First-year defenseman Theo Wallberg (44) skates with the puck during Ohio State’s 5-4 loss to Minnesota at the Schottenstein Center Dec. 8. Credit: Aiden Ridgeway | Lantern Photographer
The Ohio State Buckeyes (9-9-4, 1-9-2 Big Ten) head to Minneapolis to take on the No. 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-6-4, 5-4-3-1 Big Ten) Friday and Saturday in 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Ohio State matched up with Minnesota in Columbus on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, 2023, as the teams played two tightly contested matches.
The Friday match was a 5-4 Golden Gophers victory in a match that featured three lead changes and three ties. The Saturday match was a defensive showdown that saw Ohio State take a shootout victory over Minnesota to pick up a point on the Golden Gophers.
Ohio State assistant coach JB Bittner recalled Minnesota’s offensive play style and highlighted sophomore forward Jimmy Snuggerud, who has 17 goals in 22 games played.
Along with Snuggerud, the Golden Gophers have two other forwards currently at over a point per game, graduate senior Bryce Brodzinski and junior forward Rhett Pitlick. The three forwards combine for exactly half of the team’s 78 goals scored this season, making the line one of the most dangerous and productive in the NCAA.
“We need to be aware when that line is on the ice,” Bittner said.
The Golden Gophers are tied for 10th in collegiate hockey on the power play, scoring 26.1% of their opportunities, whereas Ohio State is 46th on the penalty kill at 77.3%. Bittner believes the team must prevent itself from being penalized against Minnesota.
“We cannot give them many opportunities — if we can keep them under three that is ideal,” Bittner said. “When they are out there, we have to do our jobs from the goaltender out,”
Coming into this weekend, Ohio State has won five of the last six games it played. Junior defenseman Brent Johnson said he wants to build off the momentum of its win against Notre Dame Friday.
“We are all excited. Last week, we got the split, which felt good for us, [but there’s] obviously still a lot of work to do and a lot left to prove,” Johnson said. “We played Minnesota before the break, and we played them well so we are looking forward to the two games this weekend.”
Johnson said he believes Ohio State gained confidence the last time it played Minnesota.
“We learned as a team that we can play with them. They are known for their skill guys and supposedly how good their top guys are,” Johnson said. “I believe we have the ability to beat them two times this weekend.”
Minnesota comes into this weekend on a three-game win streak that features wins over No. 18 Colorado College and Robert Morris as it starts back up in Big Ten play.
This weekend marks the start of a four-game road trip for the Buckeyes as they take on Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania, Jan. 26 and 27.
“It is gonna be tough, we need all the points we can get right now, so these next two weeks will be huge,” Johnson said.
The puck drop is at 8 p.m., both Friday and Saturday night. Friday’s contest can be streamed on Big Ten+ while Saturday’s will be featured on Big Ten Network.
