Around the Big Ten: Week 5
It’s beginning to look like another year where Big Ten hockey dominates the NCAA; six of the seven programs are currently ranked, and all seven have put up tough competition against some of the country’s best teams.
No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 7 Ohio State faced off last weekend in the biggest Big Ten matchup of
the year so far. Ohio State took the first game 1-0, but then fell to Notre Dame 2-1 in the next.
Notre Dame junior goalie Cale Morris was named the Big Ten’s Third Star of the Week for his
performance in the series, and Ohio State's own goalie Sean Romeo trumped him with an even more impressive
performance, being named the Big Ten’s Second Star of the Week.
With the weekend’s wins split between the two, the battle for the higher ranking is stronger
than ever. Both teams currently sit at 4-3-1 on the season.
Notre Dame will spend this coming weekend in Ann Arbor as they take on No. 14 Michigan. Ohio
State will travel to Hamilton, NY in a much easier matchup against Colgate.
The Michigan Wolverines took a hit in the rankings after falling to Lake Superior State once in a
two-game series this past weekend. Despite the 5-3 win the night after, the Wolverines 2-5 loss
will make it hard for them to climb back up in the rankings.
They’ll be looking to make a statement with a win or two against aforementioned Notre Dame,
as they go into all Big Ten matchups for the rest of the season.
The Wisconsin Badgers are sitting dangerously at No. 20 in the rankings, and they’ll try to climb
up with a Big Ten matchup of their own against No. 16 Minnesota. Wisconsin has three more
wins on the season than Minnesota, but with a tie against No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, this matchup
will be an intense one between two underrated teams.
No. 8 Penn State, who is looking to come out as the top Big Ten team soon enough, took its
first loss of the season last Saturday against Arizona State. There was a pseudo-rivalry between
the two going into the series: The two programs are the two newest in the NCAA, and both are
off to the greatest start in school history.
The first game between the two was one of the most exciting both teams have seen all season,
with lead switches going back and forth until Penn State came out on top 6-5. They couldn’t pull
off the sweep, however, as Arizona State then rallied to win 4-3 in overtime the next night to give the Nittany Lions their first loss of the year.
With only one loss, things aren’t looking bad for Penn State, and the Nittany Lions look to avoid
another against Robert Morris this coming weekend, as they then go into a Big Ten heavy
schedule the rest of the season.
Francesco de Falco is a freshman majoring in journalism. To contact him, email
fpd5052@psu.edu.
