For the second straight season, the Big Ten has put up good numbers in nonconference games before the start of league play.
Through three weeks and 22 nonconference games, the Big Ten is collectively 16-6-1 and has outscored opponents 81-57. It’s a solid beginning and a good omen.
At roughly the same point last year – through four weeks and 27 games – Big Ten teams had gone 17-8-2, outscoring nonconference teams 94-68.
Those are comparable win percentages and goal differentials. Why, then, does the start of the 2023-24 season feel only big-ish?
Maybe it has something to do with a couple of those six losses. Some of the wins, too, perhaps?
Michigan is 2-2-0 to start the year, with splits against Providence at home and Massachusetts on the road. Notre Dame is 1-2-0 after splitting at home against Clarkson and losing 3-0 to RIT on the road last weekend.
Through three games, Ohio State is 2-0-1, having opened the season with a 4-3 come-from-behind road win against Mercyhurst, followed by a win and tie against visiting Lindenwood. The Buckeyes had all they could handle against Lions, as Lindenwood came from behind twice to tie in OSU’s win and forced the 2-2 Saturday tie with two goals in the third period.
On the brighter side of things, Penn State – the team picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches’ poll – has a 3-0 record to start the season, with all three wins on the road.
And the team at the top of the USCHO.com Men’s Division I Poll, Minnesota, is 2-0 after sweeping St. Thomas 6-5 and 3-0. That 6-5 game was wild. Leading 2-0 after the first, the Gophers allowed four goals by the first minute of the third period – and then began their own comeback 20 seconds after the Tommies had made it a 4-2 game.
Additionally, Minnesota let another lead slip away late in the third, when St. Thomas tied it up and sent it to OT.
After the Gophers secured the sweep, Minnesota coach Bob Motzko put the weekend into perspective as only Bob Motzko can.
“Last night, a lot of fun, obviously with the crowd and the goals, but we needed to tighten it up,” Motzko said. “A lot of the things we did wrong or stubbed our toe [with] last night, we were better tonight. Things we did that stubbed our toe tonight, we’ll be better next week.
“That’s just the start of the season, with growing pains.”
Growing pains. Maybe that’s exactly what the start of the 2023-24 season feels like – especially given how the 2022-23 season ended for Big Ten Hockey.
The two B1G teams likely to make the greatest strides this year, Michigan State and Wisconsin, have had steady, promising starts so far. Both teams are 3-1-0, each began the season with a series sweep, and each appears ready to learn from setbacks.
On the road against Air Force last weekend, the Spartans bounced back from a 6-5 Thursday loss with a 5-3 Friday win, which coach Adam Nightingale called a “good response.”
In the loss, the Spartans were down 3-0 after the first. Nightingale said that the Spartans “kept pushing.”
“You know, you get down, and you’re chasing the game and that makes it tough, but they stayed with it,” said Nightingale. “At one point, we were down 5-1, we came back, made it 5-4. I think that showed a lot about the group.
“And then the next night, I thought we started really well and controlled large parts of the game. There was some poise on the bench.”
The second-year head coach said that he’s encouraged by what he’s seen from Michigan State’s offense.
“It’s early, but we’ve shown that we’ve got a group of guys that can score,” said Nightingale. “We’ve put the puck in the net, and that’s a really good sign. You can’t rest on that, though, and score your way back into games. It’s not a recipe for long-term success.”
While the Badgers haven’t put up the same kind of scoring that other Big Ten teams have, Wisconsin did begin the season with a definitive statement against Augustana, shutting out the Vikings 4-0 and 3-0, and outshooting Augustana 89-43 in the series.
Wisconsin followed that with a 4-3 OT win over Bemidji State and a 2-0 loss to North Dakota in the Ice Breaker Tournament.
Coach Mike Hastings, in his first year with Wisconsin, called North Dakota the “hardest team” the Badgers have faced “in terms of playing heavy,” and said that Wisconsin was “stressed” and “pushed” – things that will help the Badgers improve.
“Understanding whatever standard of play is established,” said Hastings, “we have to be able to execute. Small things matter when you have a team that can take a mistake and put it in the back of your net.
“Most teams in college hockey, when you give them repeated opportunities, they can make you pay for it. I thought that’s what North Dakota did.”
Hastings said there were some good take-aways from that loss, too.
“The positive there is that I didn’t think we went away,” said Hastings. “Did we have some valleys in there? Yes. We had opportunities, close but not good enough. That’s a learning experience for us.
“A young team, going through that in that environment, I know we didn’t get the win. I thought that experience, I hope, is going to serve us well going forward. We learned a little bit about ourselves. We saw some things in the mirror that maybe we didn’t like, and most times I think that’s how you need to go through a process to grow.”
The Big Ten season opens this week when No. 13 Ohio State travels to No. 7 Michigan, the only conference play until Nov. 3. B1G Hockey plays its first full weekend of league games Nov. 10-11.
