Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

[Timothy A]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

Your family, your friends -- your call. I have no problem with the family time you're describing. Sounds like any number of family gatherings I've been a part of. Strangers in a public place is a different situation.

I sit behind the opposing bench, so we are usually in the thick of the opposing team's fans. I don't know them and they don't know me but it's well understood all the cheering is good natured and just having fun. You trade smiles as you go get a pretzel, they might say something funny about a Badger and I'll laugh and vice versa. I'll comment that an opposing goalie made a big save or that the ref missed a call against UW. It's just a game.

[Fiveholio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

Is this where the conversation goes on this thread when the Buckeyes have a very underwhelming weekend with everything on the line? An overthought and overblown story of a presumed "altercation" with a cheering gopher adult/adults and a cheering local minor in a packed record crowd? I was in attendance and there is nothing to this narrative. Have a great day and good luck vs SCSU next weekend.

Yes exactly The only way that jibber jabber makes sense is if the 8 yr old was offered a scholarship already. Which I guess is possible

[Leather helmet]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

I'm going to hang out on Twitter for a while; people treat each other better over there.

[D2D]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

I'm going to hang out on Twitter for a while; people treat each other better over there.

Even the 8 year-olds?

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

Unfair characterization, as is so often the case with you. But as past exchanges have shown, trying to sort that part out is futile...

So fine. Make it a hypothetical in Anywhere, USA. It boils down to this: An 8 year old stranger is acting up at a sporting event. The kid's parents won't do the right thing. The other grown-ups present don't need to be escalating the situation; they need to err on the side of voluntary restraint. If someone has a way to cool down the situation, so much the better.

No one needs to stay away. No wall needed. No new rules needed. No extra ushers needed. Just a minimal commitment to be a decent human being, and a nominal effort to remember what it's like to be an 8 year old kid.

This confrontation is 100% your creation. I never said anything of the kind. All I did was observe that there was a kid who responded to us. Everything else, such as my thinking of it as a "win," or that this was somehow a problem, is entirely your imagination at work. You have no evidence for it in what I wrote, but that doesn't stop you.

Your characterization of the whole thing is simply wrong. There was no crisis. There was no altercation. There was just a small group of fans singing their fight song, and there was a girl who responded to it. The girl wasn't out of line. (You may not like it, but the word "suck" has become pretty much standard fare at sporting events. The OSU band was responding to us in fairly similar fashion, though I couldn't make out the specific words they were using. Language usage changes, and if adults are going to use it routinely, then kids will, too.) She wasn't particularly upset, as far as I could tell.

I didn't bring it up because I was claiming some sort of victory. I brought it up because I thought it was kind of cute. As I said, she was engaged in the game. That's the part that I'm pleased by. Hopefully, she'll keep coming back.

But even if I did have a more negative take on her behavior, that wouldn't have been our problem. That would be on her parents. If having four visiting fans sing the fight song when they score is enough to cause issues, that's on the home crowd being overly sensitive. I'd say, "Typical Ohio State fans," except that it's not. They were fine. You are the only one who is so thin-skinned that you can't handle it. Grow up.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

This confrontation is 100% your creation.

Not originally. But then I did request that we treat the issue as hypothetical. Didn't help. All we're doing is annoying the rest of the board. Again. For that reason, I've deleted all my other posts on the subject.

The thread deserves a fuller clean-up. Are you willing to do the same?

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

Not originally. But then I did request that we treat the issue as hypothetical. Didn't help. All we're doing is annoying the rest of the board. Again. For that reason, I've deleted all my other posts on the subject.

The thread deserves a fuller clean-up. Are you willing to do the same?

This seems reasonable...I find the Ohio State posters on the board to be worthy of this request FWIW.

[bluffrinkrat]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

This seems reasonable...I find the Ohio State posters on the board to be worthy of this request FWIW.

Mutual disarmament may be a good idea, but I wouldn't bet on it.

[Puckdrop14]

Mutual disarmament may be a good idea, but I wouldn't bet on it.

PGB is numero uno when it comes to the post game three star write up but think this recent back and forth was way over the top. It happens after a tough weekend. Hope for a positive outcome at St-Cloud and all will be better.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

PGB is numero uno when it comes to the post game three star write up but think this recent back and forth was way over the top. It happens after a tough weekend. Hope for a positive outcome at St-Cloud and all will be better.

Appreciate that. In my 20 years of supporting Buckeye Women's Hockey, last weekend was either the toughest result to accept, or very close too it.

But don't worry. I've come back to my senses; it's already "all better." Don't need any particular result in St. Cloud for this purpose. I know what changes I need to make to be satisfied with my body of work. And they'll be permanent changes.

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

I'm a happy dude tonight, happy for our girls! The Buckeyes snapped a five-game losing streak with a solid 4-0 win at St. Cloud earlier today. Ohio State came out ready to play in this one and outshot St. Cloud 53-22. Big props to Huskies goaltender Emma Polusny for stopping 49 of those 53 shots ... a .924 save percentage. Buckeye backstop Andrea Braendli did not get as much action, but stopped all 22 shots she faced to get the shutout. Ohio State's first goal was scored by Rebecca Freiburger in the first period to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. Neither team scored in the second period and the teams went into the third period with the Buckeyes holding onto their 1-0 lead. Ohio State added 3 goals in the third period to put this one away. Paetyn Levis scored a minute into the third period to put the Buckeyes up 2-0. 15 minutes later at the 16:43 mark, Sophie Jaques added a goal to give Ohio State a 3-0 lead. Emma Maltais finished off the scoring with a power play goal at the 18:45 mark and that is how it ended ... 4-0 Bucks. The two teams are back at it tomorrow. Game time is 3:07 pm EST.

[ChickHicks86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

With the 5-0 Saturday victory, Ohio State completed their much needed sweep of St. Cloud State. The Buckeyes were a completely different team than the one that went 1-5 to start 2019. Now St. Cloud is a step down from the last 3 series' competition, but they're still a pretty solid team with capable players and two fantastic goaltenders that make it difficult to beat them in the fashion Ohio State did this weekend. I won't even try to live up to a pgb-style 3 stars, but I'll give my 3 takeaways from the weekend:

1) The Buckeyes seem to have found the positivity and confidence that was absent over the last 5 games. Braendli was solid in net both nights, and the box scores don't show just how close St. Cloud was to finding the net a few times if not for some impressive saves. With the way St. Cloud's goalies played (Polusny Friday, Alder Saturday), the games could just as easily been in the 10-3 range as the 4-0 and 5-0 outcomes that actually happened. Even beyond goaltending, the OSU skaters had a spring in their step that was at best erratic and at worst completely missing over the last 5 games. Muzerall rolled all 4 forward lines and 6 defenders, and there was a lot of quality play and teamwork between all 5 skaters on the ice. Whatever they did during practice this week, they should keep doing it, as the effort they put forth on the ice this weekend is what they will need to be competitive in some really important games down the stretch.

2) Ohio State's special teams were a major factor in both games. Inability to kill penalties or convert power play opportunities was a hallmark of the 5 game skid going into this weekend. Against St. Cloud, the Buckeyes power play was 3/5 (granted 2 of the goals happened in the final 2 minutes of each game when the Huskies arguably had already called it a night), but regardless of the circumstances, it was refreshing to have the skater advantage actually be an advantage, and even the power play attempts that didn't net goals had quality zone time and good puck movement that generated high quality chances that are required to beat great goaltenders like St. Cloud has. Additionally, the Buckeye penalty kill returned to their early season form, keeping the Huskies off the board in 6 chances. The PK forecheck wasn't as aggressive as it was in October or November, but the skaters in scarlet were excellent at getting sticks in the passing lanes and bodies in front of St. Cloud shots (on the 100' wide sheet of ice to boot). On top of it all, while Muzerall likely won't be happy with how many penalty minutes the team took this weekend, it is actually a testament to the girls for not having more. St. Cloud was clearly frustrated and took some chippy penalties down the stretch, but the Buckeyes maintained their composure and didn't retaliate, allowing for some of the aforementioned late-game power plays.

3) It is going to be crucial to the Buckeyes to continue to approach each weekend one at a time. This weekend has reminded the nation how difficult it is to win in the WCHA, with Wisconsin splitting at Bemidji, and UMD taking at least 1 game from the Gophers at Ridder. Interestingly, as I write this Saturday night, UMD controls their route to the 3 seed for the WCHA tournament, having played 3 fewer games than OSU and only trailing by 5 standings points. That being said, the Buckeyes can't be watching results elsewhere, but taking care of business against Bemidji next weekend will go a long way toward solidifying their conference playoff standing. The way I see it, the 1-2 seeds are interchangeable, so the real benefit to gaining the 3 seed would be facing Mankato instead of Bemidji in the best of 3 opening round. On top of it all, the Buckeyes results this weekend moved them back into NCAA at large positioning, moving up to 7th in the PairWise (at least as of Saturday per Grant's calculator). The margins are razor thin between a handful of teams on the bubble, so it is inevitably going to flip flop over the next few weeks, but it is a nice reminder that Ohio State is not out of the national picture by any means, even without winning the WCHA tournament, which the more I think about it, is not as tall of a task as it might seem. Wisconsin and Minnesota have likely already clinched NCAA tournament bids, and in a 1 game series, it's a lot easier to steal a win. Not to mention, Duluth or Bemidji would be capable of winning their respective semifinal, meaning beating 1 & 2 in back to back games might not even be necessary. All that being said, looking that far ahead is for the fans. The OSU squad would be best served by focusing on replicating their play from St. Cloud this weekend against Bemidji State next weekend.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

With the 5-0 Saturday victory, Ohio State completed their much needed sweep of St. Cloud State. The Buckeyes were a completely different team than the one I saw in Duluth a couple weeks ago. Now St. Cloud is a step down from Duluth (and Minnesota and Wisconsin for that matter), but they're still a pretty solid team with capable players and two fantastic goaltenders that make it difficult to beat them in the fashion Ohio State did this weekend. I won't even try to live up to a pgb-style 3 stars, but I'll give my 3 takeaways from the weekend:

The Three Takeaways of the Weekend! Love it! Thoroughly enjoyed your excellent post.

Will try to add a few thoughts soon...

[osualum86]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

Great read, ChickHicks86! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on our team.

Looking at the box score from today's/yesterday's game, the shots on goal totals were slightly closer, but still dominated by the Buckeyes 48-28. Janine Alder started in net for the Huskies and stopped 43 of the 47 shots she faced. Ohio State's Andrea Braendli stopped all 28 shots she faced to get the 5-0 shutout. The Buckeyes got single goals in the first two periods from Tatum Skaggs and Maddy Field. The Buckeyes scored 3 goals in the 3rd period. Those goals were scored by Charly Dahlquist, Liz Schepers, and Jacyn Reeves.

The Buckeyes will welcome in Bemidji next weekend for Senior Weekend. The Huskies will host Minnesota State on 2/5 in a rare mid-week game before heading off to Duluth next weekend for a series with the Bulldogs.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2018-19

Great job on the takeaways, CH86. With all the information, I feel like I was there. When that's accomplished, a National Board is functioning at its best.

Heading up ice with the puck:

1) The Buckeyes seem to have found the positivity and confidence that was absent over the last 5 games. Braendli was solid in net both nights, and the box scores don't show just how close St. Cloud was to finding the net a few times if not for some impressive saves. With the way St. Cloud's goalies played (Polusny Friday, Alder Saturday), the games could just as easily been in the 10-3 range as the 4-0 and 5-0 outcomes that actually happened. Even beyond goaltending, the OSU skaters had a spring in their step that was at best erratic and at worst completely missing over the last 5 games.

Very good to hear. In my head, I truly thought they'd bounce back. In my heart, I believed it. But some doubt did creep in. As lows go, last weekend set the standard. A lesser team might have been done for the year. I'm proud of the players and coaches.

Muzerall rolled all 4 forward lines and 6 defenders, and there was a lot of quality play and teamwork between all 5 skaters on the ice. Whatever they did during practice this week, they should keep doing it, as the effort they put forth on the ice this weekend is what they will need to be competitive in some really important games down the stretch.

Again, wonderful to hear. And there may be a little lesson here that goes far beyond one squad. A team with the entire bench fully engaged tends to be a happy team. But a team with half the bench sitting idly, while the other half is bent over in exhaustion, may be less content.

Naturally the challenges presented by each opponent heavily influence how players are deployed. And I'm certainly going to leave those deployment decisions to those at the top pay grades. But to expand my take a little further: The '"short bench" has often been a popular choice in Women's Hockey. Usually that choice is highly rational in terms of match-ups. But sometimes the strategy fails to take into account the impact on morale. Or at least take it fully into account.

Looking around the league, I have to wonder if this is a factor in UMD's resurgence. In yesterday's box score from Minneapolis, I noticed that UMD Freshman Kylie Hanley scored a huge goal to help take down the Golden Goliaths. When the Bulldogs came to Columbus last Fall, Hanley & others didn't play a minute. They sat on the bench All. Weekend. Long. Obviously that's changed. Big factor for the Bulldogs? I certainly don't have the information needed to make that judgment. But I do have to wonder.

2) Ohio State's special teams were a major factor in both games. Inability to kill penalties or convert power play opportunities was a hallmark of the 5 game skid going into this weekend...

Gotta believe that special teams were a point of emphasis in those productive practices.

3) It is going to be crucial to the Buckeyes to continue to approach each weekend one at a time. This weekend has reminded the nation how difficult it is to win in the WCHA, with Wisconsin splitting at Bemidji, and UMD taking at least 1 game from the Gophers at Ridder. Interestingly, as I write this Saturday night, UMD controls their route to the 3 seed for the WCHA tournament, having played 3 fewer games than OSU and only trailing by 5 standings points. That being said, the Buckeyes can't be watching results elsewhere, but taking care of business against Bemidji next weekend will go a long way toward solidifying their conference playoff standing.

I noticed UMD's favorable position as well, and was a little shocked. But it is what it is. I do agree with you on the correct mindset to use in response.

The way I see it, the 1-2 seeds are interchangeable, so the real benefit to gaining the 3 seed would be facing Mankato instead of Bemidji in the best of 3 opening round. On top of it all, the Buckeyes results this weekend moved them back into NCAA at large positioning, moving up to 7th in the PairWise (at least as of Saturday per Grant's calculator). The margins are razor thin between a handful of teams on the bubble, so it is inevitably going to flip flop over the next few weeks, but it is a nice reminder that Ohio State is not out of the national picture by any means, even without winning the WCHA tournament, which the more I think about it, is not as tall of a task as it might seem. Wisconsin and Minnesota have likely already clinched NCAA tournament bids, and in a 1 game series, it's a lot easier to steal a win. Not to mention, Duluth or Bemidji would be capable of winning their respective semifinal, meaning beating 1 & 2 in back to back games might not even be necessary. All that being said, looking that far ahead is for the fans. The OSU squad would be best served by focusing on replicating their play from St. Cloud this weekend against Bemidji State next weekend.

Spot on. Thanks again.