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Ohio State vs Mercyhurst 11/11

O

osualum86

Well-known member
Ohio State will play a rare weeknight game this Tuesday vs nationally-ranked Mercyhurst. The Lakers check in at 7th in the USCHO.com poll and 8th in the USA Today poll. This will be a tall task, and the timing is rough with a big series this weekend vs 2nd-ranked Minnesota. Having said that, I am sure Coach Handrahan and his staff will have our kids ready to go. There are no off-days in the WCHA, nor is there a shortage of talented teams, so Ohio State is used to playing against teams of Mercyhurst's caliber. The Bucks and Mercyhurst met last year in Erie and the Buckeyes came away with a 4-3 win in OT. We'll see if the Bucks can knock off Mercyhurst or if the Lakers are able to exact a bit of revenge for last year's loss.
 
Re: Ohio State vs Mercyhurst 11/11

osualum86 said:
Ohio State will play a rare weeknight game this Tuesday vs nationally-ranked Mercyhurst. The Lakers check in at 7th in the USCHO.com poll and 8th in the USA Today poll. This will be a tall task, and the timing is rough with a big series this weekend vs 2nd-ranked Minnesota. Having said that, I am sure Coach Handrahan and his staff will have our kids ready to go. There are no off-days in the WCHA, nor is there a shortage of talented teams, so Ohio State is used to playing against teams of Mercyhurst's caliber. The Bucks and Mercyhurst met last year in Erie and the Buckeyes came away with a 4-3 win in OT. We'll see if the Bucks can knock off Mercyhurst or if the Lakers are able to exact a bit of revenge for last year's loss.
Click to expand...

Methinks that by the time this game occurs, Ohio State will NOT be playing a ranked team given the Hurst's loss to Syracuse this weekend. They are ripe for the taking - would be disappointing if OSU doesn't take advantage of a down team.
 
Re: Ohio State vs Mercyhurst 11/11

Interesting. I must say, though, that the OSU players had best plan on bringing their 'A' game. The 'Hurst compete level is a total unknown at this point. The Buckeyes need to focus on things they can control.

I'll take you at your word that the Lakers underachieved this last weekend. But a team can react to that experience in any number of ways. Yes, they could go into a slump or a funk, as you suggest. Or, they could come out with great intensity, determined to right the ship. Or, something in between. Tune in Tuesday night!
 
Re: Ohio State vs Mercyhurst 11/11

Mercyhurst did not look good in either game this weekend. Despite the 5-1 score in their Friday night win, a closer look at the stats show MU losing faceoffs, and being matched shot for shot. Saturday was more of the same for Hurst and they took the loss because of it. One interesting thing both teams bring into Tuesday's game is an equally poor G/SOG ratio - MU at 0.85 (18th in D1) and OSU 0.71 (25th) Goaltending will probably end up the difference on Tuesday night. This should turn out to be a very competitve and fun game to watch.
 
Re: Ohio State vs Mercyhurst 11/11

Sounds like both teams have trouble getting the puck in the back of the net despite taking a lot of shots. I agree with Pgb, though, our girls need to bring their 'A' game if they want to be successful. I think we'll see a talented and hungry Mercyhurst squad tomorrow night, and we will need to be ready for that.
 
Re: Ohio State vs Mercyhurst 11/11

Hurst brought their game, Ohio State, not so much. Mercyhurst takes this mid-week non-conference matchup by a final score of 3-0. It was shaping up to be a defensive battle and the final SOG count was 16-16 IIRC, but the Lakers lit the lamp on a PP in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Mercyhurst would add another goal in the second period to go up 2-0, then added an empty netter at the end for the final score of 3-0. The Bucks are back at it this weekend when they welcome in the Minnesota Golden Gophers, so it certainly doesn't get any easier for OSU. Hopefully they learn from this and come out hungry this weekend!
 
Re: Ohio State vs Mercyhurst 11/11

The Lakers were suffocating on defense, and opportunistic on offense. Not a bad formula for a road win.

While I obviously can't provide additional details on the Mercyhurst loss last Saturday night, it would appear that the reports of their demise were a bit exaggerated. Again, I'm not questioning the firsthand accounts of the game in question. But writing off this Laker team would be a mistake.

Regarding the SOG issue: Shot totals are always interesting, and usually relevant. But you don't need a ton of shots to be effective if you're generating quality chances. Yes, yes; as per the revealed truth, a shot on goal is never a bad play. But passing up a low percentage shot isn't automatically a bad play.

Now bc6696 makes a very interesting point on the G/SOG ratio. Taking it one step further: If you're counting on being opportunistic, but your conversion rate is low, that's living a bit dangerously. Maybe the odds caught up with the Lakers back on Saturday. But the game plan worked out pretty well for them last night...
 
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