Around the Big Ten Hockey

posted January 19, 2018 in CommRadio, Sports by Zach Kaplan

On the ice, Big Ten play is essentially into its dog days. No. 1 Notre Dame still leads the pack with 36 points, while No. 6 Ohio State (25 pts) and No. 12 Penn State (23 pts) battle for second. No. 20 Michigan (18 pts) trails right behind No. 18 Wisconsin (17 pts), while No. 9 Minnesota (14 pts) sits in fifth, and Michigan State (11 pts) in last place.

The Irish had a bye week this past weekend. They will host Wisconsin this weekend for a two-game set. Jake Evans (7-21--28) sits at fourth in the conference in scoring. Notre Dame as a team sits at a perfect 12-0-0 in Big Ten play.

Ohio State split the series with Penn State last weekend in Happy Valley, and are off this weekend. Tanner Laczynski is on a tear this season and leads the Big Ten in points with 34, good for second in the nation. They will host archrival Michigan next weekend.

Penn State split a crucial series with Ohio State at home last weekend, winning 5-2 on Friday, but losing 5-1 on Saturday. Andrew Sturtz had two points for the Nittany Lions on Friday, as he continues his torrid scoring pace with 30 points on the season, good for third in the Big Ten. As mentioned above, Penn State will travel to Michigan this weekend.

The Wolverines swept the aforementioned Minnesota series last weekend. Michigan got two goals from Cooper Marody and three points from Tony Calderone for the series. Marody and Calderone rank among the top five in the conference in points, with Marody in second and Calderone fifth respectively. Michigan will host Penn State for a two-game set in Ann Arbor this weekend.

Wisconsin split their series with Michigan State last weekend in Madison, losing 2-0 on Friday and winning 5-2 on Saturday. Seamus Malone had two points for the Badgers as Wisconsin benefitted from five different goal scorers. The Badgers will travel to South Bend this weekend for two games with the Fighting Irish.

Minnesota was very surprisingly swept at home last weekend by Michigan. The Golden Gophers lost 5-3 on Friday, and 3-1 on Saturday. They will look to get back on track at home against Michigan State this weekend.

Michigan State split with Wisconsin last weekend. Mitchell Lewandowski had the game-winner for the Spartans on Friday night. His 27 points sit tied for fifth in the Big Ten. Michigan State will play at Minnesota Thursday night, and then take on the Spartans at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night.

 

Zach Kaplan is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism with a double minor in Spanish and history. To contact him, email him at zachkaplan5@gmail.com.