Around the Big Ten (Hockey): Week 2

Story posted October 12, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Joshua Bartosik

WIth college hockey officially kicking into full gear, the Big Ten conference has already seen a plethora of action, including some shocking outcomes.

Starting with the only Big Ten matchup of the week, the Wisconsin Badgers traveled to Columbus, Ohio to take on the No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes came away with the sweep, but it was surprisingly more difficult than expected.

Game one saw Ohio State open the scoring late in the first on a goal from Patrick Guzzo. The Buckeyes extended the lead to 3-0 on goals from Jaedon Leslie and Stephen Halliday.

A late third period goal is all the Badgers could muster off the stick of Cruz Lucius as they fell 3-1. Sophomore sensation, goaltender Jakub Dobes of the Buckeyes, stopped 29 of 30 shots.

Game two saw the Badgers jump out to an early 3-0 lead with goals by Jack Horbach, Brock Caufield, and Owen Lindmark. Yet the Buckeyes clawed back, scoring four straight to secure the win and the sweep.

The Buckeyes have been uninspiring to start their season, including a close call against Mercyhurst a few weeks ago. They have their biggest test yet this season when they face No. 17 Connecticut this following weekend.

No. 2 Minnesota had a solid week, splitting an in-state series against No. 5 Minnesota State thanks to a four goal weekend from Jimmy Snuggerud.

Snuggerud’s offensive outburst earned him Big Ten First Star of the Week honors.

No. 6 Michigan squeaked by with a sweep of Lindenwood, despite scoring 10 goals on the weekend. Mackie Samoskevich, the 2021 first round draft pick of the Florida Panthers, had three points in the series.

After beating Lindenwood 7-4 and 3-1, the Wolverines have a tough task ahead of them when they take on No. 9 Boston University this coming weekend.

Their in-state conference opponent Michigan State had a rough weekend split with Bowling Green this past weekend. The scoring woes from previous years continue to be an issue for the Spartans, scoring just three goals on 81 shots.

Notre Dame had a surprisingly disappointing set of games. The Fighting Irish lost 5-2 to the No. 1 Denver Pioneers, then followed that game up with a shootout loss to Air Force.

Notre Dame has a chance to get back on track with a series at Northern Michigan this coming week.

As for Penn State, they opened their season up with a series sweep against Canisius, scoring twelve goals over the two game series.

Ryan Kirwan was named Big Ten Third Star of the Week after his line alongside Kevin Wall and RPI transfer Ture Linden put on a show, each scoring five points.

Penn State takes on Mercyhurst in a rare home-and-home series this Thursday and Friday.

 

Joshua Bartosik is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jsb6137@psu.edu.