Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

[osualum86]

Ohio State dropped a mid-week, non-league game vs Mercyhurst earlier tonight. Admittedly, the girls thought they could have played better, and I am sure they will play better this weekend as the road gets tougher with Minnesota coming to Columbus. Ohio State has not had much success against the Gophers in recent years, or historically for that matter, so the Bucks will have to come out hungry and bring their 'A' game to have a shot at gaining points this weekend. Have a safe trip down to the Gopher fans who are coming. Hoping for a couple of good games and no injuries. Special teams will be a factor in this game. The Buckeye PK will have to be sharp in this contest and they will need to improve on the PP if they want to give themselves a chance to win. Earlier tonight, the Buckeyes went 0-7 on the PP, which included a 5:00 major against Mercyhurst. Need to work on that. Good luck to both teams!

[Eeyore]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

I'll be there. And so far this year, Minnesota isn't the opponent of choice if you need to fix your power play. It's not just that they've killed 33 of 36 but that their opponents have spent a lot of their PP time stuck in their own zone.

[ARM]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Ohio State -- yet another of those WCHA opponents against which we suddenly have a winning streak of zero games, along with Bemidji State and UMD. Hopefully, that will change this weekend.

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Ohio State -- yet another of those WCHA opponents against which we suddenly have a winning streak of zero games, along with Bemidji State and UMD. Hopefully, that will change this weekend.

Now there's something I had not thought of. The last game was a tie, which the Buckeyes gained the extra point in the shootout.

[D2D]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Now there's something I had not thought of. The last game was a tie, which the Buckeyes gained the extra point in the shootout.

Suddenly I have a splitting headache!

[CrazyDave]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Suddenly I have a splitting headache!

That one wasn't a case of home run derby... it was a case of seeing which team could get something out of the infield.

[brookyone]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Time to get back into the W column Gophers!

Go Gophers!

We don't want no stinkin' shootouts!

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Minnesota takes game one by a final score of 4-2. I thought that special teams would be a factor in this game, but the real difference was the Gophers two even-strength goals. Each team scored two PP goals with the Buckeyes going 2-4 on the PP and Minnesota going 2-5 on their power plays. Minnesota outshot the Bucks by a wide margin, 44-18. Buckeye netminder Kassidy Sauve kept the Buckeyes within striking distance with some tremendous saves, but the Bucks could not get any closer than a 3-2 deficit in the second period. Minnesota native Taylor Kuehl scored both goals for Ohio State. Four different players scored for the Gophers ... Maryanne Menefee, Kate Schipper, Meghan Lorence, and Rachael Bona. Game two is tomorrow at 2:07.

[Eeyore]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Minnesota had one bad penalty kill. Actually, it went back just before that. I thought Amanda Leveille had a shaky game. She had some good moments, but the sequence that produced both Ohio State goals started when she left a bad rebound and Stecklein had to take a penalty to prevent it from getting knocked in.

Then Baldwin took a silly penalty to make it a 5-on-3. The Buckeyes looked really good passing the puck around four 8 seconds and Kuehl buried a great shot.

After the ensuing faceoff, Leveille misplayed the puck behind the net and the Gophers never recovered before it was 3-2.

The OSU forecheck caused some problems for Minnesota in the first. The second period was a nonstop parade of penalties and hard to make sense of.

The third period was a classic case of a team with a lead strangling its opponent. OSU was never able to mount a serious threat. I think that teams that find themselves a goal or two down at the start of the third against the Gophers this year are going to be very frustrated.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Good comments from both Eeyore and osualum86. The 3 Stars may not add all that much this time. But if you have an interest, they're posted on the WCHA thread.

...After the ensuing faceoff, Leveille misplayed the puck behind the net and the Gophers never recovered before it was 3-2.

I'd call that one a forced error, but yes.

The OSU forecheck caused some problems for Minnesota in the first. The second period was a nonstop parade of penalties and hard to make sense of.

6 minors for the Buckeyes; 5 minors for the Gophers. 9 of the 11 penalties came in the 2nd Period.

The third period was a classic case of a team with a lead strangling its opponent. OSU was never able to mount a serious threat. I think that teams that find themselves a goal or two down at the start of the third against the Gophers this year are going to be very frustrated.

The Gophers did a very nice job of closing the game out. The 3rd Period had good pace, but few quality scoring chances.

[Eeyore]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

6 minors for the Buckeyes; 5 minors for the Gophers. 9 of the 11 penalties came in the 2nd Period.

It also featured the first time I've ever seen a player called for embellishment without going down. I'm not saying that it wasn't embellishment, but the refs set a new standard for what will get called for it that they had better well live up to.

[ARM]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

It also featured the first time I've ever seen a player called for embellishment without going down. I'm not saying that it wasn't embellishment, but the refs set a new standard for what will get called for it that they had better well live up to.

Embellishment is an area of emphasis this year, and in the past with such calls, there has been much stricter enforcement early in the year than in the latter stages of the season.

[ne7minder]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Embellishment is an area of emphasis this year, and in the past with such calls, there has been much stricter enforcement early in the year than in the latter stages of the season.

I didn't hear Dan comment on that penalty & he is usually pretty good at pointing out "oddities" no matter which way they go. He did mention frustration over how easily the nets came off their posts. It did seem like they did that lot particularly in the first two periods. Was this a problem?

[Puckdrop14]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

Nets were coming off easily although not sure if there were any intentional knock offs. Gophers were very good. Amazing transition game and they play as a unit of 5. The Brandt line was a threat every time they were on the ice. Ramsey was a presence on the back end. Defensive zone coverage breakdown by the Buckeyes in the 2nd period lead to the 3 second period goals. The 2nd period has not been kind to the OSU this year. OSU defense played well and the forecheck was impressive in the 1st. That kind of intensity has to be present for 3 periods. OSU will need another strong performance from their goalie today if they hope to steal a point from the Gophers today.

[OldDave]

Re: Ohio State vs Minnesota 11/14 - 11/15

I'll be there. And so far this year, Minnesota isn't the opponent of choice if you need to fix your power play. It's not just that they've killed 33 of 36 but that their opponents have spent a lot of their PP time stuck in their own zone.

Murphy strikes again. I think OSU was 3 of 8 on the PP.