5:30 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday at Ohio State Big Ten Network, 1130-AM, 103.5-FM
Teams coming off losses collide
Preview: The Gophers, ranked No. 7 in the USCHO.com poll, are coming off a home split vs. Wisconsin. The Gophers (10-7-1, 4-5-1-1 Big Ten) won the series opener 5-4; the Badgers won the second game 3-2. The Gophers outshot the Badgers 42-32 in the loss, including 20-10 in the third period. Ohio State, ranked No. 15, is coming off a 4-0 loss to Penn State last Saturday. The loss ended a five-game unbeaten streak for the Buckeyes (8-4-4, 3-4-1), who had tied Penn State 5-5 in the series opener. The Gophers and Buckeyes split four games last season — each won once on the road.
Players to watch: Senior D Steve Johnson assisted on both Gophers goals in the loss Saturday for his first multipoint game of the season. Johnson, who had 14 points (all on assists) last season, has nine points (two goals and seven assists) in 18 games. Sophomore F Tanner Laczynski leads the Buckeyes with 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists). Junior G Sean Romeo, who sat out last season after transferring from Maine, has a 2.06 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage in 15 starts.
Numbers: The Buckeyes are 7-1-1 on the road — second-best in Division I (behind only Big Ten-leading Notre Dame at 6-0-0). The Buckeyes are 1-3-3 at home, the sixth-worst home winning percentage.
Joel Rippel
