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Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

O

osualum86

Well-known member
Ohio State played with great effort this past weekend, but dropped two games to #1 Minnesota by scores of 5-2 and 5-3. Points have suddenly become hard to come by for the Buckeyes as they are just 2-7-1 in the second half of the season. Fortunately, the Buckeyes are still in the race for home ice in the WCHA Playoffs as they set in 5th place, just 3 points behind 4th place UMD. This weekend the Buckeyes head to Grand Forks and 'The Ralph' to take on a UND team that took over second place in the WCHA a couple weeks ago and has not looked back. The Bucks haven't picked up any points since the first game of the Bemidji series earlier this month. Will that continue or will the Buckeyes find a way to take a game on the road? We'll see this coming weekend. Good luck to both teams and best wishes for an injury-free weekend!
 
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Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

Yeah, that's right. Thanks for the correction. I'll go back and do some editing.
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

I think that the first period will be huge. You don't want to hear that foghorn going off five times like last season. If the Buckeyes can get out of the first 20 minutes 0-0, that would be to their advantage. Let the pressure mount on the home team.
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

ARM said:
I think that the first period will be huge. You don't want to hear that foghorn going off five times like last season. If the Buckeyes can get out of the first 20 minutes 0-0, that would be to their advantage. Let the pressure mount on the home team.
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Couldn't agree more. The key to any of these tough road series is to weather the storm early. This season isn't over for us yet. We've put ourselves in a tough position with some losses, but we can still pick up enough points to move back into the top four and get home ice in the first round of the playoffs.

Pgb, I like your statement about the twins vs twins matchup! :) Those twins (ours) celebrated bday #20 today!
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

Well, this one is in the books. Buckeyes were swept for the 4th time in 2013, this time by scores of 5-2 and 3-2. The Buckeyes were competitive, but in the WCHA, competitive doesn't cut it. Now, Ohio State needs to come home and try their best to sweep Minnesota State at home, then hope the team that just swept them can do the same on the road at Minnesota-Duluth. There is also another game between UMD and Wisconsin tomorrow that Ohio State needs Wisconsin to win. The 2-9-1 record in 2013 has turned me into a scoreboard watcher. All the points that were left on the table are now coming back to bite us in the rear end. It's been a tough 2013, but still, this team has done a lot of good things this season, and the season isn't over yet. We'll see what happens next weekend. I'll be there to cheer my team on!
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

Blackbeard said:
Please say it won't be so!
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North Dakota is obviously playing some great hockey right now, but I wouldn't be surprised with a split. Both teams are playing too well right now to allow the other to sweep. I was checking the standings and next week's schedule. Based on who they are playing and the gaps in standings, I don't think the bottom two or three are going to change. The top three are far enough ahead that neither Ohio State nor UMD can catch them. That leaves UMD and Ohio State's battle for position as the only one left to decide. As long as UMD gets three points vs UND, they will stay in 4th place. I think you can exhale now! :)
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

No, he CANNOT exhale. He needs to hold his breath until that black beard turns blue!:eek:

OK, I don't really want any harm to befall a fellow poster. But don't give up on 4th Place for the Buckeyes. The result of Sunday's game leaves the door the open.

First order of business, we must bring our A+ game against MSU. "We need to sweep the Mavericks" is easy to type but tough to accomplish. But it is doable. On the other side of the equation, UND is very much on the pairwise bubble and has a huge incentive to get every point they can this weekend. Of course UMD is a fine team and a split with UND would be a very plausible outcome. But under all of the circumstances, 4+ points for North Dakota would also be a plausible outcome.

Bottom line? Everyone should be allowed to breathe normally, but everyone should also be fully focused next weekend. The race for 4th is not over.
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

pgb-ohio said:
The race for 4th is not over.
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I would say not by a long shot. In fact I think the odds of OSU finishing 4th are actually pretty good. If you had to pick any team in the league to be playing your last series at home, which one would it be? St. Cloud is playing much better as of late, and two days ago we saw what Bemidji is capable of doing. And compared to MSU they each have much more to play for this weekend if they hope to avoid having to face the Gophers the following weekend.

Although OSU does not control its own destiny, you would have to say that UND has a pretty good chance of sweeping UMD in Duluth. All OSU can do at this point is to take care of business vs. MSU, and then let the chips fall where they may.

And if it doesn't work out you can at least take solice in the fact that OSU swept UMD earlier, and that was on the road in Duluth, which was a much better result than your second series with them in Columbus. So you know that should OSU finish 5th the season is not over by any means.

At this point the key will be to use the series with MSU to find some way to recapture what the team was doing in the first half of the season and NOT worry about what happens elsewhere. OSU obviously needs to seriously elevate their level of play if they are to advance beyond the 1st round, whether that's played in Duluth or Columbus. At least that's my take on things!

Good luck! :)
 
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Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

pgb-ohio;5637412 said:
He needs to hold his breath until that black beard turns blue!
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Bluebeard...Bluebeard...kinda has a nice ring to it, don't it?
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

D2D said:
...And if it doesn't work out you can at least take solice in the fact that OSU swept UMD earlier, and that was on the road in Duluth, which was a much better result than your second series with them in Columbus. So you know that should OSU finish 5th the season is not over by any means.
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Clearly correct, and the converse is also true. Earning the right host here in Columbus is no guarantee of success. In fact, in this year's OSU/UMD series, the tally currently stands at:

Road Team 4
Home Team 0

So I guess I should be rooting for 5th Place, correct? Umm, no.;) But I'll certainly agree that the 1st round series will be great hockey regardless of where it's played.
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

Eeyore said:
Just don't dye it blond.
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Very funny movie. Hadn't thought of it for years and just mentioned it a week ago to a friend who is a movie buff but had never heard of it. Now a few days later you're mentioning it. There are no coincidences.
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

pgb-ohio said:
No, he CANNOT exhale. He needs to hold his breath until that black beard turns blue!:eek:

OK, I don't really want any harm to befall a fellow poster. But don't give up on 4th Place for the Buckeyes. The result of Sunday's game leaves the door the open.

First order of business, we must bring our A+ game against MSU. "We need to sweep the Mavericks" is easy to type but tough to accomplish. But it is doable. On the other side of the equation, UND is very much on the pairwise bubble and has a huge incentive to get every point they can this weekend. Of course UMD is a fine team and a split with UND would be a very plausible outcome. But under all of the circumstances, 4+ points for North Dakota would also be a plausible outcome.

Bottom line? Everyone should be allowed to breathe normally, but everyone should also be fully focused next weekend. The race for 4th is not over.
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I definitely haven't given up. I think the world of the kids and the coaching staff, I could never give up on them. :)
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

D2D said:
At this point the key will be to use the series with MSU to find some way to recapture what the team was doing in the first half of the season and NOT worry about what happens elsewhere. OSU obviously needs to seriously elevate their level of play if they are to advance beyond the 1st round, whether that's played in Duluth or Columbus. At least that's my take on things! Good luck! :)
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I agree wholeheartedly with this. We need to find a way to come out hungry, like we have something to prove (actually we do have something to prove at this point, that we are not as bad as our second half record shows), like we were doing the first half of the season. I also agree with everyone who says where the series is played really won't matter since we swept UMD in Duluth and they swept us down here. I would selfishly prefer to have the series in Columbus so I could see the team in person one last time this season, but that is just me. Regardless of how things end up this season I really believe our program is moving in the right direction and cannot wait to see where we are in a couple seasons after Coach Nate has a couple more recruiting classes in here.
 
Re: Ohio State @ North Dakota 2/15 - 2/16

osualum86 said:
...I also agree with everyone who says where the series is played really won't matter since we swept UMD in Duluth and they swept us down here.
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Just for the record, my opinion is a little more complicated than that.

Up front, count me among those who believe that either team can win at either venue. But home ice matters. Pulling the road upset can be physically and emotionally draining. If you're hoping to make a good showing at the Final Face-Off, the best recipe is to hold serve at home, then hit the road fresh and ready for the next challenge.

I would selfishly prefer to have the series in Columbus so I could see the team in person one last time this season, but that is just me...
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Well, it's me too; and I bet we have lots of company.;)

Greed isn't always good. But in many cases it's rational and appropriate, and this is certainly one of them!
 
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