Around the Big Ten: Week 4 (Hockey)
Host Logan Bourandas and analsyts Jacob Cheris, Jordan Hession and Mac Young dive into the upcoming week in Big Ten Hockey and give their analysis and predictions for each series.
Another wild week in the Big Ten is upon us, as the two best teams in the conference square off. Michigan and Minnesota are playing in the nation’s series of the week, as both are ranked inside the top five.
Penn State is looking to build off a massive first win of the season, as the Nittany Lions face off against Arizona State. Later in the week, Ohio State and Notre Dame will battle it out in one of the more defensive tilts in the conference.
The series between Michigan State and Wisconsin that was set to take place this week has been postponed after a positive COVID-19 test from within the Wisconsin program. Regardless of the lost series, it is sure to be one of the most exciting weeks of Big Ten hockey thus far.
The matchup between the Michigan Wolverines and Minnesota Golden Gophers will be one scrutinized by college hockey fans across the nation. Both teams are obviously extremely talented but will be without some of their top players, as World Junior Championship camps have gotten under way.
Michigan will be without five of its top players, while Minnesota will be missing three. One person who will be playing in the series is Minnesota’s star goaltender Jack LaFontaine. The stellar goalie has continued to look outstanding, as his team has remained undefeated.
On the other hand, Michigan has lost three of its last four contests against two of the lesser sides in the Big Ten. It was expected that Michigan would be able to bounce back after a disappointing series with the Fighting Irish. However, Michigan was shocked in its second game versus Penn State, as the Nittany Lions scored nine goals. Michigan goaltender Strauss Mann was pulled after the second period.
The Wolverines are certainly talented enough to be a top-five team in the nation, but their performance lately has not reflected that. They will have to show something against the unstoppable freight train that has been the Minnesota Golden Gophers in order to hold their high ranking.
After an 0-5 start, the Penn State Nittany Lions shocked many with a 9-5 win over Michigan. The team is starting to put the pieces together and has a solid chance to continue winning against Arizona State.
The Sun Devils and Nittany Lions have struggled defensively this year, so this series is wide open. It’s a big opportunity for Penn State to try and rally together and string together a winning streak to erase the sting of the 0-5 start.
The final series in the Big Ten this week is between defensive-minded Ohio State and a struggling Notre Dame team. Outside of a surprising two-game sweep of Michigan, the Fighting Irish are 1-3 on the season.
Both teams actually split their most recent series, but Ohio State had the more impressive split playing against Big Ten title contender Wisconsin, compared to Notre Dame, which matched up against Arizona State.
Ohio State should be the favorite in this one, but it will be interesting to see if Notre Dame can get back to the great play it had against Michigan.
As we approach the heart of this unique season, it will be exciting to see which teams will step up and find consistently good play and which will fail to find their footing.
Maclain Young is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email macyoung21@gmail.com.
About the Contributors
Jordan Hession
Junior / Broadcast Journalism
Jordan Hession is a junior from Annapolis, Maryland majoring in broadcast journalism. Jordan is the co-host of CommRadio’s longest running live radio show The Sin Bin with Kyle Cannillo. In the summer of 2020, Jordan interned at SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio as a sports programmer. When Jordan is not discussing sports, he is writing various articles for collegiate and professional sports leagues and teams. Jordan has a love for all sports but has a genuine passion to spread ice hockey and baseball globally. Away from broadcast journalism, Jordan enjoys lifting weights and cooking. Jordan’s role models in the broadcast journalism industry include Doc Emrick, Gary Thorne and Mike Lange. In the future, Jordan sees himself working as a producer or host in sports talk radio and potentially television. To contact Jordan, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Jacob Cheris
Fourth-Year / Broadcast Journalism
Jacob Cheris is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism from Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is an aspiring sports writer. Jacob is a huge Washington Capitals fan and has a great passion for hockey. He played all throughout high school. He is also a member of Penn State Sports Night, where he analyzes hockey and other sports on YouTube. Jacob also covers Penn State Men’s hockey as the lead editorial writer for Penn State Rivals, giving in depth analysis on the team, and feature stories on specific players. Jacob is also the host of CommRadio’s hockey talk show “The Sin Bin”. Jacob is looking to expand his love for hockey and use it across all sports.
Logan Bourandas
Third-Year / Broadcast Journalism
Logan Bourandas is a third-year broadcast journalism major from Long Island, NY. He is a the news director for CommRadio and the host of Ducks on the Pond, which is an all-baseball talk show on CommRadio. He is also a sports writer, broadcaster and podcaster for CommRadio. He got his start as the station manager for his high school radio station WPOB in his hometown of Plainview, NY, where he hosted numerous radio shows and was involved in sports broadcasts. You can contact him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Mac Young
Second Year / Broadcast Journalism
Maclain Young is a third-year student from Ocean City, New Jersey majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. He writes articles weekly for CommRadio’s sports department ranging across all five major sports. Maclain also contributes with play-by-play coverage, beat writes, board ops, and has even helped new members by producing State High Calls. Maclain usually goes by “Mac” and enjoys writing about the Philadelphia sports teams, which he follows vigorously. To contact him, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
