The college hockey season officially kicked off this weekend, and all the Big Ten teams were in action save Michigan and Michigan State.

And it’s definitely a new season.

Wisconsin is 0-2-0 after dropping two games in the Kendall Hockey Classic and scoring three goals in total. Penn State is 1-0-1 after the weekend, when the Nittany Lions tied UConn and then won 7-1. Penn State hit a series of program firsts with the win, as it was the first seven-goal game against a Division I opponent, the first win over UConn and the first Hockey East victory.

The stories are different for Penn State and Wisconsin, but it’s been much of the same for Minnesota. The Gophers defeated Minnesota-Duluth and then dominated RPI over the weekend to claim their second-straight Ice Breaker championship.

While Minnesota played a closer game with UMD, the Gophers just crushed the Engineers. The only reason Minnesota didn’t score more than three goals is because Jason Kasdorf is back in net for RPI.

While it’s only been one weekend, Minnesota really does look like the team most of us think will win the NCAA tournament. It’s hard to argue with a powerful offense, Kyle Rau, a spectacular defense and a wall in net with Adam Wilcox.

So far, Michigan State is the only team that hasn’t played a regular-season game yet.

(After the jump: It’s still early, Wisconsin’s learning curve and Ohio State’s scoring surprise)

Badger learning curve

With most of its scoring gone and more freshmen than upperclassmen on it’s roster, the Badgers will struggle to adapt. At least early in the season. Right now, Wisconsin is 0-2-0 after opening weekend at the Kendall Hockey Classic. The Badgers lost 1-0 to Alaska Fairbanks and then 4-2 against Alaska Anchorage.

Wisconsin was last shut out in November of 2013 in a 2-0 loss to Miami.

On Friday, in the Badger season opener, freshman Landon Peterson backstopped Wisconsin. Joel Rumpel played the next night, when the Badgers surrendered four goals. 

It’s easy to look at scoring as the issue for Wisconsin, as the Badgers lost last season’s top line. But the bigger issue lies in the underclassmen and freshmen adjusting to a more involved role. In most situations, teams with a lot of freshmen have a learning curve. And the Badgers have 17 underclassmen to pair with nine upperclassmen.

Ohio State’s scoring surprise

Ohio State opened its season against Providence, one of Hockey East’s top teams. Both games finished in overtime, with the Buckeyes winning 5-4 on Friday and Providence earning a 2-1 victory the next night.

Christian Frey started the first game, and Matt Tomkins took his place the next night. It’s early, but that indicates a possible goalkeeping situation for Ohio State. But don’t forget that Frey was the one who stabilized the Buckeye goalkeeping situation last season.

The biggest thing to take away from Ohio State’s weekend is the scoring. With last year’s leading scorers Max McCormik and Ryan Dzingel gone, offense was a question mark. But on Firday Anthony Greco had a hat trick, Tanner Fritz netted four points (2g, 2a), Matthew Weis had three assists and defensemen Sam Jardine added two helpers.

It’s early, yes, but maybe Ohio State can get the much-needed scoring by committee. If the Buckeyes have scoring and a strong netminding situation, they might surprise in the Big Ten.

It’s too early to panic

Or, unless you’re Minnesota, it’s too early to think you’ll win the Big Ten.

Last week, Michigan lost 4-3 to Ferris State. The Wolverines were in a 3-0 hole before closing the score to 4-3. Many – myself included – think the Wolverines will make it back to the NCAA tournament this season. Watching a team with high expectations fall into a 3-0 deficit in the season opener isn’t ideal, but it’s very early.

And like Wisconsin, the Wolverines have a fairly big freshman class. Red Berenson already said he’s going to expect a lot from Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski, players he thinks are ready to take the collegiate workload.

The same goes for Wisconsin.

Remember Minnesota early on last season? The Gophers had lost a lot of talent, and there weren’t many expectations for the team. But all Minnesota needed was solid goalkeeping, and the team found their identity.

Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves is hoping for a little of the same for the Badgers.

 

Monday, October 13th, 2014 - 11:00 am | Big Ten, Blogs, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings