Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

[osualum86]

Ohio State heads to Hockey Valley this weekend for a non-league series against Penn State. This series appears to be very evenly matched and should be hotly contested. Penn State is coming off a big sweep of top-ten Mercyhurst at home to raise their record to 10-7-3, 5-4-1 in the CHA. Ohio State was equally impressive, sweeping top ten Bemidji State on the road to raise their record to 10-8-2, 8-7-2-1 in the rugged WCHA. For Ohio State, it has been scoring by committee this season as several players have goals and assists this season. The blue line has been fairly solid, as has rs-jr goaltender Stacy Danczak. There are a couple of common opponents. Ohio State was defeated at home by Mercyhurst 3-0, the same team Penn State recently swept. The other common opponent was Robert Morris. Both teams played Robert Morris on the road. Penn State split with RMU in a CHA series. Ohio State played a single game with RMU and was able to win 5-1. Penn State fans, let us know about your season and what we can expect to see this weekend.

[pennpapa]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

Our season has been great. We have exceeded our expectations. We have some great new additions in our coaches and players. Coach has done a good job of integrating the players and using their abilities to bolster his game plan.
The goalies have come up big and have done an exceptional job. The team has bonded with each other and support the system.
Everyone I have talked to can't wait for the Ohio State game. We hope it's a couple of good games and we shall see the results. Both teams are playing well and have had a couple of games that should raise their spirits to the max.
Welcome to our Barn and Let The Good Times Roll!
I invite You-All to the Happy Valley Brewery for a pregame Libation... You can buy us a Pint or Two!

[ARM]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

There are a couple of common opponents. Ohio State was defeated at home by Mercyhurst 3-0, the same team Penn State recently swept. The other common opponent was Robert Morris. Both teams played Robert Morris on the road. Penn State split with RMU in a CHA series. Ohio State played a single game with RMU and was able to win 5-1.

St. Cloud State and Minnesota are also common opponents, although likely less telling because PSU played those teams opening weekend. The Nittany Lions lost to Minnesota, 8-0, and defeated SCSU, 3-2. The Buckeyes were swept by the Gophers and split with the Huskies.

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

St. Cloud State and Minnesota are also common opponents, although likely less telling because PSU played those teams opening weekend. The Nittany Lions lost to Minnesota, 8-0, and defeated SCSU, 3-2. The Buckeyes were swept by the Gophers and split with the Huskies.

Thanks for the additional information, ARM. For whatever reason, I missed those games. We were certainly more competitive vs the Gophers, losing 4-2 and 5-3, but we did let St. Cloud come into our barn and win a game, so as you alluded to, we really can't draw any definitive conclusions regarding who is the favorite this weekend. Should be interesting. I could see a split. I don't think either team is going to let the other get a sweep.

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

Ohio State takes game one by a final score of 3-1. Sophomore forward Haley Studler scored the first two goals of the game to stake the Buckeyes to a 2-0 lead. Those goals were Haley's first goals of her OSU career and the second turned out to be the game-winner. Penn State cut the lead to 2-1 on a pp goal from Hannah Bramm. Sophomore forward Claudia Kepler added an empty-net goal for the Buckeyes for the final score. Ohio State outshot the Nittany Lions 35-9 with redshirt-junior goaltender Stacy Danczak registering 8 saves. The Buckeyes go for the sweep tomorrow at 2:00 pm.

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

Ohio State completes the sweep today with a big 6-0 win. Six different Buckeyes scored and freshman goaltender Kassidy Sauve got the shutout in net with 23 saves. The Buckeyes outshot the Nittany Lions 33-23. Ohio State's goals were scored by freshman defenseman Dani Sadek, junior forward Julia McKinnon, freshman forward Julianna Iafallo, senior forward Danielle Gagne, freshman forward Lauren Spring, and senior forward Taylor Kuehl. The Buckeyes return to WCHA action next weekend as they head to St. Cloud to take on the Huskies.

[ZedLeppelin]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

I don't know what the motivation was for Brandwene to mix up the lines for this series, but it really took Penn State off of its game. There was absolutely no chemistry on any of these jumbled lines all weekend, and everyone looked like they had no idea what to do or how to get something set up. It was definitely not the same team that swept Mercyhurst before the holiday break, and it sure would've been more fun to watch (and a lot more competitive) if the lines had been kept intact. I don't know, I'm no coach, but there must have been a reason for scrambling everything up this weekend - it sure made for some disjointed Penn State hockey.

[Hux]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

. I don't know, I'm no coach, but there must have been a reason for scrambling everything up this weekend - it sure made for some disjointed Penn State hockey.

Yeah, it is called video scouting. The assumption is the other guy watches game tape (Mercyhurst) and sees what you did, and structures his game plan accordingly. So now you have to do something different to counteract his game plan.

[Supernaut]

Yeah, it is called video scouting. The assumption is the other guy watches game tape (Mercyhurst) and sees what you did, and structures his game plan accordingly. So now you have to do something different to counteract his game plan.

What happened too.... if it aint broke, dont fix it. Can't believe a coach mixes a good thing up just in case another team watches film and develops a plan to counteract. Let them play and see if the other teams changes work? Obviously penn states changes didnt...

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

What happened too.... if it aint broke, dont fix it. Can't believe a coach mixes a good thing up just in case another team watches film and develops a plan to counteract. Let them play and see if the other teams changes work? Obviously penn states changes didnt...

I wondered how this series turned out the way it did. I expected a tougher time against the second place team in the CHA and a team that had just swept Mercyhurst, a team that beat us 3-0 in our barn. Now I know.

[Puckdrop14]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

I wondered how this series turned out the way it did. I expected a tougher time against the second place team in the CHA and a team that had just swept Mercyhurst, a team that beat us 3-0 in our barn. Now I know.

I have played in and watched more games that I can probably count during my lifetime and one thing that I have noticed (men's and women's) in recent years at the top levels of hockey is that lines are continuously changed and set lines are very rare. It doesn't matter if your team is successful or not, coaches love to move players around and will often do it during a game. Rarely will you see the same line combinations two games in a row. Does it work, who knows but what it does is that it allows players to become more adaptable and they can play with anyone. As for the weekend games, maybe Penn was just off and OSU wasn't. They struggled mightily on Friday but did seem a lot better on Sunday although the score might tell you different. I watch many WCHA games and quite frankly what you recently experienced at Penn is the norm with most of the teams. Let's see what happens over the course of their next few weeks but would be hard pressed to agree with you on the reason for these two losses.

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State @ Penn State 1/3 - 1/4

I have played in and watched more games that I can probably count during my lifetime and one thing that I have noticed (men's and women's) in recent years at the top levels of hockey is that lines are continuously changed and set lines are very rare. It doesn't matter if your team is successful or not, coaches love to move players around and will often do it during a game. Rarely will you see the same line combinations two games in a row. Does it work, who knows but what it does is that it allows players to become more adaptable and they can play with anyone. As for the weekend games, maybe Penn was just off and OSU wasn't. They struggled mightily on Friday but did seem a lot better on Sunday although the score might tell you different. I watch many WCHA games and quite frankly what you recently experienced at Penn is the norm with most of the teams. Let's see what happens over the course of their next few weeks but would be hard pressed to agree with you on the reason for these two losses.

It wasn't really my statement, I was just going by ZedLeppelin's post. I can say this, our coach changes line combinations from time to time depending on the opponent and in-game situations or matchups. I think any decent coach makes those adjustments and as you say, set lines every game are a rarity. I was basically just commenting on Zed's observations on why Penn State lost.