Weekend Observations: Ohio

Collegian weekend recap // Athens Post weekend recap // Athens Post blog (Friday and Saturday) // Friday box score // Saturday box score // Photos

So what now? I don't know. I do know what not now - a hotel room in Newark, DE. I haven't booked one yet. I thought about doing it this week, I didn't, and I'm now glad I didn't. Not because I don't think the Icers will be there, I still do, but there's that little twinge of doubt now. The twinge of doubt that comes from the master plan you had laid out for the semester derailed on the first weekend.

Some of you are probably asking "what's the plan now, genius?" I'm going to get out of the plan business for a little bit and just say that we gotta win games. Plain and simple. The Icers visit Robert Morris (PA) next weekend, and the Colonials are a dangerous team. I'll get into why a little bit more as the week goes on, but you can start with the fact that they manage 4-5 goals against the likes of Rhode Island and Delaware with some regularity. So get two wins there, then we can start talking about the big picture again.

Okay, as much as I don't want to, I have to talk about the games. It's the unpaid job I hired myself to do, after all. If you don't want to read about the games, here's a link to a video of a talking (and swearing, fair warning for the kids) cat. Enjoy.

I really don't have too many answers right now, and there wasn't all that much good to take from either game. I'm still a little stunned as I'm writing this. But let's talk it through and see what comes out. I'll start things off by tooting my own horn a little. On Friday, I said:

The ability of Penn State to break through [OU's penalty-killing forwards] with a sort-of-struggling power play might be the key to these two games.

Yeah, pretty much.

Bird Arena has a neutral zone about the size of Greg Windsor, which really makes games there play out almost like that inferior sport of basketball - you generally have to be able to create offense and defend it in the half court to have success. And this is multiplied by about a billion when you have an extremely physical game filled with penalties. In other words, you're going to need to cash in your power plays, and Penn State didn't, going an anemic 1-for-13 over the two games. The one came in Friday's third period, after the game was probably lost, when Chris Cerutti redirected Tim O'Brien's point shot (shortly after Dominic Morrone made a great play to keep it in the zone, I always like to point those out).

It seemed like we struggled with OU's aggressive forecheck for long stretches - when we established ourselves in the zone, we were able to move the puck effectively and get it towards the net, but that didn't actually take place very frequently.

Flipping that around a little bit, Penn State took entirely too many bad penalties, defined for my purposes as retaliation. Kevin Miller was a culprit in that department Saturday, taking three of them. I'm sure you're aware of the phenomenon of "beer muscles," but to me, Ohio's always had "Bird muscles." In that barn, in front of those fans, and especially when playing Penn State, they're a different team than when they come to the Ice Pavilion or when we happen to meet at nationals. The bad penalties sort of indicate to me that we weren't ready for the Bird muscles and weren't ready to fully match their intensity, especially on Saturday.

Some guys that did: the line of Morrone, Chris Pronchik and Paul Daley set a good tone early on Saturday. Tim O'Brien, who always brings it, was in on all three goals over the weekend. I thought Carey Bell stood out among a group of defensemen that had a pretty rough go of things generally. Penn State was outshot 86-42 for the two games - I'm not sure when I last saw that stat that lopsided against the Icers, if ever.

The ongoing goaltending saga was once again a storyline as well. I don't know how to psychoanalyze goalies, I'll get that out right up front, but here's what I saw out of Teddy Hume on Friday: a goalie that can still play, but still has pretty fragile confidence. He was good at the outset - really good actually - as OU dominated early. He was in control, out in the white ice, reading plays well, not giving up rebounds. Even after the first goal, he remained unrattled. That came about because the Icers missed chances to clear, and two great passes and a flat-footed defense later, Michael Schultz was alone in front, where he made a nice move around Hume.


The weekend in a nutshell: Right before that first goal Friday. Puck circled. Taylor Cera is the closest, but he had just changed direction off the boards and lost the race to a closer-to-full-speed Tyler Pilmore, who is a couple seconds away from an assist here. You can also see Nick Rostek lurking behind the defense. By the way, is there another good ACHA team that relies on their top guys as heavily as Ohio?


That was frustrating. But Hume shrugged it off and continued to stand tall, even stoning three decent shorthanded chances on one PSU power play late in the first. The backbreaker, to me, was the second goal, five minutes into the second period. This time, Pilmore finished off a scamble in front that started with a Zack Barbis blast from the point on the power play. Two more goals shortly after - Zach Tisdale collecting garbage on the backhand, and Schultz with his second off a clean faceoff win by Rostek 17 seconds later - and Hume was done.

Matt Madrazo came in and shut the door the rest of the way, then started and finished Saturday. The kid played his guts out too - Tim Thomas style - and his 38 of 42 stat line (along with 19 of 19 Friday) doesn't do him justice. He even managed to block out the OU fans in Section C telling him various things he allegedly likes to do with donkeys long enough to pull off something that has to be a highlight for any goalie - making a save so fantastic that the goal judge deems it impossible and activates the red light anyway. In between the great saves was Schultz from Pilmore three times, Barbis with a laser that Madrazo actually got most - but not enough - of, and Jared Fuhs on an empty net.

Remember at the beginning of the post when I said I was out of the plan business? Well, just in case you aren't:

7. Rhode Island - Split vs. West Chester, 4-2 and 3-4
8. Minot State - Idle
9. Oklahoma - Idle
10T. Oakland - Spilt vs. ACHA D2 Grand Valley State, 3-5 and 4-1
12. Robert Morris (IL) - Swept vs. No 14. Iowa State, 2-3 and 0-3
13. Illinois - Split at No. 1 Lindenwood, 1-6 and 3-1
14. Iowa State - Sweep at No. 12 Robert Morris (IL) 3-2 and 3-0

I'd call that textbook "muddled" (nice game there Saturday, Rhody), but probably a net loss for the Icers, with Illinois taking down No. 1 (ending a 17-game winning streak in the process) and ISU sweeping a quality team. Like I said before though, none of this matters if we don't start collecting Ws in a hurry.

Reminder to OU fans: In two years, we'll have an NCAA program and construction of the best facility in the country underway. You, on the other hand, will still be in the ACHA, will still choke at nationals every year, and will still be completely irrelevant, except when people are confusing you with Ohio State.

Finally, one more thank you is in order to Steve Penstone for inviting me on during the first intermission of Saturday's broadcast - I sincerely hope your equipment survived my nasally voice! For the uninitiated: here's the recording, my segment starts 36:45 in.

Since Last Time: Ohio

Clutch goaltending from Teddy Hume and some great penalty killing in a physical game helped lead to this celebration following Steve Thurston's OT winner with one second left. The Saturday win allowed PSU to battle back and earn a split at Bird Arena last season.

The spring semester is here, which means plenty of opposite-site rematches against teams with whom the Icers have already tangled. Rather than present another primer on these opponents as throughout the fall semester, I'll take a slightly different angle - updating what these teams have done since playing Penn State. This may crash and burn once I hit teams that don't get regular coverage from their student newspapers, but it still beats me telling you for a second time that Ohio goalie Blake MacNicol transferred from Alabama-Huntsville. Oh wait, I just did.

Last time: O-H, They Go (10/22/2010) // Weekend Observations: Ohio (10/24/2010)

So how have the No. 4 Bobcats been since then? Pretty well actually - OU's last regulation loss was in the Friday game against the Icers. First up was a down Iowa State team in Ames. The No. 14 Cyclones are in legitimate danger of missing the ACHA national tournament for the first time ever (probably, educated guess on my part) and the Bobcats treated them accordingly in a revenge series, winning 4-1 and 5-1.

A veteran Ohio (6-3-1, 2-0 CSCHL) team relied on a tenacious forecheck to take advantage of the inexperienced Cyclone defenders. The [then] No. 6 Bobcats wore down Iowa State (5-9-0, 1-3 CSCHL) with sustained physical pressure, and the Cyclones broke in the final stanza of each contest.

"When you wear them down then those opportunities arrive late in the game, and I thought we did a good job capitalizing," Ohio head coach Dan Morris said. "You can see with three third-period goals Friday and two third-period goals Saturday."

It was a pair of seniors who led the way for the Bobcats Saturday as Billy Hemann and Brett Molnar combined for two power-play goals and five points. The goal was Molnar's first since the season-opener against Goderich Oct. 1.

Ohio next returned home to face No. 6 Arizona State and lost 5-4 in a shootout Friday before winning 3-2 Saturday. The power play was vital to the 1-0-1 weekend.

During the weekend, six of the Bobcats' seven goals came on the man advantage, a statistic head coach Dan Morris finds positive but also troubling.

"It's good and it's bad. We want to win the five-on-five battles ... We got beat this weekend on even-strength goals." Morris said. "That's an area of concern."

The next four games were against ACHA Division 2 Miami and Ohio State, all Ohio wins by a combined 25-8. Yawn. Next.

The Bobcats participated in the Wheeling Mountaineer Invitational over Thanksgiving weekend and came away with the tournament title on the strength of a 6-4 win over host West Virginia powered by the usual suspects - four assists from Tyler Pilmore, two goals each from Michael Schultz and Brett Agnew - the guy who torched the Icers for three power play goals in that 6-3 loss on October 23rd.  A pair of wins at No. 13 Illinois followed, and while the Illini, like ISU, are a little down this year, collecting Ws on the Big Pond is never easy. Especially when you have to drop 'em every minute and a half or so.

I had the chance to attend Ohio's last game, a decisive 7-3 result against No. 20 Kent State December 11th (following a tight 2-1 win the night before). In particular, I felt like the Bobcats special teams dominated the penalty-riddled game, particular OU forwards Hemann, Alex DiMassa and Jared Fuhs on the penalty kill - the ability of Penn State to break through this group with a sort-of-struggling power play might be the key to these two games. You might look at the box score, see that KSU had three on the power play, and think I'm an idiot, but I only see one that wasn't in garbage time, and that was with the Flashes up two men. I actually think the box score's wrong about the second PPG too - I only see matching roughing minors in effect for that one.

Also, look out for defenseman Jake Holzemer on the Ohio power play - he likes to sneak down low fishing for a juicy rebound. It paid off with the game's first goal, but he also got burned at least once.

When you go to Athens, you always have to account for a couple different things.

1. Bird Arena. The place defines "quirky, old school hockey barn." The surface is ten feet short of the usual 200, with most of that extra distance taken out of the neutral zone. The benches are on opposite sides as a result, giving the whole setup a high school football feel to it, but one that has an effect on the game itself - with a quick trip from O to D, the importance of transitional play is always an emphasis. As is physicality on the small ice.  
2. The fans. Fan involvement can be kind of hit-and-miss in the ACHA, but OU is one of the places with engaged spectators who don't have a kid on the team, including a student cheering section called Gang Green. One of them runs a lap around the ice with a flag after every Bobcat goal, although the excitement from the goal wears off, the "Hey! You suck!" chant concludes, and play gets back underway long before he's actually finished. Always kind of awkward.

Would you pay $18 to sit with these people all season long?

As tough of a venue as Bird Arena can be, the Icers are a team without much of a margin for error at this point, in terms of making the ACHA national championship tournament. PSU sits in a tie for tenth in the polls and probably needs to stick in the top 12 to go to Delaware in March. What does that mean in terms of this weekend? In my opinion, a split is needed. The team simply can't afford another Rhode Island-like disaster right now, and a split maintains the status quo at worst, and maybe even helps a little - OU is No. 4 after all. An Icers sweep (which has happened exactly once at Bird since Party of Five was on the air) would obviously be phenomenal and give some protection against slipping versus URI or Delaware over the next several weeks.

Outside Reading

Steve Penstone, in VFTB, reiterates a lot of what I just said. Well, okay, he was first, I'm reiterating him. He also has clutch interviews with Marek Polidor and Josh Hand, which I obviously don't have. They get into things like the Icers' road-heavy January schedule (seven of eight games) and the fact that they'll be playing on three different sized surfaces this month.

I'm happy to report that The Athens Post's sports blog has stepped it up since earlier in the week and offers this effort. A little TYT 24/7 for you: when I watch a game, the first thing I do is jot down the line combos (for TYT, not all the time, that would be pretty lame of me). Price of trying to do this from four hours away. I felt like a big wheel last week when they were already up on the live stats before the WUG team-Vermont game. So Mr. Logan's efforts in that area are appreciated, even if they're only "projected lines."

Here's their pre-series story, which contains this quote from Morris.

"There is always added intensity when we play Penn State. The rivalry dictates it should be that way. They're coming into our barn desperate for a win, so we've got to be prepared for that."

They're important games, no doubt. Rivalry games. Desperate? I wouldn't take it that far. It maybe gets "desperate" if we lose, but as of now, it's just a matter of knowing the situation and knowing what has to be done to reach the finish line.

A feature on MacNicol, who transferred from NCAA Division I Alabama-Huntsville (boom, got it in again), is also part of The Post's hockey coverage this week.  

Payday Memorabilia: 2003 ACHA National Tournament Souvenirs

Since we're going to Athens, OH this week, I decided to drop another one of these with a theme - stuff from the last time OU hosted nationals (forever, until they add a sheet or the format changes). Program, ticket, puck if you can't tell. I hope you can, because you have no idea how hard it was to get that picture. Flashes reflect off of pucks, glossy paper and plastic. No flash, and it looks like it was taken in the Ice Pavilion.

My most recent attempt at not stealing a Collegian photo for my phone background.

The tournament:

Pool A: 1. Illinois, 8. Drexel, 12. Saint Louis
Pool B: 2. Penn State, 7. Iowa State, 11. Eastern Michigan
Pool C: 3. Minot State, 6. Delaware, 10. Towson
Pool D: 4. Ohio, 5. Arizona, 9. Michigan-Dearborn

Illinois, Penn State, Delaware and Ohio advanced to the semifinals by virtue of beating both of the other teams in their respective pools. In the Icers' case, this involved scoring two goals in the final 5:13 to force overtime against Iowa State, where Josh Mandel buried the winner 2:46 in, much to the dismay of the ISU hockey cheerleaders. Goaltender Scott Graham, to Blue White Illustrated:

"With five minutes left I had serious thoughts in my mind that our career and season might be over. That first goal was a huge relief. The second goal to put it into overtime, seeing that made me realize this team was meant to win one more year."

True to Graham's words, the Cyclones proved to be the Icers' toughest challenge. A 5-1 win over Delaware in the semifinals followed, and after that game and an OU upset of top-seeded Illinois, Penn State faced the Bobcats in the championship game. Even though that game wasn't ever really in doubt - PSU won 5-0 to earn a fourth straight/most recent ACHA title - the normally hostile atmosphere in that place reached an unprecedented intensity, both on the ice and in the stands. Joe Battista (from this point forward, I'm not attaching a title to him, you know who he is) told the Centre Daily Times shortly afterward that this enhanced the victory.

"You always hate to compare victories, but this may be the sweetest because we shut out Ohio in their rink, in front of their crowd, and the fact that it was four in a row. We have a senior class that knows nothing but how to be a champion."

Had the CDT cared to ask me for a quote, it probably would've read a little differently:

Yes! Yesss! Oh, let me taste your tears Ohio! Mmm...your tears are so yummy and sweet! Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness! Mmm...yummy! 

In the aftermath, I may have been an accomplice to a theft of some signage. Unlike the job I pulled solo six years later, this one wasn't my idea, and I am not in possession of the property.

Epilogue: The place you can't get to without driving through West Virginia (even if you live in Ohio) exacted some revenge for the sign thing and my constant hate-on when my car ended up in a ditch alongside I-77 on the way home. Guess they got that second sheet after all.

Fair and Balanced

It's a slow news week. Classes at PSU are still out, meaning no Collegian. I have Google Alerts set up on a number of key Penn State hockey topics, which often lead to posts, or at least tweets, but all those have yielded lately are Buffalo fans throwing "TERRY PEGULA WILL SAVE US!!!!!11!!!" up on their own blogs or on message boards. I like the Sabres and hope Pegula does bring about scenes that have only to this point happened in Bruce Almighty, but that doesn't really help me here.

We have games this weekend. Pretty important ones, both in terms of the national picture and because it's an archrival. Luckily, said archrival and its newspaper is back at school. Thanks quarters system, for allowing us this update on Ohio's preparation.

After a three-week hockey hiatus that began Dec. 12, Ohio returned to practice yesterday to prepare for this weekend's two-game series against Penn State.

[Head Coach Dan] Morris said he expects the team to play just as well as it did before the break.

"Penn State is in the same boat we are; they haven't played or practiced in almost a month either," he said. "It's going to be about how quick you can get it back."

In addition to that piece, which also briefly touches on the Bobcats' last few games because they've been out of school since Thanksgiving (seriously), The Post offers this gem from its all-sports blog.

The Icers are coming off an 8-1 victory over Niagara on Dec. 10 and have won six of their past nine games dating back to early November.

However that streak pails in comparison to Ohio’s 10-game win streak and 15-game unbeaten streak that began against Penn State two and a half months ago.

PSU's schedule also "pails" in comparison to OU's since the last meeting, which includes four straight games against ACHA D2 as part of the 10-game win streak. Just sayin'. Can anyone even tell me the last time the Icers played a single game against D2? (UPDATE: Tweep @hey_pono, who does a great job with BSD's hockey coverage, gave me the answer that my shoddy research overlooked: 2007, Davenport.)

Our three losses in the nine games: Rhode Island and Delaware, two of the five best teams the ACHA has to offer (my opinion obviously, since URI currently sits at No. 7). But hey, they're no Kent State.

I'm ready for Friday. I can feel the Ohio hate "coarsing" through my veins. It's on.

Scoreboard Watching

Hey everyone, welcome back to game week! It's been a while, so in case you forgot, the Icers are in sort of an unfamiliar position this season - the ACHA tournament bubble. Which of course leads to worrying about what other teams are up to, something else pretty strange to Penn State supporters. In that light, here's what everyone ranked 7th through 14th (the bubble teams in my opinion) is facing between now and the February 13th cut-off for the ranking that decides who's going to Delaware.

As a reminder, because of the controversial auto-bid situation, Penn State or any other major conference/independent team probably has to be in the top 12 to make it. Delaware and Rhode Island know a thing or two about that from last year. All in all though, I think you'll find some comfort in what's laid out for the bubble teams this semester.

I tried to convert start times from inferior Central and Pacific to Eastern, generally under the assumption that all times given were local. Sorry if I failed in a couple places.

7. Rhode Island

January 7th/8th vs. West Chester, 7:00 p.m./7:00 p.m.
January 14th/15th at Delaware, 9:00 p.m./4:45 p.m.
January 21st/22nd at Cortland, 7:00 p.m./2:00 p.m.
January 28th/29th vs. Stony Brook, 7:00 p.m./7:00 p.m.
February 4th/5th at Penn State, 9:00 p.m./3:30 p.m.
February 11th/12th vs. Villanova, 7:00 p.m./7:00 p.m.

Two pretty tough weekends there with PSU and Delaware, but otherwise almost zero potential for downward movement.

8. Minot State

January 14th/15th vs. Oklahoma, 8:30 p.m./3:00 p.m.
January 21st/22nd at Arizona, 10:30 p.m./10:30 p.m.
January 24th/25th at Arizona State, 10:00 p.m./10:30 p.m.
February 1st at Dakota College at Bottineau (Non-ACHA), 8:30 p.m.
February 12th/13th vs. Minnesota-Crookston (ACHA D2), 8:30 p.m./3:00 p.m.

Minot's schedules are always pretty soft (blame geography and finances, not the Beavers), but surprisingly, a couple of top ten teams in Oklahoma and ASU await - their unbeaten-in-regulation run against ACHA teams will be tested.

9. Oklahoma

January 10th/11th vs. Arizona State, 8:00 p.m./8:00 p.m.
January 14th/15th at Minot State, 8:30 p.m./3:00 p.m.
January 16th/17th at North Dakota State, 4:15 p.m./5:00 p.m.
January 21st/22nd vs. Davenport, 8:00 p.m./5:00 p.m.
January 28th/29th at Liberty, 7:30 p.m./7:30 p.m.
February 3rd/6th vs. Eastern Washington (ACHA D2), 8:00 p.m./1:00 p.m.
February 4th/5th vs. Oakland, 8:00 p.m./5:00 p.m.
February 11th/12th at Illinois, 8:30 p.m./8:30 p.m.

You can disagree with Oklahoma being ranked No. 9 with a 17-8-1 record, but it's hard to argue with their scheduling. Two stretches of four games in four nights, one of those extending to a six in eight. Quality opponents throughout. If they stay in the top 12, they will have earned it.

10T. Penn State

January 7th/8th at Ohio, 7:00 p.m./7:00 p.m.
January 14th/15th at Robert Morris (PA), 10:00 p.m./3:30 p.m.
January 21st at West Chester, 9:15 p.m.
January 22nd vs. West Chester, 3:30 p.m.
January 28th/29th at Delaware, 7:00 p.m./5:00 p.m.
February 4th/5th vs. Rhode Island, 9:00 p.m./3:30 p.m.
February 11th/12th vs. Robert Morris (PA), 9:00 p.m./3:30 p.m.

Like I keep saying, the Icers have three weekends we should win, and three others where we'll be up against it. However, splits against the three higher-ranked opponents probably mean there's no way a tumble out of the top 12 happens. PSU has maybe the clearest mandate of anyone.

10T. Oakland

January 7th vs. Grand Valley (ACHA D2), 8:00 p.m.
January 8th at Grand Valley (ACHA D2), 8:00 p.m.
January 14th at Eastern Michigan, 8:00 p.m.
January 15th vs. Eastern Michigan, 9:00 p.m.
January 21st/22nd vs. Western Michigan, 8:00 p.m./8:40 p.m.
January 28th/29th at Buffalo, 8:25 p.m./8:25 p.m.
February 3rd at Central Oklahoma, 8:30 p.m.
February 4th/5th at Oklahoma, 8:00 p.m./5:00 p.m.
February 11th vs. Davenport, 8:00 p.m.
February 12th at Davenport, 7:30 p.m.

A couple of tough weekends at the end but all in all, it's difficult to see the Icers getting any help from Grizzlies losses.

12. Robert Morris (IL)

January 7th/8th vs. Iowa State, 8:20 p.m./8:30 p.m.
January 14th/15th at Lindenwood, 8:30 p.m./5:00 p.m.
January 21st/22nd at Arizona State, 10:30 p.m./9:15 p.m.
January 28th/29th vs. Indiana, 8:20 p.m./8:30 p.m.
February 4th/5th at Ohio, 7:30 p.m./7:30 p.m.
February 11th/12th vs. John Carroll, 8:20 p.m./8:30 p.m.

A typically-tough CSCHL schedule awaits the Eagles. Which, again, is pretty encouraging if you're a Penn State fan. It's a theme that will be repeated to a lesser extent with these last two, although they also do more than their share of buttering themselves up with lower-division opponents.

13. Illinois

January 7th/8th at Lindenwood, 8:30 p.m./5:00 p.m.
January 14th/15th at Iowa State, 8:30 p.m./9:00 p.m.
January 21st/22nd vs. Wisconsin (ACHA D2), 8:30 p.m./8:30 p.m.
January 28th/29th vs. Purdue (ACHA D3), 8:30 p.m./8:30 p.m.
February 4th/5th at Kent State, 7:15 p.m./7:15 p.m.
February 11th/12th vs. Oklahoma, 8:30 p.m./8:30 p.m.

14. Iowa State

January 7th/8th at Robert Morris (IL), 8:30 p.m./8:30 p.m.
January 14th/15th vs. Illinois, 8:30 p.m./9:00 p.m.
January 21st/22nd vs. Minnesota-Crookston (ACHA D2), 8:30 p.m./9:00 p.m.
January 28th/29th vs. Colorado State (ACHA D2), 8:30 p.m./5:45 p.m.
February 4th/5th vs. Kansas (ACHA D2), 8:30 p.m./9:30 p.m.
February 11th/12th at Lindenwood, 8:30 p.m./5:00 p.m.