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Ohio State Buckeyes 2022-2023 ... The Drive For Duluth

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Timothy A said:
One of the Ohio state players at the post game press conference mentioned they felt like they got shafted on the hotel? What's the story with that? Just curious.
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I heard that comment myself and didn't completely understand. I thought all the hotels in the canal area were supposed to be nice. Just our luck, Mrs 86 and I picked the Holiday Inn Duluth Downtown (hotel for Northeastern and Wisconsin). But, yeah, Emma Maltais said something along the lines of "She was not sure how a #1 seed got stuck in a hotel on the lake, but that was more adversity the team had to overcome." We had a great time up there other than the game Sunday.
 
osualum86 said:
I heard that comment myself and didn't completely understand. I thought all the hotels in the canal area were supposed to be nice...But, yeah, Emma Maltais said something along the lines of "She was not sure how a #1 seed got stuck in a hotel on the lake, but that was more adversity the team had to overcome"...
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It hurts to read that. But I also have to say I'm completely baffled by it. My hotel, Canal Park Lodge, was right on the lake. I paid extra for a lake view room. Enjoyed the view, and was very pleased with my decision.

I'll admit the walk to the Arena on Friday was icy, and a bit brisk. I learned from my error and paid for parking on Saturday & Sunday. But that shouldn't have anything to do with the team. The team buses drop the players off right at the red carpet, correct?

If Emma had a complaint about the lodging, I have full confidence her concerns were valid. But there had to be a lot more going on than simply being "on the lake."
 
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I believe the complaints about OSU's hotel were that they did not have food on site, so getting team meals was an ordeal that did not always go smoothly. I heard from someone in Duluth before Emma's comments that they were surprised the hotel got the NCAA contract bc of this set up. Accommodations wise I believe they were in the "nicest" hotel. That's what I know. I wonder, also, if they were subject to more noise from the storms on Thursday and Friday without any buffers between them and the lake? It was so windy and the other teams were in the city proper, so had some more wind breaks. Just a thought
 
osualum86 said:
LOL, yeah, there was some troll over on the transfer portal acting like this was just a conspiracy theory, like, "Why would anyone want to transfer to Ohio State." Oh, I don't know, maybe they want to compete for WCHA Titles and National Titles, ya think?
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There are 2 other schools with a deeper pedigree than tosu in that regard.

So what are you losing experience wise & scoring heading into next season-not counting the new kids?
 
osualum86 said:
LOL, yeah, there was some troll over on the transfer portal acting like this was just a conspiracy theory, like, "Why would anyone want to transfer to Ohio State." Oh, I don't know, maybe they want to compete for WCHA Titles and National Titles, ya think?
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I don't think anyone reasonable didn't think Ohio State was the likely frontrunner. Sadly (for the general overall health of the game) if you want to compete for a title you head for a WCHA power. Wisconsin has a much more crowded roster than the other two with all the returning players they have, and between the other two, you'd have to think Ohio State was closer than Minnesota next year so that probably made them the top of the list for the two.
 
Timothy A said:
There are 2 other schools with a deeper pedigree than tosu in that regard.

So what are you losing experience wise & scoring heading into next season-not counting the new kids?
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I am a student of the game, so I am well aware that Wisconsin and Minnesota (and also UMD) have more titles than us. We are losing five super seniors to be sure (in numerical order ... Bizal, Rosenthal, Maltais, Jaques, Levis), and a couple kids who could come back for their extra years may not come back. We do expect some of our top forwards to be back (talking about Buglioni, Hauswirth, Gardiner, Webster, Matthews), four of our top Ds (Hartmetz, Peschel, Brengman, and Bernard), not to mention the transfers, Bilka (F) and Barnes (D). I have also heard we may be getting additional transfers. We also have three top U18s (two from Canada, one from USA) coming in. The USA U18 is Joy Dunne, who Jincy says is better than her and the ones we are getting from Team Canada are big-time players also (Jocelyn Amos and Jordan Baxter). We also have a Shattuck player coming in ... forward Delaney Fleming. We have gotten some good players from Shattuck recently, so I expect Fleming to be good as well. We are going to have some shoes to fill, but it will be a reload, not a rebuild. We are here to stay. We will continue to compete for titles. If people want to insult our program or disrespect us (like the guy on the transfer thread), they will do so at their own peril. The Muzzinator reads everything on here and loves to use this stuff to feed our "disrespected underdog" role, and thankfully, rival fans always seem to help her out in that regard.
 
BadgerPete said:
I don't think anyone reasonable didn't think Ohio State was the likely frontrunner. Sadly (for the general overall health of the game) if you want to compete for a title you head for a WCHA power. Wisconsin has a much more crowded roster than the other two with all the returning players they have, and between the other two, you'd have to think Ohio State was closer than Minnesota next year so that probably made them the top of the list for the two.
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I completely understand that as we probably have more openings than Wisconsin and Minnesota. I just find the continued disrespect from some fans laughable. Things are really going to get interesting in 2026 when we have a facility that rivals LaBahn and Ridder.
 
NMH said:
I believe the complaints about OSU's hotel were that they did not have food on site, so getting team meals was an ordeal that did not always go smoothly. I heard from someone in Duluth before Emma's comments that they were surprised the hotel got the NCAA contract bc of this set up. Accommodations wise I believe they were in the "nicest" hotel. That's what I know. I wonder, also, if they were subject to more noise from the storms on Thursday and Friday without any buffers between them and the lake? It was so windy and the other teams were in the city proper, so had some more wind breaks. Just a thought
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Now it makes sense why Emma said that in the postgame press conference. Thank you for those insights.
 
NMH said:
I believe the complaints about OSU's hotel were that they did not have food on site, so getting team meals was an ordeal that did not always go smoothly. I heard from someone in Duluth before Emma's comments that they were surprised the hotel got the NCAA contract bc of this set up. Accommodations wise I believe they were in the "nicest" hotel. That's what I know. I wonder, also, if they were subject to more noise from the storms on Thursday and Friday without any buffers between them and the lake? It was so windy and the other teams were in the city proper, so had some more wind breaks. Just a thought
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Those are good thoughts, and almost certainly correct.

Admittedly things were pretty nasty Thursday evening. For dinner, I only made it as far as the Canal Park Brewing Company -- which was right next door to my hotel. Yes, the menu looked good. Yes, the fare lived up to the billing. But part of the decision was a desire to simply get indoors. I'd be lying if I said otherwise.

Appreciate the insight.
 
osualum86 said:
I am a student of the game, so I am well aware that Wisconsin and Minnesota (and also UMD) have more titles than us. We are losing five super seniors to be sure (in numerical order ... Bizal, Rosenthal, Maltais, Jaques, Levis), and a couple kids who could come back for their extra years may not come back. We do expect some of our top forwards to be back (talking about Buglioni, Hauswirth, Gardiner, Webster, Matthews), four of our top Ds (Hartmetz, Peschel, Brengman, and Bernard), not to mention the transfers, Bilka (F) and Barnes (D). I have also heard we may be getting additional transfers. We also have three top U18s (two from Canada, one from USA) coming in. The USA U18 is Joy Dunne, who Jincy says is better than her and the ones we are getting from Team Canada are big-time players also (Jocelyn Amos and Jordan Baxter). We also have a Shattuck player coming in ... forward Delaney Fleming. We have gotten some good players from Shattuck recently, so I expect Fleming to be good as well. We are going to have some shoes to fill, but it will be a reload, not a rebuild. We are here to stay. We will continue to compete for titles. If people want to insult our program or disrespect us (like the guy on the transfer thread), they will do so at their own peril. The Muzzinator reads everything on here and loves to use this stuff to feed our "disrespected underdog" role, and thankfully, rival fans always seem to help her out in that regard.
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On a scale of "guy in the transfer thread" to "we were one goal short of back-to-back national championships", I'm betting Johnny Bunchanumbers on the USCHO forum doesn't rate bulletin board space at OSU Ice Rink.

As I said before, no one reasonable didn't think that Bilka and Barnes were going to end up at OSU. And that is because they are on the same level as Wisconsin and Minnesota when it comes to competing for titles in the here and now. History is fun for looking at banners, but the titles from when they were in kindergarten don't move the needle with players as much as some fans would like to think. They were coming west. It's very questionable if Wisconsin had room since we actually lose very few of our contributors (they unquestionably would have made us the prohibitive favorite and I can't say we didn't try for them since I have no actual inside information whatsoever, but at some point you're gambling present vs. future when you play with the portal too often) so it was down to Ohio State and Minnesota, both of whom had flexibility with roster spots. For all the reasons you listed here, it's obvious that the addition of those two create a team that can/will make a run again. (I just don't see the same returning heft on the Minnesota roster.)

Coach Muzzerall can continue to bang the underdog drum if that works, but the rest of the WCHA isn't thinking that.
 
Guy from the transfer thread here. I wasn't trying to disrespect OSU's program, and you misread my comment if that's what you took away from it. I expect that the WCHA will continue to be a 4-headed monster for the foreseeable future. On the whole, I thought that OSU was the best team in the country this year. The Badgers really showed up with a great game in the championship, but I think if those two teams repeated that game ten times, I think OSU would win at least six. I was at both of the OSU games in Madison in February and it was great hockey.

The point I was making in the transfer thread (albeit flippantly, admittedly) was that I thought it was silly that y'all were passing off rumors like you had insider knowledge of the OSU program and transfers. Maybe I'm wrong, and you folks are more connected than I'm imagining. If that's true, please feel free to correct me and accept my apologies. Those rumors did end up being true, after all. However, my operating assumption at present is that you guys are just fans like I am. God knows that I have no idea what's going on behind closed doors in UW's program at any given moment, lol.
 
Five Fond Frozen Four Memories For 2023​

Just getting back to this list after a surprisingly busy weekend on USCHO. Before leaving the 2023 Frozen Four completely behind, I'd like to finish my little project. Today I'll resume with #3 and #2.


3. The Dominating Win Over Northeastern
When your opponent has a 22 game win streak, you're not going to be taking them lightly. The Buckeyes didn't, and came out flying. The Huskies seemed startled by the Buckeyes speed for at least the first 10 minutes. In fact, the Buckeyes scored just over a minute into the game, with Sloane Matthews recording the tally.

Important development. Goal keeping by Northeastern's Gwyn Phillips proved to be smooth and efficient. Especially with the glove hand. Every bit as good as advertised. And with the ultra-talented Alina Mueller on the job, the Huskies were a constant threat to get back into the game at any time throughout the first two periods. The greatest threat came early in the second, when the Buckeye PK killed off a 5x3.

Ultimately the game did go our way. The early goal gave the Buckeyes a leg up. OSU built on that with a relentless assault, out-shooting NU 38-7 through two periods. Eventually even Phillips couldn't hold us back. Playing diligent defense over the full 200 feet, the mighty Mueller and her mates were held at bay.

Yes, we dominated. On the ice and in the stats. But you know what? I never felt comfortable until Hadley Hartmetz's "Sophie Shot" hit the twine, near the end of the second period.

Gratifying win against a fine opponent on the biggest stage.


2. Makenna Webster's Goal
Makenna provided my goal to remember. I'll begin my account with Jenn Gardiner dangling on the right wing. In control of the puck, with time. Looking good.

Next I noticed Webster slicing through the slot. Like a Ginsu Knife. Mak The Knife.

I verbalized: Oh! (Not O!H! Just Oh.) Private Thought: Did I just say that out loud? The look on the faces of my row mates: The Buckeye guy is losing it. What a shame.

But it turned out I was reading the same play as Jenn & Mak. From a 90 degree angle, Gardiner fed Webster. Never breaking stride, the right-handed Webster launched a one-timer that nailed the upper right corner. Sweet shot; sweet sight.

For those that have played a bit of hockey, have you ever tried to one-time a shot from that angle? If not, be assured that it's lot harder than it looks. Even when the pass is on target, which was the case.

This was the work of a gifted goal scorer.



Up Next: The Top Fond Memory.
 
osualum86 said:
Things are really going to get interesting in 2026 when we have a facility that rivals LaBahn and Ridder.
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I'm confident your rink will be the nicest of the 3, usually newer = better (except for the 2024 Mustang, it just doesn't speak to me). I really don't think players choose based on how nice the rink is. It's based on academics and the personal connection with the coaches you develop during the recruiting process. Your players and fans definitely deserve a better building considering how flush tosu is with B16 money.
 
Our 2023 Frozen Four Host City: Duluth

​
I originally posted this material on Wisconsin thread, where it's now buried pretty deeply. Just for the record, I'm re-posting it here on our thread. Maybe we'll reference it the future; maybe we won't. Regardless: Thanks again, Duluth.


IMHO, Duluth did a great job hosting; both at the rink and in the community. The locals seemed fully engaged with the tournament, and genuinely glad we were in town. There could have been bitterness at UMD's near miss. But as far as I could tell, that was not the case.

I've been to Duluth many times, but it had been a number of years. I'm honestly amazed at what Canal Park has become. Lots of appealing options for lodging, dining & touristing.

Canal Park Brewing Company: Soft Shell Tacos with Braised Ribs were very tasty. Thumbs up to the "Swedish Cream" dessert.

Pickwick Restaurant: Just a few minutes up the shore, next to Fitger's. Old School Restaurant featuring quality food & a very professional servers. Some will feel it's a little pricy. Reservations strongly recommended. But we loved the Lake Superior Whitefish appetizer. Entrees were Salmon & Prime Rib. High marks for both dishes.

Glensheen: Mansion Museum in East Duluth. Very interesting history of a family who made its fortune on the Iron Range. An extended look at how a wealthy family lived in the early 1900's. But be advised upfront, the docents won't talk about the infamous murders that occurred there. You have to buy the book for that! (available in the Gift Shop)

Aerial Lift Bridge: Duluth's most famous landmark. Always feels like visiting an old friend.

For Next Time: Maritime Museum; Aquarium; etc.

So yeah, it was a really good time. Except for a couple hours on Sunday afternoon. (Weak Smile Emoji Here)
 
Timothy A said:
I'm confident your rink will be the nicest of the 3, usually newer = better (except for the 2024 Mustang, it just doesn't speak to me). I really don't think players choose based on how nice the rink is. It's based on academics and the personal connection with the coaches you develop during the recruiting process. Your players and fans definitely deserve a better building considering how flush tosu is with B16 money.
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Totally agree with you on this. I just hope they do it right (capacity no less than 3K). If they build a new arena and it only holds 1.5K or 2K, I am going to be like, "Where is the rest of it." It's unfathomable that a school like Ohio State with all the $$$ we have makes one of the best programs on campus play in the worst facility in the country. There's no excuse for it. I need to get off here. I have done enough pot-stirring around here.
 
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We got senior defenseman Stephanie Markowski from Clarkson.
Stats showed she only played in six game last season. Wonder why so few for a senior?
 
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