The first full weekend for Big Ten hockey saw Michigan open its season against Mercyhurst. The Wolverines swept the Lakers and scored six goals on Friday. Meanwhile Minnesota’s struggles continued, and the Gophers are now 0-3 after a series sweep by Minnesota-Duluth.

The Buckeyes are 0-4 on the season after dropping two series to in-state rivals Bowling Green and Miami. Penn State split its series with Notre Dame, while Michigan State was swept by Denver.

Wisconsin’s woes continued thanks to a road sweep in Boston, although there were a couple of positives from the losses. The Badgers have some talent, but they’re too inexperienced and reliant on underclassmen. Still, this isn’t last year’s Badger team.

It’s early in the season, but so far Kyle Connor is leading the Wolverines in scoring. He has four points through two games, including three goals. And Michigan is sixth in the country with an average of 4.50 goals per game.

While it’s still early in the season, it looks like this will be another year of non-conference struggles for the Big Ten. Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State are the only teams with wins.

(After the jump: Matt Jurusik will be Wisconsin’s starter, a new basement team for the Big Ten and it’s going to be a tough season for Minnesota.)

Matt Jurusik will probably be Wisconsin’s starter

Mike Eaves planned on rotating goaltenders last weekend. Adam Miller started on Friday but was pulled, so Matt Jurusik saw more playing time than expected. Jurusik finished Saturday’s loss to Boston University with 40 saves. After the game, Eaves said he would wait for the week in practice to decide if Jurusik was the starting goalie. But Eaves added that the rookie had helped his case.

While Eaves didn’t want to make a decision on Saturday, it’s likely Jurusik will become the team’s starting netminder. He played well against BU, and the Terriers dominated Wisconsin in puck possession that night. His play was one positive for the Badgers this weekend, who really need a solid player to backstop and young and inexperienced team.

Wisconsin might not be the cellar team

The Badgers might not be great, but they did earn a couple of ties to begin the season. Wisconsin is one of four teams that at least went undefeated for a game, as did Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan. The only two Big Ten teams with all losses so far are Minnesota and Ohio State.

No, Minnesota won’t finish the season last in the Big Ten – no matter how much they might struggle this year. But keep an eye on the Buckeyes for a potential last-place finish. It’s been a struggle for Ohio State so far, and it’ll leave them battling Wisconsin for a spot out of last place.

A tougher year for the Gophers

Last year was rough for Minnesota, as it saw a talented Gopher team fall well below expectations. This season things are looking a little worse.  After dropping its opener to Vermont and being swept by Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota is now 0-3. That last result, losing to Minnesota-Duluth by a combined score of 6-1. That didn’t surprise me, since the Bulldogs are very good and Minnesota is mediocre.

Yes, mediocre. The Gophers were mediocre last season when it found itself in the NCAA tournament, and this year proves no different. An exodus of players left Minnesota very reliant on freshmen, exemplified by Brent Gates Jr. scoring Minnesota’s only goal and Eric Schierhorn starting both games last weekend.

The last time Minnesota suffered similar losses, the team banded together with Adam Wilcox in net. But things will probably be a little different this season.

Monday, October 19th, 2015 - 5:22 pm | Big Ten, Commentary, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings