Around the Big Ten: Hockey - Week 6

Audio/Story posted November 14, 2019 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

Host Zech Lambert and analysts Chris Hess and Logan Bourandas break down all the action from last week's Big Ten hockey play and look forward to this week's upcoming games:

Another weekend of college hockey is in the books and that means it’s time for another Around the Big Ten update. Fans were treated to a second straight weekend of Big Ten matchups including a ranked one that propelled the winning team into the top four of the rankings.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish once again remain at the top of the Big Ten with an undefeated mark. After recording a sweep over the previously-ranked ninth Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame is now receiving first place votes. The Irish were able to pull out two one-goal wins on their home ice and are now one of two undefeated teams in the top five. Notre Dame will have another tough test against Wisconsin next weekend.

Penn State remains at the second spot in the Big Ten but they are just one of three teams in the Big Ten who fell in the rankings. The Nittany Lions fall was from six to eight after splitting the series against Michigan State at home.

Penn State’s offense took awhile to get going in the series offensively, getting shut out in game one after putting up 48 shots on goal. They recovered in game two scoring five goals to record the split. Penn State will travel to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers next weekend.

Ohio State remains at the third spot on the rankings even after a heartbreaking sweep over the fourth ranked Fighting Irish. The sweep ended a four-game winning streak for the Buckeyes which included two wins against Michigan, a series where both games were also one goal differences however ending in Ohio State victories. The Buckeyes will get a week off before playing in a two-game pre-Thanksgiving showdown against Penn State.

Wisconsin remains the fourth and last-ranked team in the Big Ten and like Penn State and Ohio State they also dropped in the rankings. The Badgers fell from 12 to 15 in the rankings after splitting a non-conference series against Nebraska-Omaha. Wisconsin won game one 5-2 but lost game two 2-5. Wisconsin who started out the season 4-2 is now 5-5 and are still without a conference win. The Badgers will get their chance at one next weekend against the still undefeated Fighting Irish.

Elsewhere around the Big Ten, the Minnesota Golden Gophers won and tied a game against the Michigan Wolverines. Game one was a 1-1 tie between the two while Minnesota dominated game two, winning 3-1. Minnesota will start a four-game homestand starting against Penn State while Michigan will play a game at home and on the road against Michigan State. The Spartans were able to split the series in Happy Valley against Penn State.

With most of the ranked teams in the Big Ten falling further down in the rankings, expect more of the same in the coming weeks. Series matchups against Notre Dame-Wiconsin and Penn State-Ohio State will definitely shake up the rankings even further and add even more excitement to an already exciting season.

 

Logan Bourandas is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him email lxb5412@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

Christopher Hess's photo

Christopher Hess

Fifth Year / Broadcast Journalism

Hailing from Long Island, Christopher is a fifth-year with experience broadcasting football, volleyball, hockey, baseball, softball and public address announcing. Chris has been featured on State College Saturdays, CommRadio’s Saturday college football pregame show, Daylate Tailgate, CommRadio’s Sunday college football recap show, and on a number of podcasts. Chris also writes a number of articles during football and hockey season and is an insider for the men’s hockey team. Chris is also a co-host on Hockey Night in State College and 1st & 10. Chris is interested in either play-by-play or working in the sports media department for a college or professional sports team alongside being a sports radio personality. To contact Chris, email @christopherhess22@gmail.com.

Zech Lambert's photo

Zech Lambert

Senior / Broadcast journalism

Zech is a senior from Northampton, Pennsylvania. He is a football insider for CommRadio. He is also a co-host on the weekly talk show Ducks on the Pond, while also doing play-by-play for CommRadio and B1G+. On top of that, Zech is a sports editor at the Daily Collegian. Over the summer, he interned with the Charlottesville Tom Sox of the Valley Baseball League doing play-by-play, among other media roles. To contact him, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). You can also tweet him @Zech_Lambert with any random thoughts or just to have some sports banter.