Sitting atop the Big Ten standings, Ohio State is officially no longer under the radar.
A split with Michigan at home on Dec. 10-11 gave the Buckeyes a 10-6-0 start to the season, not bad for a team predicted to finish at the bottom of the conference, but as Ohio State prepares to welcome Minnesota to Columbus this weekend it has posted an 11-1-2 record since that split.
The Buckeyes, who have two games in hand compared to the three teams following them, hold a three-point lead over Michigan in the standings.
“All I can say, and what I’ve talked to a lot of people about, it’s just the team (aspect),” Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik said on Tuesday. “We roll four lines and it’s someone else coming up with a big play every night.”
The Buckeyes have shown the ability to come back in games, they scored two third-period goals in last Friday’s overtime victory over Wisconsin, and they’ve also shown the ability to have the strong second game of a series by putting up six goals in the Saturday games against Penn State and the Badgers after closer games on Friday.
“We’ve been fortunate,” Rohlik said. “We’ve been in a lot of tight games and our third periods have been really good. When you get a bit of that confidence going and you have a little bit of luck on your side, but we’re far from a finished product, we’ve got a long way to go.”
There are generally a lot of unknowns on a team predicted to finish last but so far Ohio State’s young players have been a massive part of the team’s success, and as the season rolls on, they seem to be getting more comfortable at the Division I level.
Freshman forward Georgii Merkulov leads the team in goals and scoring, lighting the lamp 18 times and adding 13 assists. Freshman defenseman Mason Lohrei leads the team with 25 assists and Cam Thiesing has eight goals and 16 assists.
“They’re good players and they’re learning,” Rohlik said of the freshmen. “They’re making mistakes and all that, but they’re learning on the job, and they’ve been a big part of this team. They’ve played well and they’re just scratching the surface, that’s the exciting part.”
Another freshman, goaltender Jakub Dobeš, has been strong in net. The Ostrava, Czech Republic, native has started the last 10 games for Ohio State, going 7-1-2 in those contests and averaging 38 saves per contest.
“Jakub has brought it every day in practice, he’s a great teammate and he’s fun to be around,” Rohlik said of his goaltender. “He has the work ethic and wants to get better. He’s settled in and has given us a chance every night and has given our team more confidence.”
The young guns are putting up points, but the upperclassmen are as well, and Rohlik gave a lot of credit for the strong performances from the freshmen to his upperclassmen.
“Gustaf (Westlund), Quinn Preston, Jake Wise, Will Riedell, these older guys that have been thought it and have that calming presence to go out there and make these young guys feel comfortable,” he said. “I think it’s a huge difference. We win as a team, and we win as a group and that’s all we talk about.”
After the Gophers this weekend Ohio State will travel to Michigan next weekend. Thanks to the Big Ten having an odd number of teams, the trip to Ann Arbor will wrap up its regular season and the Buckeyes will watch the final weekend of the regular season as fans.
Even with two opportunities to nail down two of the preseason favorites, Rohlik isn’t putting any extra emphasis on the last four games of the season.
“We never really talk like that, to be honest,” he said. “All we’re focused on is having the opportunity to play one of the best teams in the country on Friday. Really, that’s our only message and the only thing we talk about. We never try to get too far ahead of ourselves, we stay in the moment.”
Although, after a rough 2020-21 season in more than one way, he did emphasize one thing about the final regular season home series for the Buckeyes.
“A year ago, we all never thought we’d see anything like it and ended up playing in front of empty buildings everywhere in the country,” Rohlik said. “It’s something I hope we never have to do again. Our crowds have been fantastic, our student section have been incredible, two, three or four thousand students at our games, I’m really looking forward to this weekend for our last two games here at home.”
