{"id":103865,"date":"2020-02-07T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T14:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=103865"},"modified":"2020-08-24T10:50:56","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T15:50:56","slug":"uscho-game-of-the-week-ohio-state-hosts-penn-state-this-weekend-in-crucial-big-ten-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2020\/02\/07\/uscho-game-of-the-week-ohio-state-hosts-penn-state-this-weekend-in-crucial-big-ten-series\/","title":{"rendered":"USCHO GAME OF THE WEEK: Ohio State hosts Penn State this weekend in crucial Big Ten series"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"ps_captionIns\" aria-describedby=\"caption-ps-captionIns\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"\/img-show\/I0000fbZTrsxHqYo\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Photo By: Rachel Lewis\/\u00a9Rachel Lewis\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/RachelLewis-20180126-OhioState-Michigan-02.jpg\" alt=\"JAN 26, 2018: Tanner Laczynski (OSU - 9)  The #6 Ohio State Buckeyes shut out the #20 Michigan Wolverines 4-0 at Value City Arena in Columbus, OH. (Rachel Lewis - USCHO) (Rachel Lewis\/\u00a9Rachel Lewis)\" width=\"700\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-ps-captionIns\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tanner Laczynski leads Ohio State in scoring this season with seven goals and 26 points in 28 games for the Buckeyes (photo: Rachel Lewis).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When Ohio State dropped three straight games in November, the Buckeyes responded by going 6-0-1 in the next seven games.<\/p>\n<p>The Buckeyes defeated Michigan 4-1 on Saturday to snap their second three-game losing streak of the season. A similar run to November could help solidify their spot atop the Big Ten standings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been thinking the exact same thing &#8212; we\u2019ve done it before and we know that we can go on a hot streak again here,\u201d OSU sophomore forward Gustaf Westlund said. \u201cJust focusing on the next game is always important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Buckeyes, who have six games remaining in the regular season, host Penn State this weekend. Ohio State and the Nittany Lions are tied with 29 Big Ten points, but Minnesota and Michigan State are only one point behind with two games in hand.<\/p>\n<p>According to Westlund, the key to success down the stretch is to live in the moment and not dwell on past results.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy dad played a lot of tennis growing up and he always told me that if you lose a point, you\u2019ve got to have a short memory,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to focus on the next point. I kind of have that mentality and I know that from playing with other guys on our team, and Coach (Steve) Rohlik, that they have that mentality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got to focus on the next game, we were on a three-game losing streak but after each loss we were always focusing ahead. If you do that, you\u2019re just going to remember the good things about winning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Westlund leads the Buckeyes with 12 goals so far this season. He\u2019s added another dozen assists and has already surpassed the number of games played during his injury-plagued freshman campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all about coming back to something that you\u2019re familiar with and more comfortable with,\u201d Westlund said about this season compared to last season. \u201cThis place has really taken care of me. I love the guys, I love staff, I love everyone that\u2019s involved with the Ohio State men\u2019s hockey team and it\u2019s all about being comfortable, I believe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComing back to something that you\u2019re familiar with, you work with these guys that are just as hard-working and determined as you are, and good things happen out of that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Stockholm, Sweden, native credited his support system for helping him through his tough freshman season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the great thing about being at Ohio State &#8212; everyone takes care of you,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was certainly the case with me. Everyone took care of me even though I had some ups and down regarding that injury. It\u2019s a bit of a mental game when you get hurt, [but] you\u2019ve got to just focus on the positive side of things and be fortunate that you are at a place where people take care of you when you get hurt.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That\u2019s how I looked at the situation, and I came back stronger than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Throughout much of his time at Ohio State, Westlund has centered a line with senior Carson Meyer as his right winger. The two have developed a strong bond both on the ice and off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarson has really been one of the guys that really took care of me when I first came in,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just starts out with us being really good friends off the ice and it certainly translates to on the ice. We kind of have similar playing styles, playing with speed and we both have a certain type of vision. We know where each one of us is going to be and play up to each other\u2019s speed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even with a strong friendship, the two players aren\u2019t afraid call each other out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re always honest to each other, too,\u201d Westlund said. \u201cIf there\u2019s a play that I made or a play that Carson should have made, we tell each other. We try to keep each other accountable. That\u2019s really why it\u2019s been sticking together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ohio State and the Nittany Lions split two one-goal games earlier this season at Penn State. The Buckeyes gave up five goals in the loss and held PSU to three in their win. A strong defensive effort against the high-flying team from State College will be needed this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Game times are Friday at 7 p.m. EST and Saturday at 5 p.m. from Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re a very offensive team that plays with a lot of speed,&#8221; Westlund said. &#8220;We just need to be aware of that. We do our video and we do our homework, [but] I don\u2019t want to disclose too many details about what we\u2019re going to do. We\u2019ve just got to make sure we counteract their offensiveness. I believe they have plenty of guys that are above 20 points, they\u2019re an offensive threat, and you\u2019ve got make sure that you don\u2019t give them too many opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After playing eight of the last 10 games on the road, OSU gets four of its last six, including this weekend, at home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWinning or losing, at home you\u2019re always going to have someone that supports you no matter how it goes,\u201d Westlund said. \u201cThis home series is huge for us and it\u2019s definitely going to be exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Ohio State dropped three straight games in November, the Buckeyes responded by going 6-0-1 in the next seven games (photo: Rachel Lewis).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":108023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[935],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[855],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - 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