Buckeyes Open Year with Exhibition Game Saturday Night – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Sept. 30, 2011
‘; //–>
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The 2011-12 edition of the Ohio State men’s hockey team begins the campaign with an exhibition game against Windsor at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Chiller North (8144 Highfield Drive, Lewis Center). Admission is FREE for all. Postgame, there will be a `Skate with the Buckeyes.’ Fans can bring their own skates, or rent them at the rink.
Live stats for the game between the Buckeyes and Lancers can be linked from the men’s hockey schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com, with game updates also on Twitter @OhioState_MHKY.
The Regular Season is One Week Away
The regular season starts next week, as the Buckeyes host Quinnipiac for two games in Value City Arena Oct. 7-8. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. both nights.
It’s Official
Saturday is the first day of official practice for Division I men’s hockey around the country. The players have been holding captains practices and working with strength and conditioning coach Brian Unverferth, going on the ice with the coaches just two hours per week.
Buckeyes vs. Windsor
Ohio State and Windsor have met 13 times, with Ohio State posting wins in each contest. The squads last met Oct. 3, 1999, an 8-1 Buckeye victory. All the games have been in Columbus except for two Ohio State wins in November 1982. Windsor is 2-1 this year, sweeping Wilfrid Laurier and falling at Nippising last week. The Lancers, under head coach Kevin Hamlin, are in the Ontario University Athletics west division, a member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
New Unis
The Buckeyes have complete new uniforms for the 2011-12 season. The squad will wear gray helmets with striping down the middle for all games. The new home white sweaters will be worn with red pants and white socks, with a new scarlet sweater worn with black pants and scarlet socks. Photo Gallery
Listen In
Nearly every Ohio State game this season – as well as all postseason contests – will be carried by The Ohio State-IMG Sports Network, on the radio on 1460 AM in Columbus and online at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Links to the internet streams will be on the men’s hockey schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Herb Howenstine will be calling play-by-play, with former Buckeyes John Mowat, Luke Pavlas and Paul Caponigri providing analysis. Coverage starts with the opener against Quinnipiac Oct. 7. The only games missing from the schedule are Oct. 8 vs. Quinnipiac, road series at Alabama-Huntsville and Lake Superior State and the game at Robert Morris Dec. 30.
Watch the Buckeyes
On TV: Ohio State is scheduled for six televised games this year. After three games on Comcast (Oct. 15 at Notre Dame, Oct. 20 at Michigan State and Nov. 18 at Michigan), Ohio State will appear on BTN Jan. 13 when it hosts Michigan. The Frozen Diamond Faceoff against the Wolverines Jan. 15 will be televised by FS Plus and CBS Sports will carry the game at Miami Feb. 24. The full CCHA television schedule is here.
Online: All Buckeye regular-season home games are scheduled to be streamed online, with the exception of the Jan. 13 game vs. Michigan that will be televised live on BTN. The games will be streamed through Buckeye Vision on OhioStateBuckeyes.com or BTN.com. Most road games are scheduled to be streamed as well. Check the men’s hockey schedule page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com for links to all video streams, both home and away.
Keep Up with the Buckeyes
Keep up with the Buckeyes on the internet. Weekly and special releases, statistics, biographies and more can be found on OhioStateBuckeyes.com, the official site of Ohio State athletics. The team has an official facebook page – facebook.com/OhioStateMensHockey, as well as a twitter feed – twitter.com/OhioState_MHKY.
Get Your Tickets!
Single-game tickets are on sale for all Ohio State games in Value City Arena. They can be purchased online at OhioStateBuckeyes.com, charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or in person at the Athletics Ticket Office in the Schottenstein Center, or any Ticketmaster location.
Through Oct. 7, a Buy One, Get One season ticket offer is available for new season ticket holders in select seating areas. The packages include a stainless steel Ohio State coffee mug, a $25 gift card to the official Ohio State team shop, one entry for a drawing for two tickets for an Ohio State home football game and one voucher for admission to the Men’s Basketball exhibition game Nov 7 per account. To order or ask questions, contact the Athletic Ticket Sales Team at (614) 292-0043 or AthleticSales@osu.edu. For all the information, click HERE.
Again this season, all Ohio State students who present a valid BuckID at the gate will receive free admission to regular-season games in Value City Arena.
Buckeye This and That
– The Buckeyes return 15 letterwinners from a season ago, including nine forwards, four defensemen and two goalies. The squad adds 13 newcomers – 12 freshmen and junior goalie Brady Hjelle. The squad is dominated by underclassmen and includes just four seniors.
– Joe Exter has joined the program as an assistant coach, coming to Ohio State after spending the last four years with the U.S. National Team Development Program. He was a standout goalie at Merrimack and also has been an assistant coach in the USHL with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and at American International College. Exter has been on the U.S. staff at the World Junior Championship since 2009 and will reprise that role again this year.
– Layne LeBel, the team’s volunteer coach in 2010-11, is now the Buckeyes’ director of hockey operations. LeBel, who coached with Osiecki in the USHL with Green Bay and also coached at Notre Dame, will handle video operations for the Buckeyes along with other administrative duties.
– Thirteen Buckeyes were on NHL training camp rosters as the preseason began. Players still at camp include 2010-11 NHL regulars Ryan Kesler (Vancouver), R.J. Umberger (Columbus), Dave Steckel and Rod Pelley (New Jersey), as well as Zac Dalpe (Carolina), Matt Bartkowski (Boston) and Nate Guenin (Anaheim).
– The players who have been returned to AHL teams from NHL camps include John Albert, Mathieu Beaudoin, CJ Severyn, Tyson Strachan and Sean Collins. Hunter Bishop was in Montreal’s camp but is out with injury.
– Senior Sean Duddy blogged about the team’s preseason. Catch up on the squad as they got ready for official practice: READ
– The four members of the Buckeye senior class are all outstanding students, with Danny Dries, Sean Duddy, Cal Heeter and Cory Schneider all earning Academic All-Big Ten honors and Dries and Duddy honored as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for posting grade-point averages of 3.7 or higher during the 2010-11 school year. All 15 Buckeyes who return to the squad from last year were named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes.
