021719 Big Ten Notebook
Looking at recent play in the Big Ten
Story of the weekend was Minnesota rebounding from some rough recent outings to take it to Ohio State with an unlikely sweep of their own.
OSU were down Laczynski up front but put up a fight, obviously. A couple untimely penalties gave the Gophers a chance to pressure early and they would start to run with their leads. OSU are still likely to finish first place. The Gophers have just one Big Ten weekend left so that makes this sweep that much better.
Coach Bob Motzko on his show said it best about Ohio State: they’re never going to beat themselves. It took a strong effort through the line-up and everything their goaltenders had on both nights to get past Ohio State.
I recapped both games. Links: Friday night recap | Saturday night recap
Penn State x Michigan State
Split 5-3 results. The Nittany Lions lost Evan Barratt on Friday night, which is huge. They weren’t able to contain the KHL line’s production on Friday night which alongside secondary scoring on Friday was enough for the win. Saturday night was a different story, with the KHL line eating a few minuses but throwing up a few assists. Nate Sucese continued his scoring tear with a 3pt outing Saturday night. PSU outshot 47-26, 47-30.
Wisconsin x Notre Dame
Split The Badgers upset the Irish 2-1 (Wisco goalie Dan Lebedeff 30 saves) on NBC Sports Network Friday night before handing back a 5-2 W on Saturday night. Michael Graham’s two goals were enough to buoy the Irish in the winning effort Saturday. Jake Pivonka had a nice goal. The Badgers were without K’Andre Miller.