Buckeye State Battles On

Ohio teams realize importance of in-state rivalries

By Miles McQuinn

Location, location, location.

The Bowling Green, Miami, and Ohio State hockey teams are all two hours apart from each other. Despite no longer being members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), they have all made it a point to continue playing each other each season.

Thank heavens they did.

The B1G Scoreboard (11/13/14-11/15/14)

Women's Scores From 11/13/14:

• Minnesota State 2, Wisconsin 8

Men's Scores From 11/14/14:

• Ohio State 3, Bowling Green, 2 -- Ohio State Scores Late for 3-2 Win at No. 19 Bowling Green

• Boston College 3, Michigan State 2 -- Spartans Come Up Short Against No. 8 Boston College

• American International 2, Michigan 5 -- Copp's Two-Goal Night Carries Michigan over AIC

• Penn State 3, UMass-Lowell 5 -- No. 4 UMass-Lowell Downs Nittany Lions, 5-3

• Minnesota-Duluth 3, Minnesota 0 -- Gophers Fall to UMD in Series Opener

Grassroots Growth = College Growth = Hockey Growth

By Jessi Pierce

What's one main thing you hear hockey fans groan and gripe about each season?

"No one is ever talking about or paying attention to hockey."

It's a pain we all know to be true. We feel jaded by the fact baseball (boring) and basketball (the worst) gain all the attention while hockey quietly sits in the background. It's due to the nicheness of our sport. It takes a unique breed to watch, play and overall enjoy hockey. Our numbers just aren't on par with those baseball, basketball and football players.

But that's starting to change.

Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge Doesn't Disappoint Once Again

Storied programs provide perfect early season excitement

By Miles MicQuinn

If you're like me, you salivate at the idea of teams like Boston College and Minnesota going head to head. Two teams who share a total of 10 national championships – five a piece – between them and come reloaded every season. It’s comparable to Alabama and LSU or Ohio State and Michigan on the gridiron in that the match-up can’t be beat.

The B1G Scoreboard (10/24/14-10/26/14)

Men's Scores From 10/24/14:

• Bemidji 2, Minnesota 5 -- Gophers Score Five in Win over BSU

• Michigan 8, UMass-Lowell 4 -- Michigan Explodes for Eight Goals in Win at No. 8 UMass-Lowell

• Michigan State 0, Boston University 1 -- Spartans Can't Solve Terriers in 1-0 Loss

• Holy Cross 1, Penn State 3 -- Nittany Lions Thwart Crusaders, 3-1

Women's Scores From 10/24/14:

• Wisconsin 2, Bemidji 1

• North Dakota 2, Minnesota 5

Men's Scores From 10/25/14:

• Michigan 2, Boston University 3 -- U-M Surrenders Third-Period Lead in Loss at No. 11 BU 

• Michigan State 1, UMass-Lowell 2 -- Spartans Fall at No. 8/7 UMass-Lowell, 2-1

• Bemidji 3, Minnesota 5 -- Gophers Sweep Beavers in Home Opener

Women's Scores From 10/25/14:

• Wisconsin 4, Bemidji, 3

• North Dakota 0, Minnesota5

Men's Scores From 10/26/14:

• Holy Cross 1, Penn State 7 -- Men's Hockey Dominates Holy Cross, 7-1

Women's Scores From 10/26/14:

• Princeton 1, Penn State 2

Women's Scores From 10/27/14:

• Princeton 4, Penn State 1

The Big Scoreboard (10/18/14-10/19/14)

Men's Scores From 10/17/14:

• Mass 3, Michigan State 5 -- Hockey Tops UMass in Season Opener, 5-3

• Wisconsin 0, Northern Michigan 2 -- Wisconsin Falls to Michigan in Series Opener

• Miami 5, Ohio State 1 -- No. 17 Buckeyes Drop Home-and Home Series Opener to Miami

• New Hampshire 5, Michigan 1 -- Michigan Drops Home Opener to New Hampshire

• Penn State 3, Alaska-Anchorage 3 OT -- Nittany Lions Drawn 3-3 by Alaska-Anchorage

Men's Scores From 10/18/14:

• Mass 4, Michigan State 3 -- Late Goal Sinks Hockey 

• Wisconsin 1, Northern Michigan 4 -- UW Drops Series Finale to Northern Michigan

• Ohio State 1, Miami 2 -- Frey Makes 60 Saves in 2-1 Buckeye Loss

• New Hampshire 1, Michigan 2 -- Two-Goal Second Period Carries U-M Past UNH

• Penn State 3, Alaska 4 -- Nanooks Roar Back to Down Nittany Lions, 4-3

Women's Scores From 10/17/14:

• Bemidji State 1, Ohio State 5

• Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 1

• Penn State 4, Union 1

Women's Scores From 10/18/14:

• Bemidji State 0, Ohio State 1

• Minnesota 2, Wisconsin 1 OT

• Penn State 2, Union 2 OT

Our Big Ten Wish List For 2014-15

Finally. Let the puck drop and let's get the season underway. Last year proved that the world didn't implode thanks to the newly elected conferences and the parity was a bit closer than most may have thought. And like all seasons last year was full of upsets and surprises much to the excitement of college hockey fans everywhere.

So what do we want to see in 2014-15? Here are a few thoughts that immediately come to mind:

Big Ten Media Day: Quotables

Big Ten Media Day invaded Joe Louis Arena Wednesday -- preparing the legendary home of the Detroit Red Wings for March's Big Ten Conference Championship.

Lots was learned and even some fun was had along the way. Here are a few of our favorite quotes from the day:

BTN Announces Coverage for 2014-15 Hockey Season

BTN Announces Coverage for 2014-15 Big Ten Hockey Season

Network to air 27 Games, including entire Big Ten Tournament

CHICAGO – As the Big Ten enters its second season of conference hockey, BTN will televise 27 games, including the Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field in Chicago, and the entire Big Ten Hockey Tournament, which is set for March 19-21 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Michigan and Michigan State Faceoff in 2015 Hockey City Classic

Soldier Field will welcome back the Hockey City Classic this February. The outdoor college hockey spotlight will shine on familiar foes Michigan and Michigan State on February 7, 2015 as announced by the Coyote Hockey City Classic group today. Beginning in 2013, the Hockey City Classic has hosted Notre Dame and Miami (2013) and two other Big Ten squads, Minnesota and Ohio State (2014).

These two teams are no strangers to outdoor hockey. The Mitten State rivals first squared off in a game dubbed the "Cold War" in 2001. It will mark the 8th time since then that the Wolverines and Spartans are pitted outdoors.

Check out the 2015 HCC trailer here.

Full release found here

Big Ten Expansion -- What Does It Mean For Hockey?

By Jessi Pierce

On July 1, the Big Ten Conference became home to 14. The University of Maryland and Rutgers are now official Big Ten members, with Johns Hopkins University joining on the men's lacrosse field (that should be interesting for the up and coming Big Ten D1 lacrosse schools...).

23 Big Ten Hockey Athletes Earn Distinguished Scholar Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced on Wednesday that 683 student-athletes have earned the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. The list includes student-athletes from every institution and 37 different sports who have recorded a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.

  

Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only student-athletes with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student-athlete’s academic career.

Michigan

Zach Hyman, So., Torono, Ontario, history major

Luke Moffatt, Sr., Paradise Valley, Ariz., business administration major

Stanley Cup Dreams and NHL Hopefuls

Future Wolverine Dylan Larkin was selected 15th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft

Future Pros

The Big Ten was fully represented in Philadelphia June 27 and 28 for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. In total, 13 current and future Big Ten players were selected. Minnesota's four-chosen players was the third-highest total for any NCAA school with Hockey East's Boston College leading the way. Another interesting note: only two players of the 13 selected were chosen by the same team.

Dylan Larkin -- Michigan commit 

Defenseman, USNTDP, 1st Rd., (15) by Detroit Red Wings

Joshua Jacobs -- Michigan State commit

Defenseman, USAH Indiana Ice, 2nd Rd., (41) by New Jersey Devils

Ryan Collins -- Minnesota commit

Defenseman, USNTDP, 2nd Rd., (47) by Columbus Blue Jackets

Jack Doughty -- Wisconsin commit

Defenseman, USNTDP, 2nd Rd., (51) by Nashville Predators

Jack Glover -- Minnesota commit

Defenseman, USNTDP, 3rd Rd., (69) by Winnipeg Jets

2014-15 Schedule Released

Here it is folks. What do you think? The schedule concludes with the 2015 Big Ten Tournament, March 19-25, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

 2014‐15 BIG TEN HOCKEY SCHEDULE
DAY  DATE  MATCHUP

Thursday or Friday  Nov. 20 or 21  Michigan State at Ohio State*

Friday or Saturday  Nov. 21 or 22  Michigan State at Ohio State*

Friday  Nov. 21  Penn State at Michigan

Saturday  Nov. 22  Penn State at Michigan

Friday  Dec. 5  Ohio State at Michigan
Friday  Dec. 5  Minnesota at Michigan State
Friday  Dec. 5  Penn State at Wisconsin

Saturday  Dec. 6  Minnesota at Michigan State
Saturday  Dec. 6  Penn State at Wisconsin

Final Tournament Thoughts

Great Competition, Lacking Crowd

For all the complaints that poured in on Thursday, I think even disappointed fans can agree the competition at the tournament was pretty high. Even in the tournament's opening games overtime was reached with Penn State pushing past Michigan 2-1 in two OTs, and Ohio State advancing by beating Michigan State 2-1 in a single extra frame.

Wisconsin and Penn State opened up Friday competition with another OT and Ohio State made it a game with Minnesota before disappointing local Gopher fans by taking the upset win, 3-1.
On the crowd side of things it was a disappointing turn out. But as the USCO pointed out, NCAA tournaments across the board were down 40 percent this year.

"The total attendance for the two leagues that played in the Twin Cities (the Big Ten in St. Paul, Minn., and the NCHC in Minneapolis) was 59,862 across seven sessions.

In a 13-year run at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, the WCHA Final Five had only one year where the total attendance was lower: 2011, when the tournament had only four sessions instead of the usual five.

Badgers Capture Inaugural Tournament Title

Wisconsin was the prediction at the beginning of the year to win the Big Ten Championship Tournament.

Though they wavered at the beginning of the season, for the second straight year the Badgers hoisted a conference tournament championship trophy around the Xcel Energy Arena.

Ohio State didn't make it easy for them. The Buckeyes had pushed past Michigan State in a 2-1 overtime victory and out-muscled top-seed Minnesota to earn their spot in Saturday's championship bout. Wisconsin earned a bye from the first round and topped Penn State for a shot at the title.

It was anyone's game.

Tourney Talk

It came, it went, and few people noticed. More than likely because the attendance at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday barely tipped 4,000 (despite the announced attendance). Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State took to the ice at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively. It was a rough draw.

Those watching it on TV noticed the empty seats -- something that is rarely seen in that building, home to the state high school tournament that draws 19,000+ and the NHL's Minnesota Wild. Hockey fans that snuck out of work to catch a glimpse of Big Ten hockey found themselves able to purchase tickets at an extraordinarily low price and move down to the lower bowl freely. Most of them didn't stay to the end, even in a double OT upset win for Penn State over Michigan.

Yes, all in all, the first day of the Big Ten Championship tournament was a B1G disappointment.

As my boss told me all season -- mind you I work in a hockey office -- "I just have no feeling or excitement for this." He won't be going back to the X for the weekend. And like him, many won't be.

Our blog pushes and strives to promote Big Ten hockey. It has for the past two years, seeing the growing potential it has for the sport that we all love. It's a good thing in the grand scheme of college hockey and will take time to adjust. But even we must admit, the same intense passion that has been felt for years in the WCHA and CCHA is now gone. It's a tough pill to swallow for fans who were so loyal to those conferences.

Fans don't flock to the X like they used to on tournament weekend and the local bars are noticeably missing jerseys in the seats.

Wrapping Up The Inaugural Season...Finally

I have to admit, the word 'inaugural' has found itself blacklisted from my vocabulary. The redundancy and overuse of 'the-word-that-shall-not-be-said' this season has taken its toll.

So hang it from the rafters, applaud its retirement, starting next year there will be no more firsts in the Big Ten hockey conference.

That being said, we can now look back on what was accomplished in 'Year One' of Big Ten hockey.

More opinions will of course be decided this weekend. The Big Ten Conference Championship Tournament invades the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., providing one final measuring stick before we find out where our Big Ten teams land on the national stage.

Does The Shootout Format Win Or Lose?

By Jessi Pierce

Julie "the Cat" Gaffney said it best: "I hate ties, it's like kissing your brother."

Of course shootouts were her thing because of this beauty of a save during the Ducks' Team USA debut.

The B1G Scoreboard (1/23/14/-1/26/14)

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014: What The First Half of Big Ten Hockey Season Taught Us

College hockey season has officially reached the halfway point. Two weeks – or more for some teams – of holiday break and fans are ready to have hockey back.