Recapping the first half of the Big Ten, part two: the bottom four teams
Welcome back to Fresh Ice! Today, we’re taking a look at the bottom four teams the Big Ten through the first half of the season. Yesterday, we looked at the top half of the league, so if you missed that, you can find it right here.
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After looking at the top half of the league yesterday, let’s take a look at the bottom four teams: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State.
Ohio State (3-6-1, 10 points)
If I’m being really honest, I don’t know what to make of the Buckeyes right now. Two of their wins are by just one goal (plus an empty-netter against Michigan State), and in the other one, they got out to a commanding 4-0 lead on Wisconsin in the first period. They finished with a tie and a loss against Arizona State in two incredibly tight, back-and-forth affairs.
The goaltending from Tommy Nappier hasn’t been as solid as in years past — Nappier currently has a .918 save percentage, down from his career save percentage of .934. They lost veteran contributors like Tanner Laczynski and Carson Meyer, but still have one of the older lineups in the Big Ten. I get the sense they’re still finding their footing, so it’ll be interesting to see how they look in the second half.
Breakout player(s): If you follow me on Twitter (shameless plug here), you know how I feel about Travis Treloar. It took him two games to adjust to college and then he was off to the races with nine points in Ohio State’s last eight games. He’s been centering their second line and plays in all situations — I’ve really enjoyed watching him so far.
Player(s) I expected more from: Nappier has been so good the last two years and hasn’t quite looked the same so far. I expect him to find his stride in the second half of the year, but so far, the Buckeyes’ vaunted goaltending hasn’t been what I thought I’d see.
Michigan (5-5, 8 points)
Michigan looked like a candidate for one of the best teams in the country through their first two series. The Wolverines kicked things off with an 8-1 win over Arizona State and won their next three straight, including an overtime win at Wisconsin. Then it got a little ugly, and Michigan is 1-5 since, with the lone win coming at Penn State. The Wolverines ended the first half on a three-game losing streak — not exactly what anyone expected.
Strauss Mann hasn’t been in the same form he was last year and has gotten pulled twice in the last three games. Two of those losses did come with five players gone for world junior camp, but still, the Wolverines have seriously cooled down after a hot start. Mel Pearson’s teams tend to be second-half teams, so we’ll see how things go in January when they have everyone back and the freshmen are a little older. I think they’ll find their footing, but the goaltending may be a bigger question than anyone imagined.
Breakout player(s): Michigan’s freshman class came in with a ton of hype, but Thomas Bordeleau was a little less hyped than his classmates. He’s tied for the team lead in points with Kent Johnson at 10 apiece, but Bordeleau has three goals to Johnson’s two and five of his seven assists are primary assists. He’s been really good and really fun to watch.
Player(s) I expected more from: Mann was a Richter finalist last year and hasn’t quite lived up to those lofty standards so far. Goaltending was something Michigan didn’t think it would have to worry about, and I think Mann will settle in, but he was expected to largely pick up where he left off. Freshman defenseman Owen Power is in the conversation for first overall in July, and while he’s been solid, I think I expected to be more blown away given all the hype when he came in.
Michigan State (3-3-2, 5 points)
Much like the Buckeyes, I don’t really know what to make of the Spartans. They’ve gotten excellent goaltending from Drew DeRidder and the defense has generally been good, but the offense may not have enough pop to keep pace with some of the more offensively gifted teams in the league. That’s the direct opposite of Penn State’s issues, which we’ll get to in a second.
Charlie Combs, a graduate transfer from Bemidji State, leads the team in goals (3) and points (6) through eight games. His transfer didn’t make a ton of headlines, but he’s brought some much-needed offense to this team.
Breakout player(s): Combs gets a nod here, and I’ve also been impressed with Josh Nodler so far. He’s centered the Spartans’ top line in every game and already has six points, just two shy from his eight total of last year.
Player(s) I expected more from: Mitchell Lewandowski had 20 points last year and 34 the year before but just five so far this year, two of which came in Michigan State’s last series at Notre Dame. He seemed to be finding his stride down the stretch, so I’ll be interested to see if he continues that in the new year. When he’s on, he’s one of their best offensive players — and they’ll need him.
Penn State (3-5, 3 points)
Penn State’s 0-5 start may be one of the most surprising things I’ve seen this year (at least in hockey). They lost a good number of upperclassmen — Nate Sucese, Brandon Biro and Liam Folkes were all key pieces — Cole Hults and Evan Barratt signed NHL deals a year early, and the loss of Peyton Jones in net looms large. But despite those losses, I don’t think anyone expected them to struggle so mightily to start off the season, or at least I didn’t. A 9-5 win over Michigan seemed to get the Nittany Lions going, and they won two wild overtime games over Arizona State to close the first half with some momentum.
Kevin Wall got off to a hot start, and captain Alex Limoges has been finding his stride lately. Goal scoring has almost never been a question for Penn State, and it still isn’t, but defense and goaltending remain issues that need to be solved.
Breakout player(s): Wall has already matched his point total from last year and scored in the first three games while the Nittany Lions’ offense was still figuring things out. He doesn’t have a goal since, but he’s been shooting like a mad man — he has more games with 7+ shots (five) than games with just one shot (one).
Player(s) I expected more from: Most of the guys I expected to produce have been, but Sam Sternschein is one I thought might have more than three points so far. He had 17 last year, and with so many losses up front, I expected him to take on a bigger role. He was out of the lineup for two games, and I’ll be interested to see how he plays in the second half.
Again, if you missed the breakdown of the top four teams, you can find it right here!
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