Thursday, October 31, 2024

Men’s Notes: Blistering Beginning for Buckeyes

Ohio State Last Unbeaten Team in Big Ten

When the Big Ten preseason poll was unveiled in September, Ohio State was pegged to finish dead last in the seven-team standings.

Yet, as the calendar turns from October to November, the 15th-ranked Buckeyes are the last remaining unbeaten team in the conference, having amassed a 5-0-1 start. That includes a pair of 2-1 wins in a Big Ten road sweep two weeks ago at Wisconsin.

OSU utilized the transfer portal to fortify its roster – fifth-year D Aiden Hansen–Bukata (Delta, British Columbia) leads the team in scoring and fifth-year F Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.) recently collected his 100th NCAA point – but there was plenty of talent already in the cupboard. Returning sophomore Max Montes (Waukesha, Wis.), for example, has tallied a team-leading six goals through five games.

It’s between the pipes, however, where returning Buckeyes have made this biggest impact so far. Senior Logan Terness (Burnaby, British Columbia) and sophomore Kristoffer Eberly (Pinckney, Mich.) have combined for an NCAA-leading .952 save percentage, holding opponents to two goals or fewer in five of six starts. Mostly recently, Eberly provided a 22-save shutout in last Saturday’s 2-0 non-conference victory at Bowling Green.

It’s early days in the college hockey season – the NCAA Tournament is more than four months away – but the early returns on head coach Steve Rohlik’s Ohio State indicate the Buckeyes are a team to watch going forward.

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

Must Read:

Atlantic Hockey America: Brian Riley and West Point: A Family Legacy

Boston Globe: Leonard had been hoping for bigger role on PK. When his moment arrived, he delivered

College Hockey News: Team of the Week: Denver

EP Rinkside: Arizona State ready to adjust to conference life

FloHockey: Why Michigan State’s Trey Augustine has become a top NHL goalie prospect

Grand Forks Herald: UND’s five-on-five play a positive early this season

Grand Forks Herald: Jackson Kunz scores twice in win over Boston University: ‘He’s turned into a man’

Schenectady Daily Gazette: Something special seems to be brewing with Union men’s hockey

Stops & Starts: The official publication of the American Hockey Coaches Association

The Hockey News: College Hockey Top 10: Union’s Ben Muthersbaugh pacing freshman class

USCHO: Young Northern Michigan stumbling early, but ‘we’re holding our heads high right now’

USCHO: Clarkson emphasizing ‘those teaching moments for your team to progress’

USCHO: Northeastern leaning on veteran core through brutal stretch of early 2024-25 schedule

USCHO: Niagara ‘building something special’ as Purple Eagles an optimistic ‘eclectic group’

USCHO: Early nonconference action sees Big Ten teams romp to .703 win percentage, tops in NCAA

Must Hear:

CHN Insiders: Featuring College Hockey Inc. executive director Sean Hogan

College Hockey Today: (Hat) Trick or Treat!

ECAC Hockey Decision Makers: Featuring Cornell head coach Mike Schaefer

Hockey on Campus: With RMU coach Derek Schooley, Grand Forks Herald reporter Brad Schlossman

Inside Atlantic Hockey: Featuring Robert Morris head coach Derek Schooley

Parting Schotts: Union coach Josh Hauge reviews home-and-home sweep of RPI

Pucks in Deep: Featuring Augustana senior F Luke Mobley

The CCHA Show: Featuring Lake Superior State captain Grant Hindman

The Pipeline Show: Featuring Augustana head coach Garrett Raboin

UND Hockey Podcast: A showdown with Cornell is coming

USCHO Spotlight: Maine’s Barr talks Black Bears, recruiting, recent success, changing landscape

USCHO Weekend Review: Denver sweeps, BC comes from behind, North Dakota splits with BU

Matchup Mania:

This week’s schedule is highlighted by a quartet of top-20 series matchups, according to the latest national polls:

No. 2 Boston College at No. 10 St. Cloud State
No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 18 Penn State
No. 5 Boston University vs. No. 18 Michigan
No. 6 North Dakota at No. 10 Cornell

All four series take place Friday and Saturday.

Timing is Everything:

A College Hockey Inc. stick tap to Air Force’s assistant athletics Director for media relations Dave Toller for this gem of a game note: Air Force has led for just 18 of the 484 minutes it has played this season, yet has managed to turn those 18 minutes into four victories.

Two of those wins – Oct. 5 vs. Arizona State and Oct. 25 at AIC – were overtime victories in which the Falcons never led until the game-winning goals were scored. In AFA’s series-opener against Lindenwood (Oct. 18), the Falcons didn’t take their first lead until 5:30 into the third period of a 3-2 victory. The following night, AFA did not lead until scoring the winning goal with 3:28 left in a 2-1 win.

Air Force, now 4-4-0 after a 1-3-0 start, has yet to score the first goal in a game this season.

Milestone Watch:

Clarkson senior F Ayrton Martino (Toronto) and Providence graduate F Nick Poisson (Vancouver, British Columbia) both enter the weekend with 98 career points. They are aiming to become the sixth and seventh active NCAA Division I men’s players to reach the 100-point milestone:

Active NCAA Career Scoring Leaders
Rk.	Player, School	Pts
1.	Lukas Sillinger, Arizona State	127
2.	Jack Devine, Denver	120
3.	Carter Wilkie, North Dakota	114
4.	Lynden Breen, Maine	102
5.	Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Ohio State	100

Ohio State graduate F Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.) became the most recent member of that exclusive club, collecting his 100th career point with an assist in last Saturday’s 2-0 victory at Bowling Green.

Fit to Print:

“We flat out, as a staff, challenged them with nine minutes left. It was, ‘We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.’ This group is different. We’re going to find a way, and they did that.”

— Union head coach Josh Hauge after his team rallied to defeat Capital Region-rival RPI 4-3 and complete a series sweep Saturday. The Garnet Chargers are 6-1-0 on the year, the program’s best start since 1976-77 (source: DailyGazette.com).

NHL Note of the Week:

Colorado D Cale Makar (UMass, 2017-19) had a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s loss to Tampa Bay, extending his point streak to 11 games. Makar joined Bobby Orr (15 game streak in 1973-74) as the only defensemen in NHL history to open a season with a point streak of at least 11 games.

Makar, who is tied for the NHL scoring lead with 19 points, spent two seasons with the Minutemen and captured the 2019 Hobey Baker Memorial Award after leading UMass to the NCAA Frozen Four championship game.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

Defending NCAA champion Denver has won 15 consecutive games dating back to last season. The last loss for the Pioneers was a 4-3 setback at rival Colorado College on March 8 … Senior F Rhett Pitlick’s (Chaska, Minn.) first three goals for Minnesota State have all been game-winners. He had one GWG in 109 games during his three seasons at Minnesota … Four teams remain perfect on the penalty kill this season: Augustana (17-17), Boston College (7-7), Lake Superior State (18-18) and Penn State (23-23) … Five of St. Cloud State’s six victories (6-0-1) have come by a single goal … LIU’s 5-2 victory at Notre Dame on Saturday was the program’s first-ever road victory over a ranked opponent … Providence head coach Nate Leaman (Cortland ’97) earned career win No. 400 in last Friday’s 3-2 overtime victory at Vermont.

Longest Active Point Streaks:

7 games, F Cole O’Hara (UMass)
- 4-7—11, began Oct. 5 at Bentley
6 games, F Jack Devine (Denver)
- 1-13—14, began Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage
6 games, F Carter King (Denver)
- 5-4—9, began Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage
6 games, D Sam Rinzel (Minnesota)
- 4-5—9, began Oct. 11 vs. Air Force
6 games, F Aidan Thompson (Denver)
- 4-7—11, began Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage

Longest Active Goal Streaks:

4 games, F TylerBorgula (Quinnipiac)
- 4-1—5, began Oct. 18 at Maine
4 games, F SamHarris (Denver)
- 4-2—6, began Oct. 18 vs. Northeastern
4 games, F SimonIsabelle (RIT)
- 5-0—5, began Oct. 12 at Mercyhurst
4 games, F Ryan Kirwan (Arizona State)
- 5-0—5, began Oct. 18 at Providence
4 games, F Cam Lund (Northeastern)
- 4-0—4, began Oct. 18 at Denver

College Hockey Inc. Resources:

Did you know? 93% of NCAA Division I men’s hockey players earn their degree!