GBMWolverine Hockey Preview: Surprising #14 Buckeyes Invade Yost Arena

Posted at 6:00am — 11/18/2011

#7 Michigan (7-3-2, 3-3-2-1 6th CCHA) vs. #14 Ohio State (8-3-1, 5-2-1-1 T2nd CCHA)
7:35 p.m. Friday & Saturday, Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Mi.
TV: Friday-Comcast Local ch900. Saturday-None.

The Wolverines limp home from a 0-1-1 trip to Miami last weekend. The Buckeyes come in after a two game home sweep of NMU. Michigan leads the overall series 68-31-11 and has won the last three meetings and four of the last five meetings. Ohio State is currently on a five game win streak and is tied for 2nd place with LSSU. This will be the first of two series this season, with Michigan taking on OSU in Columbus January 13th followed by the Frozen Diamond Faceoff outdoor game in Cleveland on January 15th.

Rewinding Michigan’s Previous Action:
Michigan traveled to Oxford for a pair of games against Miami and came up on the short end of a 2-1 decision last Friday. Luke Glendening scored the lone goal for the Wolverines. On Saturday, Michigan jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Chris Brown and Phil DiGiuseppe but could not hold the lead. They surrendered three straight goals until Zach Hyman pinballed a shot from behind the net past Miami’s Cody Reichard to forge a 3-3 tie with just under four minutes left in the contest. Both teams had chances in OT, but couldn’t convert- including a David Wohlberg attempt that rattled the crossbar. Miami won the ensuing shootout, 1-0 to take five of six points on the weekend.

Yostmeister Three Stars Of The Weekend:
1. Miami – Reilly Smith posted a four point weekend for the RedHawks
2. Miami – Tyler Biggs collected three points in the two game series
3. Michigan – Phil DiGiuseppe & AJ Treais share third star honors with two points apiece

Scouting the Buckeyes:
Ohio State’s hockey program is quietly staying beneath college hockey’s radar, no thanks to the unbalanced attention the football and basketball programs garner in Columbus. In what was to be billed as a re-building year for second year coach Mark Osiecki, the Buckeyes are beginning to turn some heads in the CCHA so far this season. Chosen to reside in the bottom half of the standings, the Buckeyes have parlayed their lack of attention into a terrific first half of the season and currently sit near the top of the standings.

Osiecki secured some very talented forwards to replace three departed seniors from last season (and with them, about 40% of their offense.) The expectation was to play within his tight checking defensive system and let the pressure rest on their opponents. So far the strategy has worked, except that it is paying off bigger dividends than expected.

The Bucks still rely on their intimate senior class of four in a big way- as three of them have been prominent in guiding the team with confidence and execution. Danny Dries (8-4-12) leads the team in goals and is tied in points with sophomore Chris Crane (6-6-12). Four year letterman Sean Duddy (0-4-4) is a stalwart on the blue line in contrast to junior defenseman Devon Krogh’s (1-7-8) offensive prowess. The anchor though is senior netminder Cal Heeter who is 7-1-1 with a 1.73 GAA and a .934 save %.

Surprising freshmen Ryan Dzingel (3-6-9) and Darik Angeli (3-3-6) have jumped right in and contributed on both ends of the ice. Ohio State is built on speed, toughness and a defense first mentality- which has been embraced by the balanced roster. Just the same, the offense hasn’t suffered, either as noted by their 3.17 GPG average (T-19th). It doesn’t hurt to have a 24.6% conversion on the PP, though, which ranks them 9th in the nation. The key though is no secret- they are proving to be very sticky to play against, holding a 1.83 GA average which is 6th in the country. The PK has been outstanding, also- 90.2%- also good for 6th overall. The Buckeyes are a disciplined bunch, surprising for such a young team- only averaging 13.2 minutes per game in the sin bin which is 35th overall out of the 58 division I hockey programs.

Ohio State doesn’t seem fazed by road play having already gone into South Bend and East Lansing and coming out with series splits. Last week they were very impressive taking down a solid NMU in workmanlike fashion both games by a 4-1 score.

Charting The Wolverines:
The Maize and Blue are struggling to find the consistency and scoring balance that they had in the early portion of their schedule. The conference portion of their schedule has been difficult, with Michigan playing ranks teams in four of their past five series- with the other series last week against a team that will eventually work their way back into the polls. The Wolverines are also finding that the road is a treacherous place to venture and that the team will have to find a way to overcome their sporadic execution. Coach Berenson was visibly agitated last weekend, lamenting that his team was not prepared enough for the road (0-2-2-1 so far) and has to get back to playing team hockey (code for not playing “cute”) like they can get away with at home. He described the team as “not any better than anyone else we have played” in the league, which pretty much sums it up.

Well they return home for the next two weekends against good opponents and will need the safety and security of home ice to find their game again. Lindsay Sparks, absent from the scoresheet now for two straight weekends- still leads the team offensively at 5-8-13. Greg Pateryn is solid on the blue line and has chipped in 2-8-10. DiGiuseppe and Treais have both tallied a team high six goals. Michigan’s offense has been significantly better at home and will need to capitalize on the few chances OSU will surrender. The Wolverines have only scored ten goals in their four road games, compared to the forty goals they have tallied at Yost in eight games. This total of 50 goals is second in the nation to Minnesota’s 53 goals this season- with the ten goal outburst against St. Lawrence a major portion of those goals. Michigan ranks 4th overall with a 4.17 goals per game average, yet has struggled on the PP at 17% (33rd.) Defense has still been very good, with the team yielding only 2.08 GPG (9th). The penalty kill has been vastly improved with Michigan killing 22 of their past 23 chances which has boosted the overall to 83.6% (23rd.) Michigan continues to sit in the mid range on PM’s per game at 14.8 (25th).

The go to guys this weekend based on their history against the Buckeyes will be veterans Chris Brown (3-3-6), David Wohlberg (3-1-4) and Captain Luke Glendening (2-2-4). Brown and Glendening both scored last weekend.

Shawn Hunwick has had some success against the Buckeyes, with a 2-1 record to go with a 1.98 GAA and a .931 save %. Hunwick is 7-2-2 on the season with a 1.76 GAA and a .938 save %. He has been steady this season, yielding five goals in his two losses. He will be the key to getting the Wolverines back into the win column.

Expectation:
Ohio State is playing loose and very controlled in their system. Michigan will have to be patient and capitalize on their chances. These will be two very tight contests, something that the Wolverines are growing accustom to. They cannot afford to fall further behind in the standings especially with the way they are playing on the road. It is imperative they pick up two wins this weekend if they want to compete for the league title. The Buckeyes will have other ideas, though, and will challenge the Wolverine’s young defense. Michigan’s depth will be challenged to contribute offensively.

Friday: Michigan 3-2. Saturday: Ohio State 2-1.

Yost Bits:
-Michigan received a number of letters of intent this week from next year’s freshmen class. Wolverine fans should be excited about the prospects coming in, as they have been projected as one of the top classes in the country.

-Junior defenseman Lee Moffie has posted two assists in the past two games and ranks third in defensemen scoring with 1-7-8 in 12 games.

-Coach Berenson holds a 60-24-11 mark against OSU, good for the fifth best number of wins against any opponent in the country.

-Michigan holds the distinction of running a 34 game unbeaten streak against OSU from January, 1990 through January 1998. The Wolverines won 29 of those games including a 22 game win streak from November, 1990 through March, 1995.

-Michigan will take on Northeastern next Friday and Union next Sunday at Yost arena. First year in over two decades that Michigan will not take on Minnesota and Wisconsin in the College Hockey Showcase during the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Yostmeister

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