For the Big Ten, the season is starting and fast and, well, big.
With 37 games played collectively against nonconference foes, the Big Ten’s .703 win percentage in non-league play leads all conferences as November begins, with Hockey East (.628) and the NCHC (.627) not too far behind.
Last weekend, six of the league’s seven teams went 9-3-0 in nonconference play, and No. 11 Michigan earned a 5-4 overtime win against the U.S. National Team Development Program in exhibition play.
The early going feels more like predictor than mere prologue, with B1G teams seeming to settle into roles and places they may maintain all season, starting with the three losses from last weekend.
No. 19 Notre Dame split with visiting Long Island, beating the Sharks 4-1 Friday before losing 5-2 Saturday. In the loss, the teams were tied 1-1 with each scoring early in the second period, but the Sharks scored three unanswered by the early going in the third and the Irish never recovered. Through the first two periods, LIU outshot Notre Dame 35-13.
“That’s three games in a row that we haven’t been nearly as good as we should be,” said Irish coach Jeff Jackson after the loss. “When that happens, I have to take responsibility. I don’t think we were ready to play yesterday and I’m not sure we were much better prepared to play today.”
The Irish split with visiting Alaska the week before, losing 1-0 Oct. 19. Said Jackson, “I don’t think our respect level for Alaska or Long Island was where it needed to be.”
The other B1G team on the wrong side of the scoreboard last weekend was Wisconsin, who dropped two in a row to No. 1 Denver. While the Pioneers are capable of beating anyone in college hockey right now, Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings isn’t looking at anyone but the Badgers for the losses – and for Wisconsin’s 1-5-0 start to the season.
“At the end of the day, our entire game has to continue to grow,” said Hastings in his weekly press conference. “Last week, I thought that happened through four-and-a-half periods. I saw that growth. Last period-and-a-half, I thought we took a half a step back.
“Some of the things we’re encountering right now that we haven’t encountered in the past, we have to manage them and do it as a group.”
One factor in Wisconsin’s rough start is offense. The Badgers have scored just 10 goals through six games this season. In advance of Wisconsin’s road series against Notre Dame this weekend, Hastings talked about building confidence and encouraging players to “draw from those experiences when they’ve been able to work themselves out of a little bit of an offensive slump.”
Of the four B1G teams that swept opponents, two played against in-state rivals. No. 15 Ohio State won home-and-home games against Bowling Green, a rivalry that dates back to 1966 and includes 192 games played.
After Friday’s 3-1 home win, Steve Rohlik talked about the importance of overall team defense.
“If you’re good in your ‘D’ zone, you can create a lot of things offensively,” said Rohlik. “Our goaltenders are playing really well right now, but guys … are digging in and blocking a lot of shots. It’s kind of a team thing.”
Rohlik praised the Buckeyes’ defense and resilience after Saturday’s 2-0 road win. Through six games, the Buckeyes are allowing just 1.33 goals per game and Ohio State’s penalty kill is 16-for-18 this season. Logan Terness and Kristoffer Eberly are splitting time in the Ohio State net, and Eberly’s GAA in three games is 1.00.
The second team playing for home state bragging rights was No. 4 Minnesota, who beat St. Thomas 7-1 at home Friday before winning 6-2 in Xcel Energy Center Saturday. Minnesota leads the nation in goals with 33 through six games while holding opponents to 12 total.
While the Tommies and Gophers first faced off nearly a century ago, this a new potential rivalry between the teams whose rinks are about 14.5 miles apart as the crow flies. Minnesota is 4-0 against St. Thomas since sweeping them last season, the first meeting between the teams since the 1926-27 season.
And in spite of the disparity between the programs – St. Thomas in its fourth season of Division I play and building a program, Minnesota in the national title mix year after year – Minnesota coach Bob Motzko said that showing up well against in-state rivals is a point of pride for the Gophers.
“We addressed it this year with our guys at the start of the year,” he said. “It started with our exhibition game with St. Cloud. We wanted to really be on top of our game and take our nonconference against in-state teams seriously because they take it seriously against us and they want to come after us.”
Minnesota hosts Penn State this week in the first conference action for each team. The Golden Gophers ended the Nittany Lions’ 2023-24 season in the first round of the Big Ten playoffs with 5-1 and 3-2 wins. In the final two periods of that second game, the Nittany Lions outshot the Golden Gophers 35-7. “That was one of our best performances we had that year” said Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky, but he stresses that the Nittany Lions “aren’t there yet” as they return to Minneapolis.
“I think there are aspects of our game that are better right now than what we had then,” said Gadowsky. “However, as a whole, it takes a lot of lessons throughout the season to get to that level.”
One thing that’s working particularly well for Penn State is its penalty kill, which is a perfect 23-for-23 to start the season. Gadowsky credits assistant coach Juliano Pagliero for that. “He’s looked at [the penalty kill] all summer and has found not only what needs to improve but what we have done well.
“I will say that quite often, the most important penalty killer is your goaltender, and I think with Arsenii [Sergeev], we have great goaltending, and I think that really helps.”
No. 3 Michigan State’s only stumble this season was a 3-0 home loss to No. 2 Boston College Oct. 11, and the Spartans followed that with a 4-3 win for a weekend split. With a road sweep of Canisius, Michigan State extended its current win streak to three games.
The second win on the weekend came with Luca Di Pasquo in net, making his first start of the season.
“I thought he played great,” said Spartans coach Adam Nightingale. “He’s a really good goalie. We’ve said that all along.”
Nightingale said that Di Pasquo and starting goalie Trey Augustine are competitive with each other.
“It’s Luca’s job to be ready to go, and he did that,” Nightingale said.
Nightingale added that Canisius played hard and pushed the Spartans, and that Michigan State had to play better the second night to win, adding, “A sweep in college hockey on the road’s not easy.”
Everyone plays this weekend except for the Spartans, who take the ice again when they host the Buckeyes Nov. 8-9 for Michigan State’s first taste of Big Ten hockey this season. Ohio State is already 2-0-0 in B1G Hockey, having swept Wisconsin on the road Oct. 18-19.
