Hey Buckeye hockey fans,
It's a great time of year. Hockey season is starting and more importantly, the Scarlet and Gray are back in action. The OSU men's team is taking on Guelph in their exhibition game this Saturday and the OSU women are beginning the 2014-15 campaign tonight against New Hampshire. I will be calling the women's game tomorrow on BuckeyeVision and I will have a preview of the Buckeye men's series against No. 3 Providence sometime next week, as well as a recap of their game against the Gryphons.
So without further adieu, allow me to give you the first weekend preview of the season.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES vs NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS (0-1)
Friday – 6:07 pm / Saturday
– 2:07 pm
Nate Handrahan and his crew are all set to take on the Wildcats after their exhibition game against Western Ontario last Sunday.
It was a game that saw goals from Katie Matheny and Julia McKinnon, as well as a shootout winner from Kendall Curtis. The trio of Kassidy Sauve, Alex LaMere, and Stacy Danczak held the fort, with each playing one period a piece.
Last Saturday, UNH kicked off their season at Maine and fell 2-1 against the Black Bears.
November 2013 saw the Buckeyes go into Durham, N.H., and sweep the Wildcats. That was a New Hampshire team that ended up 9-23-2 at season's end. It was a very uncommon record for a program with a tradition as good as there is in college hockey.
With a new head coach in Hilary Witt, the UNH program is looking to turn things around this season and there's an immense buzz created by Witt's presence there. She has a legendary resume between her playing career at Northeastern and her coaching career with Yale, Northeastern, and most recently the US Women's Olympic Team.
As tough of a season as UNH had last year, things are tougher in that they graduated their top two scorers in Nicole Gifford (11-13-24) and Jessica Hitchcock (9-14-23). 2013-14 Hockey East All-Rookie Team member Cassandra Vilgrain is at the head of the Wildcat offense. She popped home nine goals to go along with eight assists last season.
Defensively, they're a balanced mix of seniority and youth. Two senior defensemen and four freshmen man the Wildcat blue line this season fronted by seniors Jess Ryan and Caroline Broderick.
Between the pipes, they look to junior Vilma Vaattovaara who stopped 35 of 37 shots against Maine and will most likely look to her again tonight. The Veikkola, Finland native went 6-10-2 last season with a goals against average of 3.16 and a .889 save percentage.
On to the Buckeyes, who finished last year with a 15-17-5 record after being eliminated in the first round of the WCHA playoffs by Minnesota-Duluth after three exciting games with the Bulldogs.
Up front, it's going to be a very exciting year, with a cast of familiar faces returning including Danielle Gagne, Taylor Kuehl, and Julia McKinnon, just to name a few. OSU is looking for offensive improvement after some of the struggles of last season and having some key components back will certainly help.
Some new gunners will also look to have an impact right away. Julianna Iafallo, Lauren Spring, and Alison Gasuik are all capable scorers as freshmen. Don't be surprised to see their names on the scoresheet here and there throughout the months ahead.
On the back end, it's about as sturdy as it can get with both Sara and Kari Schmitt setting themselves up for big senior years. Sara will don the captain's 'C' and Kari will have an 'A' on her jersey. Kara Gust retains her role as an alternate captain and will only fortify a Buckeye defense that was tremendous, especially in the second half last year. Look for the Buckeye blueliners to be the strength of the team once again.
The biggest question facing this years team will be in the net. With the departure of Chelsea Knapp and Lisa Steffes, both irreplaceable because of how valuable they were to this program, it will be up to either Sauve, LaMere, or Danczak to step up and be the “go-to” netminder that this team needs in order to succeed in the nation's toughest conference.
Sauve, a freshman from Whitby, Ontario, will get the first crack at it as she gets the nod from Handrahan to start tonight.
A new season begins tonight for the OSU women's team. It's a journey that has a lot of promise attached to it.
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