Buckeyes vs. Wolverines in B1G Game Friday – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 3, 2014
Ohio State vs. Michigan (Ohio State PDF Game Notes)
Date: Friday, December 5 | Time: 7:05 p.m. ET | Venue: Yost Ice Arena | Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Live Stats: Gametracker | Radio: 1460 AM OhioStateBuckeyes.com | Television: BTN | Online/Mobile: BTN2Go
COLUMBUS, Ohio –– The Ohio State men’s hockey team will close the first half of its schedule with a game at Michigan Friday. The Buckeyes (5-8-1, 1-1-0 B1G) and Wolverines (7-6-0, 1-1-0-0 B1G) will meet at 7:05 p.m. in Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Follow Along
The game Friday will be televised by BTN and available online and on mobile apps through BTN2Go for cable subscribers with BTN. Dan Kelly, Rob Andringa and Fred Pletsch will be on the call. Ohio State radio, on 1460 AM in Columbus and online through Buckeye Vision, will carry the action as well. Herb Howenstine and former Buckeye John Mowat will provide commentary. Gametracker live stats can be accessed through OhioStateBuckeyes.com and in-game updates will be on Twitter @OhioState_MHKY.
Buckeye Snapshot
- Ohio State is 5-8-1 this season and coming off a win in the third place game of the Shillelagh Tournament, downing host Notre Dame, 5-1. The Buckeyes lost to tournament champion Western Michigan, 6-2, in round one.
- The team is averaging 2.5 goals a game and allowing 2.9 goals a contest. The power play is 9-for-53 (.170) and the penalty kill is 39-for-46 (.848).
- Senior forward Tanner Fritz has a team-best 11 points, sharing the assist least with sophomore forward Nick Schilkey, junior defenseman Sam Jardine and freshman forward Matthew Weis with six each. Junior forward Anthony Greco is first with six goals, with Fritz second with five and senior Darik Angeli third with four tallies. Greco and Schilkey are tied for second with eight points each, followed by Angeli and Weis with seven.
- In goal, Christian Frey and Matt Tomkins have both seen action and split starts last weekend. Tomkins has played in nine games total (starting eight) and has a 2.44 goals-against average and .908 save percentage, along with a 3-5-1 record. Frey has started six games and has a 3.22 goals-against average and .913 save percentage, posting a 2-3 ledger.
Last Time Out – Shillelagh Tournament
- Over Thanksgiving weekend, Ohio State finished third in the Shillelagh Tournament hosted by Notre Dame, falling to Western Michigan, 6-2, on day one before beating the host Irish 5-1 in the third place game. The Broncos claimed the title with an 8-2 win over Union in the championship game.
- Western Michigan 6, Ohio State 2 (Nov. 28): Western Michigan took a 2-0 lead after the first period and carried it to a 6-2 victory in the opening game of the Shillelagh Tournament. The Buckeyes made it a one-goal game twice, but were unable to tie the game as the Broncos pulled away. The Broncos led 2-0 after the first period on goals at 3:22 and 16:59. Ohio State drew within one early in the second on an unassisted power play goal from Anthony Greco at 2:35, but WMU answered less than a minute later (3:29) to put the Bronco lead back at two. The Buckeyes again made it a one-goal game (3-2) at 10:59 of the second with a goal from senior Chad Niddery and neither team scored the rest of the period. With two goals in 1:05 in the first eight minutes of the third period, the Broncos extended their advantage to three (5-2) and Ohio State could get no closer. Ohio State pulled its goalie for the extra attacker with more than five minutes left in the third, but WMU sealed the win with an empty net goal. Ohio State, which was outshot 36-22, was 1-for-4 on the power play and WMU was 0-for-2.
- Ohio State 5, Notre Dame 1 (Nov. 29): With points from 10 players, including two goals by Tanner Fritz and three assists from Nick Schilkey, Ohio State skated to a 5-1 win at Notre Dame in the consolation game of the Shillelagh Tournament. Ohio State led 2-1 after the first period and extended the lead to two with a goal in the second, adding two more in the third for the 5-1 victory. In the first, Blake Doerring opened the scoring at 7:05 and Fritz followed at 12:24. The Irish cut the Buckeye lead in half with a goal at 19:04 of the period but Fritz scored on the power play 5:56 into the second period for a 3-1 Buckeye advantage. In the third, Victor Bjorkung scored at 1:28 and Darik Angeli completed the Ohio State scoring at 10:49. Ohio State converted 1-of-2 power play chances and Notre Dame was 0-for-3. The Irish outshot the Buckeyes, 30-28, with Christian Frey making 29 saves for OSU.
Buckeyes vs. Wolverines
- Ohio State and Michigan met 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, 75-33-12, including 36-14-7 in Ann Arbor. Michigan is ahead 7-2-1 in the last 10 meetings between the teams, with Ohio State’s last victories over Michigan a sweep in Ann Arbor Nov. 18-19, 2011.
- Last season, the teams met in two home-and-home series. The first game was Nov. 29, 2013 in Ann Arbor and was the inaugural Big Ten Conference game. The Wolverines prevailed in overtime, 4-3. The teams then met in Columbus Dec. 2, a 5-4 UM win. Feb. 28 in Ann Arbor, Ohio State and Michigan tied, 2-2, with the Buckeyes winning the shootout. The final game was March 2 in Nationwide Arena in Columbus, with the Wolverines winning 4-3.
- The squads will next meet Jan. 16, 2015 in Value City Arena in the Buckeyes’ next home game. The teams will then face off Feb. 20 in Columbus before closing the regular season series Feb. 22 in Ann Arbor.
Look Back – Buckeyes vs. Wolverines
- The last series between the Buckeyes and Wolverines was a home-and-home matchup Feb. 28 in Ann Arbor and March 2 in Columbus.
- Ohio State 2, Michigan 2 OT/OSU shootout win (Feb. 28, Ann Arbor): The Buckeyes and Wolverines skated to a 2-2 overtime tie and Ohio State claimed the extra point in the Big Ten standings with a 1-0 shootout win Feb. 28. Nick Schilkey put Ohio State up 1-0 just 4:26 into the game before UM tied the score with 29 seconds left until the first intermission. Alex Szczechura again gave the Buckeyes a lead with a power play goal midway through the second period and the Buckeyes maintained the advantage until the 14:44 mark of the third when Michigan’s Alex Guptill netted his second goal of the game. Neither team was able to score the rest of the way, sending the game to a shootout. Szczechura scored the lone shootout goal and goalie Matt Tomkins, who had 35 saves in the game, did not allow a goal in the shootout.
- Michigan 4, Ohio State 3 (March 2, Nationwide Arena, Columbus): Ohio State was defeated by No. 13 Michigan, 4-3, in Nationwide Arena. The Buckeyes were unable to overcome a two-goal first-period deficit, drawing within one three times but unable to get the equalizer. Michigan scored on the power play at 2:26 and 7:03 of the first period to lead 2-0 after 20 minutes. Buckeye David Gust scored 3:03 into the second period to cut the lead in half but Michigan’s Derek DeBlois answered at 6:12 for a 3-1 game. Buckeye Darik Angeli made it a one-goal game with a power play tally at 17:45 of the second. Phil Di Giuseppe netted Michigan’s third power play goal of the game at 10:30 of the third period. Buckeye defenseman Sam Jardine cut the deficit to one 1:19 later, but Ohio State could get no closer. The Wolverines outshot the Buckeyes, 38-37, in the game and won the special teams battle, with a 3-for-4 day on the power play and 4-for-5 performance on the penalty kill.
Michigan Minute
- The Wolverines enter the weekend 7-6-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the Big Ten with a home split against Penn State Nov. 21-22 (L 2-3, W 8-1). Last weekend, Michigan swept Rensselaer in Ann Arbor, 3-2 and 6-0. The game vs. Ohio State ends a seven-game homestand for the Wolverines.
- Michigan is averaging 3.77 goals a game to rank third nationally in scoring offense while allowing 2.92 a contest. The power play is 7-for-50 (.140) and the penalty kill is 36-for-46 (.783). The Wolverines average 36.2 shots on goal per game, while allowing 29.7 a contest.
- Eight Wolverines have scored 10 or more points this season. Zach Hyman is first with 15 points, tying for third in the Big Ten and Alex Kile, who has a team-best seven goals, is tied for fifth in the conference with 13 points. Dylan Larkin leads UM with 10 assists this year. Zach Nagelvoort has played in 11 games, starting 10, and has a 2.63 goals-against average and .911 save percentage, along with a 5-5-0 ledger.
B1G Banter
- All six Big Ten teams are in action this week, with Minnesota and Wisconsin playing their first league games of the year. In the first two league series (Nov. 20-22 weekend), Ohio State/Michigan State and Michigan/Penn State both split series. In addition to the Buckeyes’ game at Michigan Friday, Michigan State is hosting Minnesota and Penn State is traveling to Wisconsin.
- Competition in the Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge wrapped up last week, with the B1G claiming the title, 25-22. Five of the six league schools met nine of 12 Hockey East institutions in 20 designated games between Oct. 10 and Nov. 29, with 10 in Hockey East venues and 10 in Big Ten arenas. Teams earned two points for a win and one point for a tie, with a bonus point for a road win. Ohio State split its challenge games with Providence Oct. 10-11 in Columbus.
- All six teams will play in the Big Ten Tournament, slated for March 19-21 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
- In conference games this year, teams get three points for a win and one point for a tie, with zero points for a loss. If a game is tied after regulation and a five-minute overtime, the game will go to a shootout, with the winner getting an extra point in the standings.
In Goal for the Buckeyes
- Sophomores Christian Frey and Matt Tomkins have split time between the pipes for the Buckeyes this season. Each has had standout games, with both Frey and Tomkins earning Big Ten Star of the Week honors twice.
- Tuesday, Frey was named Big Ten Second Star of the Week after making 29 saves in a 5-1 win at Notre Dame Saturday.
- The prior week, Tomkins was named B1G Second Star of the Week after posting a league-best 1.54 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in a series split with Michigan State Nov. 20-21, including his first career shutout. Frey was also honored Oct. 21 after making 60 saves in a 2-1 loss at Miami, while Tomkins was recognized Nov. 4 after going 1-0-1 at Canisius, allowing two goals in the series.
- Tomkins and Frey split starts in six of seven weekends this year, with Tomkins starting both games vs. Michigan State Nov. 20-21. Tomkins is 3-5-1 this year, with a 2.44 goal-against average and .908 save percentage. Frey has a 2-3-0 ledger, 3.22 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.
- Frey has a 2.50 career goals-against average and .925 save percentage, while Tomkins has a 2.65 career goals-against average and .910 save percentage as a Buckeye.
Frey joined the Buckeyes last December and was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team choice and a Big Ten All-Tournament Team honoree and entering this year was tabbed a B1G Preseason Player to Watch and named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List. - Tomkins is in his second full year with the team but missed time last year with an injury suffered in early November.
Have a Game – OSU at ND Edition
- The Buckeye squad tied its season high with five goals at Notre Dame Saturday, matching the total recorded in a 5-4 overtime win against Providence to open the year.
- Senior Tanner Fritz had his second two-goal game of the season, and the fourth of his career, against the Irish.
- Sophomore forward Nick Schilkey had a career high three assists vs. the Irish, his third game with multiple assists as a Buckeye. It was his second three-point night and first since March 14 at Penn State.
- Freshman Victor Björkung scored his first collegiate goal (his first points as a Buckeye) against the Irish.
- Blake Doerring, a junior transfer who spent two seasons at Vermont, tallied his first goal for the Scarlet and Gray Saturday. Doerring, listed as a defenseman, was skating as a forward in the game.
- Senior Darik Angeli had two points, with a goal and an assist in the win. It was his fourth career two-point game and first of the year.
- Junior Anthony Greco, the Buckeyes’ leading goal scorer, had two assists against the Irish. It was his third two-helper night and first since Oct. 26, 2013 at Robert Morris. The assists were his first of the season.
- Junior Craig Dalrymple had an assist and blocked a team-high five shots in the win.
On the Offense
- The Buckeyes are averaging 2.50 goals a game this season but have scored three or more in four of the last seven games.
- Friday against Western Michigan, Ohio State was held to two or less goals for the seventh time (in 14 games) this season. Saturday against Notre Dame the squad matched its season high with five goals, the third game with four or more tallies.
- Junior Anthony Greco scored his team best, and career high, sixth goal of the season Friday vs. Western Michigan. Greco, who had five goals in each of his first two seasons with the Scarlet and Gray, is tied for seventh in the Big Ten in goals.
- Two of Greco’s goals this season are gamewinners, giving him six in his career (in 16 career goals). Greco then had two assists in the win vs. Notre Dame, matching his career high, for a three-point weekend.
- Senior Tanner Fritz was the Big Ten’s leading returning scorer in points per game entering the season after averaging 1.0 points per contest last season. He leads the Buckeyes with 11 points on the year and ended a five-game scoreless streak, his longest stretch without a point since December 2012, with two goals Saturday against Notre Dame.
- Fritz has 94 points in his 120-game Buckeye career, with 28 goals and 64 assists, leading the current Buckeyes in career games played and points. He is looking to become the 57th Buckeye with 100 or more career points.
- Sophomore Nick Schilkey, who missed three games with an injury suffered in the season opener, had three assists against Notre Dame Saturday. Since returning to the lineup, Schilkey has a point in four of seven games and has a 2-6-8 line on the year to tie for second on the team in points and share the assist lead. He had 26 points, with 13 goals and 13 assists, as a rookie last season.
- Freshman Christian Lampasso had an assist against Western Michigan and has four helpers this season, with all four coming in his last six games.
- This year, the Buckeyes have been outscored 15-9 in the first period, but have outscored opponents 16-15 in the third period and are tied with their opponents with nine goals each in the second.
Special Teams
- Ohio State scored a power play goal in each game last weekend, going 1-for-4 vs. Western Michigan and 1-for-2 against Notre Dame (2-for-6, 33.3%). The team now has a power play goal in each of its last three games after going scoreless in three games in a row and converting just once in the seven games prior (including those three games).
- Ohio State is 9-for-53 on the power play this season, converting 17 percent of its chances.
- After scoring five goals on its first 15 opportunities through the first four games of the season against Providence and Miami, the squad was scoreless on nine chances in two games at Canisius Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 1-for-9 vs. Omaha Nov. 7-8, 0-for-7 vs. BG and 1-for-7 vs. Michigan State before going 2-fo-6 in the tournament last week.
- The Buckeye penalty kill was 5-for-5 in the Shillelagh Tournament, with a 2-for-2 night Friday vs. Western Michigan and 3-for-3 performance against Notre Dame (including a full five-minute major). The squad has not allowed a power play goal in the last three games and has stopped 19 of its opponents’ last 21 opportunities (90.5%).
- The squad has allowed power play goals in just four of 14 games this year, but in those games, Miami was 3-for-5 Oct. 17 and Omaha was 2-for-4 Nov. 7 before Bowling Green was 1-for-7 Nov. 15 and MSU was 1-for-2 Nov. 20.
- The Buckeyes are 39-for-46 (.848) on the penalty kill this year. Ohio State has faced four major power plays this season and has not allowed a goal on any of the four opportunities.
- Tanner Fritz leads the Buckeyes and is second in the Big Ten with seven power play points, with three goals and four assists. Fritz and Greco are tied for third in the B1G with three power play goals each.
- Ohio State is averaging 11.3 penalty minutes a night but has just four games with more than 10 minutes. The Buckeyes had two penalties for four minutes Friday vs. the Broncos. It was the second time in three games, and fourth time this year, the team was assessed just two penalties. Since taking a season-high seven penalties for 36 minutes Oct. 17 vs. Miami, the Buckeyes have had four or less penalties in eight of 11 games.
Shooting Stats
- The Buckeyes are averaging 28.3 shots on goal a game this year. The team had a season-high 41 at Canisius Nov. 1, one of only four games with 30 or more this season (including 35 vs. Michigan State last Thursday). The squad had a season-low 20 at Miami Oct. 18 and 22 vs. Western Michigan last Friday.
- The Buckeyes are giving up 30.4 shots on goal per game this season. Since Miami had 62 shots Oct. 18 (the first time the team allowed more than 50 since Oct. 12, 2002), Ohio State has held its opponents to 30 or less in nine of the last 10 games, with the streak broken Friday vs. Western Michigan (36). Omaha had an Ohio State opponent season-low 19 shots on goal Nov. 7 and the Spartans put just 20 on net Nov. 20.
Blocking Out
- Ohio State has blocked 225 opponent shot attempts this season, led by Justin DaSilva with 29 and Drew Brevig with 24. Brevig is tied for third in the Big Ten with 1.85 blocked shots an outing.
- DaSilva, who led the NCAA with 2.74 blocks per game a season ago, is averaging 2.90 blocks per game this season but has not played in enough Buckeye games to qualify for the national rankings. Junior Craig Dalrymple, who was injured to start the year, is averaging 3.0 blocks per game through his first six games (and also has not played enough games to rank nationally).
- Against Miami Oct. 17-18, the Buckeyes blocked 22 shots in game one and a season-high 27 in game two. In the Shillelagh Tournament last week, the Buckeyes blocked nine shots vs. Western Michigan and then had 19 blocks in the win over Notre Dame.
- Junior defenseman Craig Dalrymple had a Buckeye season-high six blocked shots for the Buckeyes vs. Bowling Green Nov. 15. DaSilva has had five shot blocks three times (Oct. 10 vs. Providence, Oct. 17 vs. Miami and Nov. 8 vs. Omaha), Brevig had five shot blocks Oct. 18 at Miami and Dalrymple blocked five against the Irish Nov. 29.
The Buckeye Rookies
- Seven freshmen joined the Buckeye roster this season – Victor Björkung (Stockholm, Sweden), Nicholas Jones (Edmonton, Alberta), Christian Lampasso (Amherst, N.Y.), Janik Möser (Mannheim, Germany), Kevin Miller (Stony Plain, Alberta), Luke Stork (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Matthew Weis (Freehold, N.J.). All seven Buckeye rookies have seen game time this season.
- Weis is third among Big Ten freshmen with seven points and six assists. He had three assists in the season opener vs. Providence in his first collegiate game. Weis leads the Buckeyes in faceoff winning percentage (.585).
- Against Notre Dame, Miller and Jones assisted on the Buckeyes’ first goal, which came 7:05 into the first period.
- Björkung scored his first collegiate goal (and first collegiate point) against Notre Dame Saturday.
- Lampasso has assists in four of his last six games, including vs. Western Michigan last Friday.
- Stork scored vs. Providence Oct. 11 to record the first goal for a Buckeye freshman this year and added his second goal at Canisius Oct. 31. Stork is one of six Big Ten freshmen with two or more goals.
- Björkung and Möser could become just the second and third Buckeye letterwinners to hail from a European country, joining Finland native Mark Kreus, who earned a letter in 1989.
Buckeye This and That
- The six goals scored by Western Michigan Friday were a Buckeye opponent season high. It was the most goals allowed by the squad since Miami scored six in back-to-back games in October 2013.
- This is the first time since the program’s first two years (1963-64, 1964-65) the squad has just one December game. The Buckeyes faced the Wolverines before December break last year as well.
- Ohio State’s series vs. Michigan State Nov. 20-21 marked the final games in Columbus until Jan. 16, 2015. The team hosts Michigan that day and then will be gone for nearly another month, returning home to take on Wisconsin Feb. 13-14. Seven of the team’s final 10 games will be in Columbus.
- Five Buckeyes have played in all 14 games this year – seniors Tanner Fritz, Darik Angeli, Chad Niddery and juniors Anthony Greco and Tyler Lundey.
- With freshman Nicholas Jones and Kevin Miller added to the Buckeye squad, Ohio State now has six Alberta natives on the roster, the most of any province or state. Minnesota is next with four, while two Buckeyes each call Ohio, Ontario and New York home. Eight other states and provinces are represented on the Buckeye roster.
Up Next
The game at Michigan closes the first half schedule for the Buckeyes. The team’s next games will be a two-game series vs. Mercyhurst in downtown Erie, Pa., Jan. 2-3, 2015.
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