Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

I literally didn't know the Senior Brunch had become the Senior Banquet, much less that it was scheduled for Thursday! So no, I won't be there.

Back in the day, both OSU programs had year end Banquets, usually on a Saturday. The public was very much invited to those. My sense was that it when became the Senior Brunch, the event was really just for the players & their families. Maybe Coach Nadine has found the happy medium on this. If so, good for her.

We'll connect eventually... don't mean to be unfriendly... but also, don't underestimate the value of a Poster Pal.

Yeah, the wife and I went to a couple of the men's banquets back in the day when anyone could go. With the women, we had never been to the banquets when they were open to the public (I wasn't aware that there were ever open to the public), and as you said, in recent years under the past couple of coaches, the senior brunch/banquet had become an event that was strictly for the girls and their parents. Last season was actually our first one and it was on the Sunday after Senior Weekend. This year's is on Thursday before Senior Weekend and is in the evening.

As for not connecting, I know you are not being unfriendly, and I am fine being "Poster Pals"!

 

[Eeyore]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Yeah, the wife and I went to a couple of the men's banquets back in the day when anyone could go. With the women, we had never been to the banquets when they were open to the public (I wasn't aware that there were ever open to the public), and as you said, in recent years under the past couple of coaches, the senior brunch/banquet had become an event that was strictly for the girls and their parents. Last season was actually our first one and it was on the Sunday after Senior Weekend. This year's is on Thursday before Senior Weekend and is in the evening.

That has been the typical timing of the Minnesota banquet (until this year), which has always been open to the public, through the auspices of the booster club. So, Muzerall may have simply imported the tradition.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Glad she did. It is nice to interact with the team and coaches away from the ice where there is more time to talk.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

That has been the typical timing of the Minnesota banquet (until this year), which has always been open to the public, through the auspices of the booster club. So, Muzerall may have simply imported the tradition.

Could be. But it's also part of a larger trend at OSU, and perhaps at other schools as well.

Both OSU Hockey Programs recruit far and wide. Expecting the families to travel great distances, solely for the Banquet, was seen as imposing a needless burden. The traditional Banquets were generally held in the Spring, around the time of the Kentucky Derby. On the Men's side, the move away from the traditional dates came during Coach Markel's years. On the Women's side, Coach Handrahan initiated the change shortly thereafter.

As for specific dates, there was some experimentation, especially on the Men's side. But the trend is definitely to go earlier, while the season is still on. The specific choice of Senior Weekend could be Coach Muzzerall's doing.

Moving back to a more open, more inclusive event? My guess is that's definitely Muzzerall's doing.

Glad she did. It is nice to interact with the team and coaches away from the ice where there is more time to talk.

Yes, it certainly sounds like Coach Muzzerall is making improvements in this regard. And her innovation of a Thursday night Banquet may be the best idea of all. Sunday seems a little anti-climatic, especially since some participants would travel immediately afterwards. But having the event on a Thursday evening seems like a great way to create some positive energy & launch the weekend. Have fun!

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Yes, it certainly sounds like Coach Muzzerall is making improvements in this regard. And her innovation of a Thursday night Banquet may be the best idea of all. Sunday seems a little anti-climatic, especially since some participants would travel immediately afterwards. But having the event on a Thursday evening seems like a great way to create some positive energy & launch the weekend. Have fun!

We are definitely happy to be going. Before last year, it was either not open to the public or we were not invited (LOL, probably the latter). We are really looking forward to being there to honor the seniors, and honestly, this entire team. Regardless of how this season plays out, it has been a magical season for us fans, and it's all because of the great young women we have, our coaching staff, and the parents.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Ohio State takes game one tonight by a final score of 4-0. Tatum Skaggs lit the lamp with :31 to go in the first period and the Buckeyes never looked back. With the win, the Buckeyes clinch second place in the WCHA and will host Minnesota State in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs. Two Buckeyes scored all four goals. Skaggs would add another goal in the second period, then Julianna Iafallo added two goals in the third period, the latter being an empty netter to make the final score 4-0. Bemidji outshot the Buckeyes 38-23 tonight, likely due at least in part to the penalty discrepancy. Ohio State was whistled for three penalties and only one penalty was called on Bemidji the entire game, which was curious considering Bemidji's physical brand of hockey. Ohio State netminder Kassidy Sauve stopped all 38 shots she faced to get the win. Bemidji goaltender Lauren Bench stopped 19 of the 22 shots she faced with the 23rd shot being an empty netter for the Buckeyes. The two teams are back at it tomorrow at 3:07 with Senior Day festivities being held prior to puck drop. Before I put the wraps on this post, I need to mention the records that were broken tonight ... most wins in a season by the Buckeyes (21), and most WCHA wins in a season (14). Kassidy Sauve also broke a couple of records tonight ... most saves in a career (don't have the final number, but she passed Chelsea Knapp's 2,421 saves), and most shutouts in a season (9). Congratulations to this entire team on a record-setting night!

 

[ne7minder]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Ohio State takes game one tonight by a final score of 4-0. Tatum Skaggs lit the lamp with :31 to go in the first period and the Buckeyes never looked back. With the win, the Buckeyes clinch second place in the WCHA and will host Minnesota State in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs. Two Buckeyes scored all four goals. Skaggs would add another goal in the second period, then Julianna Iafallo added two goals in the third period, the latter being an empty netter to make the final score 4-0. Bemidji outshot the Buckeyes 38-23 tonight, likely due at least in part to the penalty discrepancy. Ohio State was whistled for three penalties and only one penalty was called on Bemidji the entire game, which was curious considering Bemidji's physical brand of hockey. Ohio State netminder Kassidy Sauve stopped all 38 shots she faced to get the win. Bemidji goaltender Lauren Bench stopped 19 of the 22 shots she faced with the 23rd shot being an empty netter for the Buckeyes. The two teams are back at it tomorrow at 3:07 with Senior Day festivities being held prior to puck drop. Before I put the wraps on this post, I need to mention the records that were broken tonight ... most wins in a season by the Buckeyes (21), and most WCHA wins in a season (14). Kassidy Sauve also broke a couple of records tonight ... most saves in a career (don't have the final number, but she passed Chelsea Knapp's 2,421 saves), and most shutouts in a season (9). Congratulations to this entire team on a record-setting night!

We went down to Mankato to watch last Saturdays game & I have to say that first round is not going to be a gimme if MSU plays the way they did then. Same for the other two opening weekends, the WCHA has tightened this year so there should be some tense games.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Bemidji outshot the Buckeyes 38-23 tonight, likely due at least in part to the penalty discrepancy. Ohio State was whistled for three penalties and only one penalty was called on Bemidji the entire game...

I'm going to respectfully dissent on this one. Of Bemidji's 38 shots, only 4 came on the power play. The Beavers did a good job getting the puck to the net 5x5. Further, penalty calls stood at 1 apiece until only 6:31 remained in the game. At that point, all that remained was the Buckeye empty-netter. This game was settled 5x5. Thumbs up to the rest of your post though!

For the rest of my take, see the 3 Stars post over on the WCHA thread.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

I'm going to respectfully dissent on this one. Of Bemidji's 38 shots, only 4 came on the power play. The Beavers did a good job getting the puck to the net 5x5. Further, penalty calls stood at 1 apiece until only 6:31 remained in the game. At that point, all that remained was the Buckeye empty-netter. This game was settled 5x5. Thumbs up to the rest of your post though!

For the rest of my take, see the 3 Stars post over on the WCHA thread.

Thanks for the correction. I had not realized that Bemidji only had four shots on goal on those three power plays. That's great D by the Buckeye penalty-killers. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, today, Bemidji came out and was able to pull off the upset. The first period was a 0-0 stalemate. The second period, both teams scored a goal and the game went into the third period tied at 1-1. Bemidji got a power play goal in the third period and that turned out to be the difference as the Buckeyes could not get the equalizer despite outshooting the Beavers 15-6 (29-27 for the game). Coach Nadine was disappointed that we didn't step it up until we were behind ... "We showed some fire and intensity in the third, but going forward we need to show that before our hand is forced.” Maddy Field scored the Ohio State goal. The Bemidji goals were scored by Alexis Joyce and Jacqueline Kaasa. Buckeye goaltender Kassidy Sauve stopped 25 of the 27 shots she faced and Bemidji netminder Kerigan Dowhy stopped the 28 of the 29 shots she faced. Ohio State will welcome in Minnesota State next weekend in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs. As Ne7minder alluded to, this series is not a gimme for the Buckeyes. They need to know that and approach this series accordingly. None of these series are gimmes for any of the host teams. Minnesota will have their hands full with a rested St. Cloud team and their goaltending, and Bemidji will give Minnesota-Duluth all they can handle. It is going to be an interesting WCHA Tournament.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Latest 3 Stars Post is complete. For my take on Saturday's game, see the WCHA thread.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Latest 3 Stars Post is complete. For my take on Saturday's game, see the WCHA thread.

Honestly, I think all the Senior Day stuff should be done after the game, not before. Get out there, take care of business first, then celebrate the Seniors after the game.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Honestly, I think all the Senior Day stuff should be done after the game, not before. Get out there, take care of business first, then celebrate the Seniors after the game.

It's a good thought, and you might just be right.

But there's really no perfect way to set things up. Have it afterwards and a good percentage of the crowd will leave. Some for good reasons; others not so much. But losing a third to half the crowd would be inevitable, IMHO.

Another factor is that if the game goes poorly, it casts a pall over the celebration. Now Saturday night probably would have been OK. It was very competitive game; the Buckeyes came up just short. But suppose the home team loses 5-1. Is anybody going to want to celebrate the Senior Class, on the ice, after a blowout loss?

All that said, having it right before the game is a distraction, no doubt about it. Hence your point.

And yet... I actually thought that having the players go back to the locker room after the ceremony was a pretty savvy idea; a good way to lessen the distraction ...

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

It's a good thought, and you might just be right.

But there's really no perfect way to set things up. Have it afterwards and a good percentage of the crowd will leave. Some for good reasons; others not so much. But losing a third to half the crowd would be inevitable, IMHO.

Another factor is that if the game goes poorly, it casts a pall over the celebration. Now Saturday night probably would have been OK. It was very competitive game; the Buckeyes came up just short. But suppose the home team loses 5-1. Is anybody going to want to celebrate the Senior Class, on the ice, after a blowout loss?

All that said, having it right before the game is a distraction, no doubt about it. Hence your point.

And yet... I actually thought that having the players go back to the locker room after the ceremony was a pretty savvy idea; a good way to lessen the distraction ...

I guess it doesn't really matter when it's held. You have some valid reasons for doing it before the game or after the game. I just think it gets the team all emotional, then they have trouble focusing on the task at hand. I would tend to agree with your statement about it being a distraction as we did not look focused yesterday, at least not until the third period when we found ourselves down 2-1. Maybe the bigger factors with us not playing our best yesterday were the records being set in the big win Friday, along with clinching second place Friday. We didn't have as much to play for yesterday and didn't look as motivated as we were Friday night. I just want to know what St. Anselm is doing ahead of us in the pairwise. They play a D3 schedule. I don't see wins against Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Robert Morris on their schedule so I am curious as to how they are head of us in the women's pairwise. Maybe someone hacked the pairwise standings and is trying to play a joke on everyone. Who knows?

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

I guess it doesn't really matter when it's held. You have some valid reasons for doing it before the game or after the game. I just think it gets the team all emotional, then they have trouble focusing on the task at hand. I would tend to agree with your statement about it being a distraction as we did not look focused yesterday, at least not until the third period when we found ourselves down 2-1.

Agreed on all counts. The issue is clear; the problem is finding a solution.

BTW, how was the Senior Dinner? Hoping to hear that it was 100% positive!

Maybe the bigger factors with us not playing our best yesterday were the records being set in the big win Friday, along with clinching second place Friday. We didn't have as much to play for yesterday and didn't look as motivated as we were Friday night.

That's true too.

I just want to know what St. Anselm is doing ahead of us in the pairwise. They play a D3 schedule. I don't see wins against Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Robert Morris on their schedule so I am curious as to how they are head of us in the women's pairwise. Maybe someone hacked the pairwise standings and is trying to play a joke on everyone. Who knows?

My understanding is that they are technically are a D-1 Indpendent, and therefore must be included in the calculations. However I also believe that they are NOT eligible for the D-1 Tournament under their current status. But if they aren't eligible, why must they be displayed in the published Pairwise rankings? For that last question, we need help from the Pairwise guys.

 

[robertearle]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

But if they aren't eligible, why must they be displayed in the published Pairwise rankings? For that last question, we need help from the Pairwise guys.

Well, for one thing, if they weren't listed, one would have trouble figuring out the "Quality Win Bonus" numbers correctly, which in turn affects the overall RPI and then Pairwise. Remember, the QWB is a win (or half-win = tie) over one of the top twelve teams, with the bonus value counted down from 0.060, to 0.055, 0.050 etc. If one isn't seeing St Anselm at #5, they would mis-count that countdown, and want to give a too-big bonus for wins over Cornell, OSU, etc etc.

(Notice also that St Anselm themselves have a non-zero QWB. Who the heck did they beat to earn a QWB? Why #12 Holy Cross, of course! And Holy Cross has a QWB for beating St Anselm.)

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Agreed on all counts. The issue is clear; the problem is finding a solution.

BTW, how was the Senior Dinner? Hoping to hear that it was 100% positive!


That's true too.

My understanding is that they are technically are a D-1 Independent, and therefore must be included in the calculations. However I also believe that they are NOT eligible for the D-1 Tournament under their current status. But if they aren't eligible, why must they be displayed in the published Pairwise rankings? For that last question, we need help from the Pairwise guys.

Yeah, no one has really been able to find a solution to our inconsistency issues this season. I was commenting on the pairwise earlier and I guess St. Anselm being in there is legitimate, but I agree with you, I don't think they will be making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. I bring up the pairwise because if we had won some of these games we should have won, we would likely be in the top four as opposed to the bottom four. Fortunately for us, we came out this season and won 3 of 4 vs RMU, we went 3-0-1 vs Minnesota, and we took two games vs #1 Wisconsin. The downside is we lost games to a bunch of .500 teams that we should have beaten. I hope, moving forward, that we treat every game like we are playing Wisconsin or Minnesota.

The Senior Banquet Thursday was wonderful. Lots of emotional moments and it was great to spend time with the girls and the parents who made it in for Senior Weekend. I have come to the conclusion that we have great young ladies because we have great parents!

As for the pairwise, thanks to Robertearle for the explanation!

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

The reports of Ohio State's demise have been greatly exaggerated. I am kidding on that as I don't think anyone has actually reported "Ohio State's demise." It's a new season, a reset, as Coach Muzerall characterized it in an interview in recent days and if tonight's performance was any indication, Ohio State will be a tough out for anyone they play from here on out as they dominated tonight's game vs Minnesota State by a final score of 6-0. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. Credit Minnesota State for making a brief push in the second period and not quitting, but other than that, this game was all Buckeyes. Buckeye goalie Amanda Zeglen, playing in place of injured Kassidy Sauve, stopped all 21 shots she faced and made some brilliant saves. The Buckeyes outshot the Mavericks 27-21. Chloe Crosby started in net for the Mavericks and stopped 16 of the 22 shots she faced. She was relieved by Katie Bidulka in the third period and Bidulka stopped the 5 shots she faced. The Buckeyes owned the first period with 3 goals and a 14-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Mavericks came out in the second period and outshot Ohio State 14-5. The Buckeyes came out in the third period and outshot MSU 8-4 for the final 27-21 advantage. The scoring went like this ... Charly Dahlquist opened the scoring for Ohio State in what turned out to be the game-winner. Maddy Field scored the second goal and would add two more for a hat trick. Lauren Boyle had Ohio State's final goal in the first period on a power play as the Bucks went into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead. Emma Maltais scored the only goal of the second period on a breakaway as she was able to get behind the Mankato defense. Maltais' goal gave the Buckeyes a 4-0 lead at the second intermission, then Maddy Field finished off her hat trick with both Ohio State goals in the third period. The Buckeyes will go for the sweep tomorrow at the OSU Ice Rink with gametime at 3:07 pm EST.

 

[Pens4]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Anybody wondering how the WCHA leading goal scorer and 2nd in points not make the 1st or 2nd Team....or...even get named to the rookie team.

 

[puckluck4]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

Anybody wondering how the WCHA leading goal scorer and 2nd in points not make the 1st or 2nd Team....or...even get named to the rookie team.

My guess is they go by the WCHA conference stats only ...not total stats

 

[EPIC97]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?

My guess is they go by the WCHA conference stats only ...not total stats

She is still leading scorer among freshman and 2nd when you include all classes in WCHA conference play. The puck doesn't just go in by itself and scoring is a skill not luck. I'm with Pens on this one.