No. 6 Ohio State (19-7-4 overall, 12-7-1-0 B1G) vs No. 10/9 Minnesota (18-13-1 overall, 9-10-1-1 B1G)
Date: Friday, Feb. 16, 2018
Location: 3M Arena at Mariucci | Minneapolis, Minn.
Puck Drop: 8:00 p.m. CT
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: BTN2Go
Radio: 1130 KTLK AM | 103.5 FM | Listen Online
Date: Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018
Location: 3M Arena at Mariucci | Minneapolis, Minn.
Puck Drop: 4:00 p.m. CT
TV: ESPNU
Stream: Watch ESPN | TSNGo
Radio: 1130 KTLK AM | 103.5 FM | Listen Online
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
The Gophers are currently in good position to make the NCAA Tournament, but a weekend series with No. 6 Ohio State could change that.
Minnesota is ninth in the pairwise with four games to play. According to CollegeHockeyRanked, the Gophers would fall anywhere between 7 and 11 in the pairwise if they win two of their next four.
The Buckeyes come to town winners of 11 of their last 14. That impressive run includes a sweep of Minnesota in Columbus from early December.
Playing on the road hasn’t bothered OSU this season; the Buckeyes are 11-3-1 as visitors. Minnesota has played fairly well at home, too, going 12-5-0.
The Gophers have dominated the all-time series going 26-7-1 overall and 14-2-0 at Mariucci.
Minnesota will need to keep last weekend’s scoring magic alive. The Buckeyes boast a stout defense, ranking sixth nationally giving up just 2.17 goals per game.
It’s not all defense, either. OSU’s Tanner Laczynski is seventh in the country with 37 points in 30 games this year.
STORYLINE CENTRAL
Ohio State goalie Sean Romero enters the weekend after winning the Big Ten’s second star of the week. Tim May with the Columbus Dispatch has a nice story with Romero on what the Buckeyes need to do this weekend to top Minnesota.
OSU is coming off a split against top-ranked Notre Dame. Matt Torino of Land-Grant Holy Land has a recap of the Buckeyes’ impressive 5-1 victory last Saturday.
If you needed to get pumped up for this series, here’s a look at Minnesota’s DOMINANT 7-1 win over Wisconsin last weekend.
QUOTES
Don Lucia
On OSU:
“They’re a very good defensive team. I look at Ohio State, this year, their goals against is under two. They lead the country in penalty kill and they’re getting really good goaltending. That’s that combination. I think that last year, their goaltending, they get a good game one night and not so good the next and that obviously impacts your penalty kill numbers. I think the biggest change for them is how well they’re playing defensively, right now.”
Steve Johnson
On OSU:
“They’re a really good team. They’re really good defensively and offensively. They got really shifty and fast forwards. They put the puck in deep and go to work so our defense, we’re going to have to be almost perfect, this week. Have to make sure we’re breaking the pucks out really well and making good decisions back there.”