (which has happened this year a couple of times.)

[KTDC]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

It seems like the only thing that potentially makes this series a contested one is if Minnesota has a big letdown from last weekend and comes out "uninspired" (which has happened this year a couple of times.)

Hopefully, the Gophers just get better and better over the next 4 weeks. It's now the postseason. Just 4 weeks to go (hopefully). They still have a little bit of "this is a new team" with the addition of Kessel and changes to the lines and Garzone's new position.

But yeah, a letdown after last week strikes me as possible as well.

[TonyTheTiger20]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

Ohio State is the second most penalized team in women's D1 hockey and Minnesota is the least penalized team. Minnesota's power play finished the regular season at 47.19%. Ohio State's penalty kill was 78.4%. However, Minnesota's PP against Ohio State in the 4 league games was only 35% so maybe a little hope there.

That's bizarre

[pgb-ohio]

Re: WCHA Playoffs Round 1: Ohio State @ Minnesota 2/26 - 2/28

Moving this from the WCHA thread because my comments are specific to this series.

No objection to the move. But since I rarely participate in predictions, it should be quickly mentioned that the original context of my comment was a pair of predictions by Timothy A of Wisconsin. My take was that I detected a world class case of sandbagging. But that angle is best left on the WCHA thread.

I think that the Buckeyes at Gophers series happened so long ago that it isn't really that relevant at this point. The opening game of that series was Minnesota's first out of the break, Brandt and Kessel weren't in the lineup then, and Ohio State has had essentially two more months to get used to Jenny Potter and vice versa. Add in the intensity of playoff hockey and freshmen experiencing it for the first time, and who knows what direction this series will go. I guess we'll start to find out in a few hours.

All of that is fair. But again, the original context of my comment needs to be taken into account. I was primarily rebutting any notion that the Gophers at Buckeyes series last October indicated a blowout was in the offing this weekend. Early January was a while back. Last October is quite a bit further back.

I expect that the Buckeyes will play with honor this weekend, and that the series will be competitive. No specific score predictions to offer. But my eyes are wide open; I understand that the Buckeyes are trying to pull a major upset. Which I also said on the other thread!