College hockey fully kicked off last week, and it featured five Big Ten teams in action. The Wolverines and their high-powered offense sat out, while Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan State all participated in out-of-conference contests.

The Spartans narrowly lost the Ice Breaker Tournament after tying Maine and defeated Lake Superior State. Minnesota dropped a contest to Vermont, Penn State defeated Canisius, Bowling Green swept Ohio State and Wisconsin tied Northern Michigan.

It’s still early in the season so there’s no reason to panic. But there were some points of reassurance and some issues of concern in the opening weekend.

(After the jump: Not last year’s Wisconsin, Eric Schierhorn and Minnesota’s struggles)

These aren’t last year’s Badgers

Wisconsin tied Northern Michigan in both games over the weekend, and that included a comeback in Saturday’s game. Luke Kunin, who I mentioned on my watch list briefly, scored the game-tying tally. Grant Besse, Wisconsin’s best player, scored on Friday.

Two ties against a non-conference team is very impressive, given how much Wisconsin struggled against out-of-conference opponents last year. The Badgers also have a very young team with minimal experience in net, so these are encouraging signs for Wisconsin.

Eric Schierhorn’s play

The freshman was tabbed as Minnesota’s starter on Saturday. Big Ten media (and myself) pegged Schierhorn as the team’s starter, so some of us placed him on our all-rookie team. After turning in a solid season in the USHL, he has the most impressive credentials of all Gopher goaltenders.

Schierhorn played well at times but was also shaky, and let in a questionable first goal of the game. As a rookie, it’s expected that Shierhorn will struggle here and there, even if he’s highly touted. But the Gophers need a strong netminder if their young team will succeed this year, so Schierhorn’s play will dictate how the team fares.

Minnesota’s struggles

I was one of a few (actually, I might’ve been the only one) who chose Penn State to finish second over Minnesota. I actually picked Minnesota to finish third because of their goaltending, since the team is very young. One game doesn’t mean much, but I wasn’t expecting an opening-season loss to Vermont.

And the Gophers have a talented freshmen class, one of the top in the nation. They’re young but will earn solid playing this year. While that’s a plus for Minnesota, it’s up to the junior class to step up and lead the team.

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015 - 9:05 am | Big Ten, Blogs, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings