No. 17 Buckeyes Headed to Wisconsin for B1G Series
1/7/2022 7:43:58 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
The Basics
- The No. 17 Ohio State men’s hockey team opens a stretch of 14 straight Big Ten outings with two games at Wisconsin this weekend.
- The Buckeyes and Badgers will meet at 7 p.m. ET Saturday and 4 p.m. ET Sunday in the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. (Note the series was postponed from a Friday/Saturday matchup because of Covid-19 issues within the Wisconsin program.)
- The Saturday game will be televised by Bally Sports Wisconsin Plus, with Sunday’s on Bally Sports Wisconsin. The coverage of both games will be picked up by Bally Sports Great Lakes and streamed through BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app and Big Ten Plus (using pay-tv credentials).
- Ohio State Radio will also carry the action over the air on WBNS-AM 1460 and WBNS-FM-HD2 in Columbus (joined in progress Sunday), online on ESPNColumbus.com and on the Ohio State Buckeyes app.
- The Buckeyes enter the series 14-6-0 overall, with a 6-4-0-0-0-0 Big Ten ledger, and on a five-game winning streak. Wisconsin is 6-12-2 on the year and has a 3-7-0-1-1-0 conference record.
- Wisconsin and Ohio State are meeting for the first time this season and are slated to meet in Columbus Feb. 4-5.
- Last year, the Badgers won the series, 3-1, including a two-game sweep in Madison. Ohio State is 20-23-4 all-time vs. Wisconsin and leads the series since the start of Big Ten play, 19-13-4. In Madison, the series is tied, 9-9-2.
- This year, 24 Buckeyes – including every skater with more than two games played – have posted at least one point.
- Nineteen have at least one goal and 24 have one or more assists.
- The Buckeyes have scored three or more goals in 15 of 20 games this year and are averaging 3.70 goals a night.
- The defense has held opponents to two or less goals in 14 of 20 games and is allowing 2.20 goals per game overall.
- Ohio State has outscored opponents 39-13 in the third period this year. The team has been outscored 16-13 in the first and leads in the second, 20-15.
- Of the Buckeyes’ 14 wins this season, five gamewinners have been scored in the third period, along with two overtime victories.
From the Stat Sheet
- Two freshmen share the Buckeye point-scoring lead with 19 each – forward Georgii Merkulov and defenseman Mason Lohrei.
- Merkulov has a team-high nine goals and Lohrei is first on the squad with 17 assists.
- Five Buckeyes are tied for second with six goals – Jake Wise, Gustaf Westlund, Patrick Guzzo, Tate Singleton and Travis Treloar.
- Wise is second with 11 assists, followed by Merkulov and Grant Gabriele with 10 each.
- Ten Buckeyes have 10 or more points.
- Gabriele is first with a +16 rating, with Will Riedell second (+14) and Lohrei (+13) third.
- Gabriele, Riedell, Ryan O’Connell and James Marooney all share the lead with 26 shot blocks.
- Jakub Dobeš is 13-5-0, with a 2.10 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.
- As a team (through games of Jan. 5), the Buckeyes are in the Top 10 in the NCAA in faceoff winning percentage (4th/.548), scoring margin (5th/1.50), winning percentage (7th/.700), scoring offense (8th/3.70) and scoring defense (10th/2.20).
Buckeyes vs. Badgers
- Ohio State is 20-23-4 all-time vs. Wisconsin and leads the series since the start of Big Ten play, 19-13-4. In Madison, the Buckeyes and Badgers are tied, 9-9-2.
- Last season, the teams met in Columbus Dec. 3-4, 2020, splitting a series with a 4-2 Buckeye victory and 3-1 UW win. In Madison Feb. 26-27, 2021, the Badgers swept with a 2-1 overtime win and 7-0 victory.
- Senior Quinn Preston leads the current Buckeyes with 14 games played vs. Wisconsin, while Grant Gabriele, Ryan O’Connell and Gustaf Westlund have each played 12 games vs. the Badgers. Preston (4g, 6a) and Westlund (3g, 7a) each have 10 points vs. Wisconsin, while Tate Singleton has a 1-6-7 line in 10 games played.
- Wisconsin is 6-12-2 on the year, with a 3-7-0-1-1-0 mark in B1G play. The Badgers last played Dec. 28-29, claiming the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off title in Milwaukee with a 3-2 overtime win over Yale and 2-2 overtime tie, followed by a shootout win, vs. Providence.
- The Badgers are averaging 1.9 goals a game and allowing 3.1 a contest. The power play is 10-for-65 (.154), with the penalty kill 34-for-50 (.680).
- Carson Ceulemans is first with 10 assists and 13 points and Brock Caufield and Tarek Baker are tied for first with five goals each.
- Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik is a Wisconsin graduate and played four years for the Badgers, serving as the team captain when the squad captured the 1990 NCAA Championship.
- Buckeye rookie Mason Lohrei is a native of Madison.
Rookies Pick Up Honors
- Freshman defenseman Mason Lohrei was named Big Ten Third Star of the Week Tuesday. He had four assists and points and was +6 in the sweep of LIU. In game two, he had a career-high three assists and points and was +5, the 11th +5 outing for a Buckeye since 1999-00.
- Georgii Merkulov was recognized as the runner-up for the HCA National Men’s Player of the Month award Wednesday. The freshman had six goals, three assists and nine points (including two gamewinning goals) and won 61.5 percent of his faceoffs in seven games during the month.
- Buckeye rookies have won four Big Ten weekly honors this year, with goalie Jakub Dobeš a two-time selection and Merkulov also honored. Dobeš was also tabbed the national rookie of the month for October.
Strong Late
- The Buckeyes are outscoring opponents 39-13 in the third period this season and 41-13 in the third and overtime combined.
- The Buckeyes are 4-6 when trailing after the second period this campaign and 2-0-0 when tied entering the third.
- Ohio State has rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in three games this season. The squad trailed Minnesota 3-0 after the first period Nov. 12 and won in regulation 4-3 and was down 3-0 against UConn in the second period Oct. 15 before a 4-3 overtime victory. The Buckeyes started the third period against Bowling Green Dec. 17 behind 3-0 and won in overtime, 4-3.
- The Buckeyes were down 1-0 against Penn State entering the third but scored the game’s final four goals for a 4-1 victory.
- In all, five of the Buckeyes’ gamewinners have come in the third period, along with two in overtime.
Tic-tac-toe #NCAAHockey x @OhioStateMHKY pic.twitter.com/Kuhb15AyP4
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) January 6, 2022
In the Big
- In the Big Ten this year, teams are awarded three points in the conference standings for a win in regulation. If the game is tied following regulation, both teams receive one point, with a second point awarded to the team that wins in either the 3-on-3 overtime period or the shootout. Records reflect W-L-T-OTW-OTL-SW.
- Michigan has played 12 league games, while the other six teams have played 10.
- Michigan is in first place with a 7-5-0-0-2-0 record and 23 points. Minnesota is second (19 points, 6-4-0-0-1-0), with Ohio State a point behind (18, 6-4-0-0-0-0). Notre Dame is one point back (17, 6-4-0-2-1-0) and Michigan State is in fifth (14, 5-5-0-1-0-0), with Wisconsin sixth (10, 3-7-0-1-1-0) and Penn State seventh (9, 3-7-0-1-0-0).
Up Next
- The Buckeyes will return home for their lone January series in Columbus, hosting Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 and 8 p.m. Jan. 15. The Friday game will be streamed through B1G+, with BTN televising game two. Ohio State Radio will also carry the action.
- Tickets are available online at OhioStateBuckeyes.com and at the ticket office on game night. Parking is free in gameday lots. TICKET INFORMATION
- The squad will play at Michigan State Jan. 21-22 and at Penn State Jan. 28-29.
PODCAST: @USCHO Spotlight hosts @jimmyconnelly and @EdTrefzger are joined by @OhioStateMHKY head coach Steve Rohlik to talk Buckeyes, @B1GHockey, the effect of transfers on recruiting, and more. https://t.co/jhU0wEnxO1
— USCHO.com (@USCHO) January 6, 2022
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