Around the Big Ten Hockey: Week 16

Audio/Story posted January 24, 2020 in CommRadio, Sports by Josh Portney

Host Josh Portney and analysts Logan Bourandas, Jordan Hession and Zech Lambert talk about key Big Ten matchups this week, as Penn State looks to rebound and Notre Dame tries to stay relevant.

After a surprising weekend in Big Ten hockey with both Notre Dame and Penn State losing seemingly easy series, this upcoming week will offer some major bounceback opportunities to the leaders of the Big Ten.

At the top of the Big Ten is Ohio State with a small lead over Michigan State and Penn State. With an overall record of 15-6-3, the Buckeyes are playing extremely well and are riding a lot of momentum from their home series sweep of the Fighting Irish. Incredible goaltending by Tommy Nappier and the combination of Gustaf Westland, Tanner Laczynski and Carson Meyer on offense has led the Buckeyes to win after win. Next, they face a lousy Minnesota team that has no outstanding offensive leader and lacks good goaltending. However, this could end up being a rerun of the Penn State-Michigan series, so watch out for Minnesota to steal a game from this dominant Ohio State team.

Notre Dame is the team that you’d expect to be at the top, but the Fighting Irish are currently on the decline. They started off the year at the top of the league, ranked and ready to dominate with loads of potential. However, losses to Bowling Green, Boston College and Michigan set them far back in the standings. Now, Notre Dame has completely fallen apart. Against Ohio State this past weekend, the Fighting Irish showed some effort in the first game but had absolutely no energy in the second. This week, Notre Dame has an opportunity to reawaken and redefine itself, as the Fighting Irish host the bottom-of-the-pack Wisconsin Badgers.

Similar to Notre Dame, Penn State has also fallen into some recent woes, namely a series sweep via Michigan, which seems to have taken the energy out of the Nittany Lions. Coach Guy Gadowsky responded to Penn State being shut out 6-0 by completely mixing up the lines and pulling star goaltender Peyton Jones, who, despite allowing six goals, made his fourth 40-save game of the year. Penn State has a chance to rebound this weekend, but it won’t be easy. The Nittany Lions take on the surging Michigan State Spartans in a road series that could define the season. Michigan State is a team that really came out of nowhere to become a major contender in the race for the Big Ten title, so this series will also be a defining moment for the Spartans’ program, too.

Michigan currently sits at second place in the league, but this week, the Wolverines have a bye, as they play the United States U18 Team in an exhibition match.

 

Josh Portney is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jxp776@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

Jordan Hession's photo

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).

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.

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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).