Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

[Offsides Guy]

And let me guess, once again the OSU loss was all the refs fault.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

And let me guess, once again the OSU loss was all the refs fault.

That's a brutally unfair reading of this thread.

And let me guess. You didn't even read the thread before throwing your spitball.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

Final Score From Saturday, October 12th
Wisconsin 7
Ohio State 3

What A Difference A Day Makes.
And Yet The Song Remains The Same.​

Friday belonged the defenses. Saturday belonged to the offenses. Night & Day Difference. OK, Evening & Afternoon. But you get the idea.

Yet despite the stark contrast between the games, the superb Badger Power Play was once again the determining factor. On Friday, the Buckeyes took 7 minors. In response, the Badgers went a productive 2 for 7 with the man advantage. Clearly the Buckeyes needed to reduce their penalties. They did, taking a more reasonable 4 minors in the rematch. Stunningly, the Badgers responded by converting all four opportunities.

Another takeaway from Friday's match was that the Buckeyes really needed to score first to improve the chances of winning. They did. Enter the Badger Power Play, which produced two goals in the next 7 minutes to tie the game, then grab the lead.

Early in the 2nd Period, Wisconsin made it 3-1. Fall two goals behind UW and the game's over, correct? Not this time. The Buckeyes mounted an impressive comeback, knotting the score at 3-3. But 6:50 into the 3rd Period, re-enter the Badger Power Play for the GWG. Steffen from Roque & Shirley.

I still believe the Buckeyes will have an outstanding season. Both these teams are very much on the Stairway to Heaven. But this weekend it was the Badgers who showed how everything still turns to gold. In fact, so many UW players had the Midas Touch that some very worthy candidates were left off Saturday's list. Spreading the wealth was the main tiebreaker.

Three Stars Of The Game: Decidedly Unofficial & Just For Fun​

Honorable Mention: (tie)Liz Schepers, Ohio State, and Brooke Bink, Ohio State
Some nice sharp shooting Saturday by Liz & Brooke. Liz beat the Badger keeper in both the lower left & upper right corners. Brooke's quick release blast also found the upper right hand corner of the net.


#3 Star: Britta Curl, Wisconsin
Britta's impressive tip in the slot tied the score at 1. It was the first major turning point of the game.

#2 Star: Sophie Shirley, Wisconsin
Sophie's spectacular rush up the left wing restored the Badger's 2 goal lead, and essentially settled the issue. Add in her two assists and you've got a nice three point night for Shirley.

#1 Star: Daryl Watts, Wisconsin
Clearly Daryl makes the players around her better. She had the primary assist on both the Curl & Shirley goals. Overall, Watts had three primary assists on Saturday, for a total of FIVE primary assists on the weekend. After all of that generosity, Daryl decided to grab a goal for herself. Watts closed out the scoring at 17:23 of the third period.



Up Next: Road Trip To Mankato.

 

[Offsides Guy]

That's a brutally unfair reading of this thread.

And let me guess. You didn't even read the thread before throwing your spitball.

I could have been clearer. I was referring to Muzz’s post-game comments where she suggested the refs were to blame and seemed to give no credit to WI. Your posts are very well done!

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

I could have been clearer. I was referring to Muzz’s post-game comments where she suggested the refs were to blame and seemed to give no credit to WI. Your posts are very well done!

Your post was not clear on that, but I had a feeling you were talking about Coach's postgame comments from Friday's game. Our girls did some good things this weekend, but ultimately the better team came out on top. The challenge for our team will be to put this one behind them and get two wins in Mankato next weekend. Losing a pair of games to the #1 team in the country is not going to kill us in the PairWise rankings. Losing a game against an unranked Minnesota State is the kind of loss that will come back to haunt us in March. Wisconsin is so loaded. Now that I have seen them in person, I think they will repeat as National Champs. Last year we were able to split with them at home. That was not the case this time around. We have eight new freshmen and I think our team is still getting used to playing with each other. We will be better down the road.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

Final Score From Saturday, October 12th
Wisconsin 7
Ohio State 3

What A Difference A Day Makes.
And Yet The Song Remains The Same.​

Friday belonged the defenses. Saturday belonged to the offenses. Night & Day Difference. OK, Evening & Afternoon. But you get the idea.

Yet despite the stark contrast between the games, the superb Badger Power Play was once again the determining factor. On Friday, the Buckeyes took 7 minors. In response, the Badgers went a productive 2 for 7 with the man advantage. Clearly the Buckeyes needed to reduce their penalties. They did, taking a more reasonable 4 minors in the rematch. Stunningly, the Badgers responded by converting all four opportunities.

Another takeaway from Friday's match was that the Buckeyes really needed to score first to improve the chances of winning. They did. Enter the Badger Power Play, which produced two goals in the next 7 minutes to tie the game, then grab the lead.

Early in the 2nd Period, Wisconsin made it 3-1. Fall two goals behind UW and the game's over, correct? Not this time. The Buckeyes mounted an impressive comeback, knotting the score at 3-3. But 6:50 into the 3rd Period, re-enter the Badger Power Play for the GWG. Steffen from Roque & Shirley.

I still believe the Buckeyes will have an outstanding season. Both these teams are very much on the Stairway to Heaven. But this weekend it was the Badgers who showed how everything still turns to gold. In fact, so many UW players had the Midas Touch that some very worthy candidates were left off Saturday's list. Spreading the wealth was the main tiebreaker.

Three Stars Of The Game: Decidedly Unofficial & Just For Fun​

Honorable Mention: (tie)Liz Schepers, Ohio State, and Brooke Bink, Ohio State
Some nice sharp shooting Saturday by Liz & Brooke. Liz beat the Badger keeper in both the lower left & upper right corners. Brooke's quick release blast also found the upper right hand corner of the net.


#3 Star: Britta Curl, Wisconsin
Britta's impressive tip in the slot tied the score at 1. It was the first major turning point of the game.

#2 Star: Sophie Shirley, Wisconsin
Sophie's spectacular rush up the left wing restored the Badger's 2 goal lead, and essentially settled the issue. Add in her two assists and you've got a nice three point night for Shirley.

#1 Star: Daryl Watts, Wisconsin
Clearly Daryl makes the players around her better. She had the primary assist on both the Curl & Shirley goals. Overall, Watts had three primary assists on Saturday, for a total of FIVE primary assists on the weekend. After all of that generosity, Daryl decided to grab a goal for herself. Watts closed out the scoring at 17:23 of the third period.

Up Next: Road Trip To Mankato.

Nice to see Liz Schepers off to a great start this season! Brooke Bink brings the energy every shift. It has been a joy to watch her play and it was nice to see her rewarded with her first goal as a Buckeye at St. Cloud, then another one yesterday. I also completely agree with you that this team will have an outstanding season. They have plenty of talent. They just need to stay away from the bad losses that cost them a spot in the NCAA Tournament last season.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

I could have been clearer. I was referring to Muzz’s post-game comments where she suggested the refs were to blame and seemed to give no credit to WI. Your posts are very well done!

Greatly appreciate the clarification.

I shouldn't have been defensive, but I did believe the comment was directed to '86, myself or both of us. If you want to take issue with the coaches' comments on the refs, I'm happy to stay out of the way!

Just a little more explanation: I'm quite serious about wanting my 3 Stars Posts to be original & unofficial. Maybe too serious. But to the extent possible, I try to avoid post-game pressers and game recaps written by others -- at least until my take is posted.

OK, I'll admit that sometimes I can't resist taking a peak at what '86 has to say. Tough to avoid when the posts are on the same thread. (FWIW, I used to post the 3 Stars on the WCHA League Thread -- until fairly recently.) Anyhow, the bottom line is that I literally didn't know that Coach Muzz had used a presser to take issue with the officiating. Might have to go back & take a look at that one.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

Here is the story from the OSU athletic website if you really want to hear what Coach had to say. Sounded like she felt like the rules were not being enforced consistently. I've listened to just about all the postgame interviews with Coach and this is the first time I can ever remember her expressing displeasure with the officiating, or well, at least this is the first time since the interference call vs Clarkson in the Frozen Four. I remember Coach not being happy with that call.

https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/no-1-wisconsin-shuts-out-no-8-ohio-state-3-0/

Anyway, Coach and the team need to move on. We have a big series next weekend on the road against Mankato, and as we found out last season, no one lays down for anyone in this league.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

Pgb, thank you for the shout-out about reading what I have to say. I try to keep my recaps totally vanilla and not let my emotions get into those. I try my best to just present the numbers and let readers form their own opinions on what may or may not have happened. I feel like my recaps are actually probably kind of boring to read, but I try to keep them as impartial as I can. I know everyone knows I am an OSU fan, so maybe that comes out sometimes. As for the location of your 3 Stars, well, I for one, am thrilled that they are here on the OSU thread!

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

Here is the story from the OSU athletic website if you really want to hear what Coach had to say. Sounded like she felt like the rules were not being enforced consistently. I've listened to just about all the postgame interviews with Coach and this is the first time I can ever remember her expressing displeasure with the officiating, or well, at least this is the first time since the interference call vs Clarkson in the Frozen Four. I remember Coach not being happy with that call.

https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/no-1-wisconsin-shuts-out-no-8-ohio-state-3-0/

Interesting for sure. I'll need to incorporate those interviews into my normal routine. Meaning Sunday or Monday routine.

This interview makes it very clear that Coach is using her grievance about the calls as a motivational ploy. Perfectly normal for elite level coaches. She's also working the officials, with an eye to future games. Again, perfectly normal. And if someone like Offside Guy wants to challenge her on the facts, that's fine too. She's plenty tough enough to handle it.

As for the 3 Stars, the mission is entirely different. I've chosen the task of recognizing accomplishments, for home players & visitors alike. Like you, I'm sure it's obvious that I'm supporting the Buckeyes first & foremost. But very sincerely, I want to support the sport as a whole. The Women who play D-1 Hockey are World Class Athletes. They don't get anywhere near the attention they deserve. If I can make a tiny bit of progress in addressing that deficiency, I'm happy.

Bottom line for me, factual accuracy is pretty important. If I got too partisan or sold my take too hard, the kudos wouldn't mean much.

In contrast, being comprehensive isn't my priority. Yeah, I like to "tell the story." But complaining about the officiating or trashing an opposing player would just be counter-productive distractions in the 3 Stars World.

Anyway, Coach and the team need to move on. We have a big series next weekend on the road against Mankato, and as we found out last season, no one lays down for anyone in this league.

Yup. And I'm confident that in the room, Coach's message will be tailored in that way. A good motivator needs to know the situation and know her audience. Coach Muzz knows what she's doing.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

Here is the story from the OSU athletic website if you really want to hear what Coach had to say. Sounded like she felt like the rules were not being enforced consistently. I've listened to just about all the postgame interviews with Coach and this is the first time I can ever remember her expressing displeasure with the officiating, or well, at least this is the first time since the interference call vs Clarkson in the Frozen Four. I remember Coach not being happy with that call.
https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/no-1-wisconsin-shuts-out-no-8-ohio-state-3-0/.

It's well understood the officiating in the wwcha sucks. Saturday night in the PSU/UW series, PSU only had 1 call against them, and on that one they matched them up, so PSU had 3 pps and UW 0. Obviously PSU committed infractions that were either ignored or unseen. On the matching the UW player allowed herself to get put in a headlock and was given a penalty for that. Let's be honest, if OSU can kill a few penalties Saturday they maybe win that game, or score a few PPG's Friday they win that game. That should be Muzzy's message to the team. Play better and you have a higher probability to win.

 

[ARM]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

It's well understood the officiating in the wwcha sucks.

I used to think that, but the more I see of Hockey East officiating, the more that I appreciate the WCHA crews. It's hard to watch a game where every time someone falls down, an arm goes up. Every time. If a team doesn't do anything egregious and isn't whistled for any penalties, so be it. I prefer that to the alternative where the players are on eggshells trying to figure out what, if anything, is allowed in the game.

 

[osualum86]

It's well understood the officiating in the wwcha sucks. Saturday night in the PSU/UW series, PSU only had 1 call against them, and on that one they matched them up, so PSU had 3 pps and UW 0. Obviously PSU committed infractions that were either ignored or unseen. On the matching the UW player allowed herself to get put in a headlock and was given a penalty for that. Let's be honest, if OSU can kill a few penalties Saturday they maybe win that game, or score a few PPG's Friday they win that game. That should be Muzzy's message to the team. Play better and you have a higher probability to win.

Totally agree. Need to focus on what we can do better to win games instead of focusing on the officiating. There were plenty of positives to take away from this weekend's games. We went toe-to-toe with the best team in the country in Friday's game and most of the game Saturday.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

I used to think that, but the more I see of Hockey East officiating, the more that I appreciate the WCHA crews. It's hard to watch a game where every time someone falls down, an arm goes up. Every time. If a team doesn't do anything egregious and isn't whistled for any penalties, so be it. I prefer that to the alternative where the players are on eggshells trying to figure out what, if anything, is allowed in the game.

Watt? R U Serious? Worse than the wwcha goons? Wow. But I would agree based on how you describe it. My big thing is interference. Call those all day long. I love a flowing game.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

I used to think that, but the more I see of Hockey East officiating, the more that I appreciate the WCHA crews. It's hard to watch a game where every time someone falls down, an arm goes up. Every time. If a team doesn't do anything egregious and isn't whistled for any penalties, so be it. I prefer that to the alternative where the players are on eggshells trying to figure out what, if anything, is allowed in the game.

I still think WCHA officiating could be better, but I totally prefer letting the girls decide the games over the alternative of calling penalties on every dive like they do out east.

 

[NMH]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

I actually think CHA refs might be even more over-the-top than Hockey East refs. A large selection of CHA teams are consistently among the most penalized in the country. There is so little consistency or fluency to those games. It's hard to watch. It also makes me wonder how much that affects when they play non-conference games.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

I was going to wait and simmer a little, but it's Friday night and I am not going to be in any better mood later, so I will just get this over with. Ohio State tied Minnesota State earlier today in a game that, based on what Assistant Coach Emily West implied in a postgame statement, they didn't actually start playing until the third period. Minnesota State scored a goal in the second OT (3-on-3) to get the extra point. I am at a loss at this point. I am trying really hard to not have a knee-jerk reaction over one game, but the thing is, this is not just one game. This has been going on since last season, and it's losses (ok, ties) like this one that will kill us in the PairWise and cause us to be setting home in March while eight other teams get to play for the NCAA Championship. I listened to every offseason interview and read every offseason story. Everyone, Coaches and Players, stressed that they learned from last season and that they now understood that every game was important. After today's game, I am not so sure. I know no one feels worse than the kids and the coaches, so I really just need to move on and give you the numbers like I normally do. I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but I really hope to see our program gets to that elite level someday that Minnesota and Wisconsin are at. You don't see Minnesota and Wisconsin losing to teams they are supposed to beat. Ok, that is enough. I really need to cut myself off on that. Like I said, no one feels worse than the girls and the coaches. I think it was telling that Emily West did the postgame interview instead of Coach Muzerall. I imagine there was some smoke coming out of her ears after this one. Well, here are the numbers in this 2-1 game. The Buckeyes struck first in this one on a PP goal by Madison Bizal in the first period. The Mavericks answered with a second period goal from Claire Butorac. That is how the game stayed until the second OT when Minnesota State's Kelsey King scored to give the Mavericks the extra point. Ohio State did outshoot the Mavericks 35-27. Both goaltenders were stingy today with Ohio State's Andrea Braendli stopping 26 of the 27 shots she faced and Minnesota State's Abigail Levy stopping 34 of the 35 shots she faced. Ohio State was 1-4 on the power play. The Mavericks earned three power plays but the Buckeye penalty killers were equal to the task. The teams are back at it tomorrow at 3:07 pm EST.

 

[Offsides Guy]

I was going to wait and simmer a little, but it's Friday night and I am not going to be in any better mood later, so I will just get this over with. Ohio State tied Minnesota State earlier today in a game that, based on what Assistant Coach Emily West implied in a postgame statement, they didn't actually start playing until the third period. Minnesota State scored a goal in the second OT (3-on-3) to get the extra point. I am at a loss at this point. I am trying really hard to not have a knee-jerk reaction over one game, but the thing is, this is not just one game. This has been going on since last season, and it's losses (ok, ties) like this one that will kill us in the PairWise and cause us to be setting home in March while eight other teams get to play for the NCAA Championship. I listened to every offseason interview and read every offseason story. Everyone, Coaches and Players, stressed that they learned from last season and that they now understood that every game was important. After today's game, I am not so sure. I know no one feels worse than the kids and the coaches, so I really just need to move on and give you the numbers like I normally do. I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but I really hope to see our program gets to that elite level someday that Minnesota and Wisconsin are at. You don't see Minnesota and Wisconsin losing to teams they are supposed to beat. Ok, that is enough. I really need to cut myself off on that. Like I said, no one feels worse than the girls and the coaches. I think it was telling that Emily West did the postgame interview instead of Coach Muzerall. I imagine there was some smoke coming out of her ears after this one. Well, here are the numbers in this 2-1 game. The Buckeyes struck first in this one on a PP goal by Madison Bizal in the first period. The Mavericks answered with a second period goal from Claire Butorac. That is how the game stayed until the second OT when Minnesota State's Kelsey King scored to give the Mavericks the extra point. Ohio State did outshoot the Mavericks 35-27. Both goaltenders were stingy today with Ohio State's Andrea Braendli stopping 26 of the 27 shots she faced and Minnesota State's Abigail Levy stopping 34 of the 35 shots she faced. Ohio State was 1-4 on the power play. The Mavericks earned three power plays but the Buckeye penalty killers were equal to the task. The teams are back at it tomorrow at 3:07 pm EST.

I didn’t see Coach Muzz on the bench during the broadcast. Is she there?

 

[Offsides Guy]

Watching the broadcast now and Muzz is definitely not on the bench. Anyone know what’s up?

 

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019-2020: Muzzling All Detractors

I have no idea what is going on with Coach Muzerall. Hope she is alright. The Bucks and Mavericks played to a tie again today with Minnesota State getting the extra point in the shootout. Not gonna lie, I am disappointed for the girls that they left four points on the table this weekend against a team that this website picked to finish last in the league. Ohio State opened the scoring on a goal from Tatum Skaggs. Minnesota State answered later in the period as Sofia Poinar lit the lamp for the Mavericks to tie it up at 1-1 and that is how the first period ended. Minnesota State got goals from Brooke Bryant and Tristen Truax to go up 3-1 in the second period. Jincy Dunne would answer for the Buckeyes to bring them within 1 at 3-2 and that is how the second period ended. Jincy Dunne tied it at 3-3 with a third period goal. Neither team could find the back of the net until the shootout, which was won by Minnesota State. The Buckeyes outshot the Mavericks 44-26. Buckeye goaltender Andrea Braendli stopped 23 of the 26 shots she faced. Maverick netminder Calla Frank stopped 41 of the 44 shots she faced. Minnesota State will travel to St. Cloud next weekend to take on the Huskies. Ohio State returns home to face Minnesota next weekend.