No. 6/5 Buckeyes Hit the Road for B1G Matchup with the Wolverines
2/21/2019 12:08:33 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Buckeyes vs. Wolverines
• The No. 6/5-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team heads to Ann Arbor for its final regular season road games, taking on Michigan in a Big Ten series in Yost Ice Arena.
• The teams will meet at 6:30 p.m. Friday in a game televised by FS1 (the first hockey game on the network) and available through Fox Sports Go, as well as in Canada on TSN.ca and the TSN app. Puck drop Saturday is set for 6 p.m., broadcast on BTN and BTN2Go. Dan Kelly and Fred Pletsch will call the action both nights.
• Ohio State radio will carry the action on 1460 AM, online on OhioStateBuckeyes.com and through the Ohio State Buckeyes mobile app, with Herb Howenstine and John Mowat on the call.
• Video, radio and live stats links can be found at go.osu.edu/mhkylivestats18.
• Ohio State is 19-7-4 this season, with a 12-5-3-2 mark in Big Ten games to stand in first place. Michigan is 12-12-6 on the year and 8-8-2-0 in league action to stand fourth.
• With four regular season games remaining, the Buckeyes need three points to clinch the outright Big Ten regular season title and two to clinch at least a share of the title. Ohio State is looking for its first Big Ten crown, the second regular season title in program history and the first since winning the four-team CCHA in 1972.
• The Buckeyes and Wolverines met in Columbus Jan. 11-12, splitting two games. Michigan won the opener, 2-1, with Ohio State posting a 4-2 win in game two.
Buckeye Notes to Know
• The Buckeyes are 14th in the NCAA in team offense, scoring 3.17 goals a game. The squad has scored three or more goals in seven of the last nine games.
• Mason Jobst leads current NCAA skaters with 163 career points, tying for 14th in Ohio State history (and the most since 1988). He has had a hand in 32.1 percent of the Buckeyes’ goals in the last three-plus seasons, as the squad has ranked in the Top 15 in the NCAA in scoring offense each year and has averaged 3.47 goals a night during his time as a Buckeye.
• Ohio State has allowed two or fewer goals in 22 of 30 games this year, including in eight of the last 11 outings. The team is 10th in the NCAA in scoring defense, allowing 2.17 goals per game.
• The Buckeyes are in a five-week stretch of Big Ten games to close the regular season, rotating between home and away. The squad is 9-6-0 at home this year, scoring 3.20 goals per game and allowing 2.73. On the road, Ohio State has a 10-1-4 ledger, scoring 3.13 goals a game and giving up 1.60 a contest.
• The Buckeye squad is 8-5-2 on Friday and 11-2-2 on Saturday this season.
Just the Stats
• Overall this year, the Buckeyes are scoring 3.17 goals a game and allowing 2.17 a contest. The power play is 30-for-134 (.224) and the penalty kill is 92-for-112 (.821). The squad averages 9.4 penalty minutes, 34.2 shots on goal for and 27.9 shots on goal against per contest.
• Ohio State is 10th nationally in scoring defense and scoring margin (+1.0 goals per game), 14th in scoring offense and on the power play and tied for fifth in winning percentage (.700).
• Senior Mason Jobst has a team-high 16 goals, 19 assists and 35 points (tying for 12th in the NCAA in points and tying for ninth in goals), while junior Tanner Laczynski is second with 17 assists and 25 points.
• Ronnie Hein ranks second with 10 goals this year, Dakota Joshua is third with nine and Laczynski and Carson Meyer are tied for fourth with eight each.
• Junior defenseman Matt Miller and freshman forward Gustaf Westlund are third with 14 assists each, followed by Joshua with 13 and Meyer with 12.
• Joshua (22) and Meyer (20) have also reached the 20-point mark. In all, 11 Buckeyes have 10+ points.
• In goal, Tommy Nappier and Sean Romeo split starts the first 15 series. Nappier is second in the NCAA in save percentage (.939) and third in goals-against average (1.76) and Romeo has posted a 2.44 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.
• Last year’s team was also 19-7-4 through 30 games. The 2017-18 team was averaging 3.13 goals per game, allowing 2.17, through 30 contests. The power play was 28-for-124 (.226) and the penalty kill was 104-for-115 (.904).
In the Rankings
• The Buckeyes dropped to No. 6 in the USCHO rankings and No. 5 in the USA Today rankings Monday. Ohio State has been ranked in the Top 7 of both polls all season outside of one week at No. 9 in the USA Hockey Magazine poll Oct. 29.
• Big Ten teams No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 19 Penn State join the Buckeyes in the USCHO poll. The Irish and Penn State are receiving votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings and Minnesota is receiving votes in the USCHO poll.
• Of the Buckeyes’ nonconference foes this season, UMass is No. 2, Arizona State is No. 11th and Bowling Green is No. 15 in the USCHO ratings and in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings, the Minutemen are second, Sun Devils are 10th and the Falcons are receiving votes.
• Ohio State is one of two schools with both its men’s and women’s hockey teams ranked in the Top 10 this week. Cornell’s women are ranked fourth, with the men ninth. Ohio State’s women are ranked 10th this week.
• The Buckeye squad started the year No. 2 in the USA Today poll and No. 3 in the USCHO rankings. The team then moved into the top spot the next two weeks in both polls (Oct. 8, Oct. 15). It was the first time the Buckeyes were No. 1 in either poll and the first time at the top of a national college hockey poll since WMPL Radio rankings for three weeks in November/December 1983.
In the B1G
• Through 20 (of 24) Big Ten games, the Buckeyes are in first place in the Big Ten with 41 points and a 12-5-3-2 record, with an eight-point lead (and two games in hand) on second-place Minnesota (10-9-3-0). Ohio State needs three points to clinch the outright Big Ten regular season title and two points to clinch at least a share of the title.
• Notre Dame is in third with 31 points (9-9-2-2), followed by Michigan with 30 points (8-8-4-2), Penn State (29 points, 9-10-1-1), Michigan State (27 points, 7-11-4-2) and Wisconsin (25 points, 6-9-5-2). The Gophers and Spartans have two B1G games remaining, while the other five schools all have four games left.
• Ohio State is the only team to have clinched a home series for the quarterfinal round. With eight points separating them (with two weeks left), the other six teams are all still alive in the race to host a quarterfinal matchup.
• In addition to the Buckeyes’ series at Michigan this weekend, Wisconsin travels to Penn State and Minnesota hosts Notre Dame. The final series of the year are Michigan State at Ohio State, Penn State at Notre Dame and Michigan at Wisconsin March 1-2.
• The No. 1 team in the final Big Ten standings earns a bye in the quarterfinals (best-of-three series) of the league tournament, while seeds 2-4 host 5-7. The Top 2 remaining seeds host one-game semifinal matchups, with the top remaining seed hosting the final.
• Since the start of Big Ten hockey, Ohio State finished second in 2018, third in 2017, fourth in 2016 and 2014 and fifth in 2015.
In B1G Games Only
• Buckeye senior Mason Jobst is tied for fourth among league skaters with 27 points, tied for second with 12 goals, sixth with 15 assists and tied for second with seven power play tallies.
• Tanner Laczynski and freshman junior Matt Miller each have 12 assists to tie for ninth.
• Miller is tied for second in scoring among league defensemen with 15 points.
• Gustaf Westlund is tied for second among B1G rookies with 15 points in league outings and Quinn Preston is tied for sixth with 13 points.
• Sophomore Tommy Nappier has a league-best 1.79 goals-against average and .939 save percentage, while senior Sean Romeo is second in gaa (2.26) and fourth in save percentage (.918). Nappier is 7-2-1 in B1G games and Romeo is 5-3-2, with the duo ranking first and second in winning percentage.
• Ohio State leads the league in scoring defense (2.05 goals allowed per game) and is second in offense (3.35 goals a night).
• The Buckeyes are third on the power play (23/87, .264) and second on the penalty kill (56/67, .836).
• Jobst, the Big Ten career leader in points in B1G play with 107, has averaged 1.29 points per game in his 83-game Big Ten career. Of current skaters, five are averaging 1.0+ points per game in league action with two other Buckeyes – Laczynski (1.00 ppg, 17-35-52) and Westlund (1.15 ppg, 5-10-15) – joining Jobst to make three of the five.
In the Second Half
• Since action around college hockey resumed Dec. 28, Ohio State is 10-3-1, tying for fourth in the NCAA and leading the Big Ten in winning percentage (.750). Michigan (6-5-2) is the only other Big Ten team above .500 since Dec. 28.
•The Buckeyes are tied for first in the NCAA in scoring in the span, averaging 3.86 goals per game, and are seventh on the power play, converting 18-of-60 (.300) chances. The team is tied for 15th in scoring defense (2.36 goals allowed a game) and the penalty kill is 41-for-48 (.854), tying for 12th in the NCAA.
• Individually, Mason Jobst is tied for fourth in the NCAA with 1.50 points per game over the stretch.
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Buckeyes and Michigan
• Ohio State and Michigan faced off for the first time in 1964 and after games in 1969-70, 1974-75 and 1978-79, have met at least once each season since 1981-82 when Michigan joined Ohio State in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
• The Wolverines lead the all-time series, 82-44-13, including 40-18-7 in Ann Arbor. In the last 10 games, the Buckeyes have the advantage, 8-2.
• The teams last met on Michigan home ice Nov. 24-25, 2017, with Ohio State posting a sweep with 3-2 and 5-1 wins.
• The last five games between the teams have been in Columbus, with Ohio State 4-1 in those contests. Ohio State was 1-1 vs. Michigan in the first series between the teams this season, with a 2-1 loss and 4-2 victory in Value City Arena Jan. 11-12 .
The Last Series – Buckeyes Split with Wolverines
• Ohio State and Michigan split a series in Columbus Jan. 11-12.
• Game 1: In game one, the Buckeyes led 1-0 on a first-period goal by Freddy Gerard. The Wolverines tied the game at 6:40 of the second and took the lead at 17:32 for a 2-1 advantage through two periods. The teams combined for just 11 shots (UM 7, OSU 4) in the final period and the Wolverines made the lead hold. Ohio State was outshot, 31-23 and goalie Sean Romeo made 29 saves.
• Game 2: In game two, the teams were scoreless in the first period. At 10:30 of the second Tanner Laczynski scored on a 5×3 power play to put the Buckeyes ahead, followed by Michigan’s Will Lockwood with a PPG of his own for a 1-1 game entering the third. Michigan took the lead (2-1) at 8:48, but just 28 seconds later Wyatt Ege scored for the Buckeyes to tie the game. At 13:03 Buckeye rookie Quinn Preston notched the eventual gamewinner. Ronnie Hein sealed the victory with an empty net goal. Michigan outshot the Buckeyes, 28-22, with Tommy Nappier making 26 stops for Ohio State.
The Wolverines
• Michigan is 12-12-6 on the year and has an 8-8-4-2 record in B1G games. The Wolverines were off last weekend and last played Feb. 12 at Notre Dame, a 5-2 loss to the Irish. Michigan is 6-4-4 at home and 5-7-0 on the road this year, with a 1-1-2 neutral site ledger.
• The Wolverines are scoring and allowing 3.1 goals per game. The power play is 21-for-132 (.159) and the penalty kill is 87-for-111 (.784). Michigan has averaged 36.9 shots a night, holding opponents to 27.6 an outing, and has taken 11.4 penalty minutes per game.
• Defenseman Quinn Hughes leads Michigan with 25 assists and 29 points. Will Lockwood is first with 14 goals, one of four Wolverines with 10+, and ranks second with 26 points. Jake Slaker (10g, 13a, 23p) and Nick Pastujov (10g, 10a, 20p) have also hit the 20-point mark.
• In goal, Hayden Lavigne is 7-7-3, with a 3.12 goals-against average and .886 save percentage and Strauss Mann is 5-5-3, posting a 2.81 goals-against average and .897 save percentage.
