There were a couple surprises during Big Ten play last weekend, or at least in the Minnesota-Michigan State series. The Spartans played the Gophers closely, losing 5-2 and 3-1. The Badgers and Nittany Lions battled to overtime on Friday before Penn State won 4-1 on Saturday.

Michigan against Ohio State ended exactly the way you would expect a game between two teams with minimal defense to go. They combined for 24 goals over the weekend, ending in a 5-5 tie before Michigan won 8-6. Tyler Motte had a hat trick on Sunday, while Kyle Connor added a couple of goals. Steve Racine and Matt Tomkins started both games.

I can’t say Michigan-Ohio State or Wisconsin-Penn State were surprising series, but I wasn’t expecting the Spartans to play well against the Gophers. Having Jake Hildebrand in net helps, though.

After this weekend’s play, it’s getting harder to separate the “elite” teams in the Big Ten from everyone else. Most of the games and series have been close so far, and I highly doubt anyone expected either Ohio State or Wisconsin to be hanging in games against Michigan.

The Wolverines are seventh in the PairWise, although they still haven’t faced a difficult schedule. Penn State is 15 and Minnesota 16, while Michigan State is 55.

(After the jump: No gaps in the Big Ten, the top line, expecting more from Wisconsin) 

There are no gaps in the Big Ten

After watching some games this weekend, it’s become clear there are no big gaps between any of the teams. Before the season started, we (media, myself) expected the Gophers and Wolverines to b the elite teams, with Ohio State and Wisconsin near the bottom. The Buckeyes and Badgers may not end up winning the conference, but they’ve proven they can play against the best in the conference. (Seriously though, if you look at the point standings they’re pretty far behind. They probably won’t win a regular-season Big Ten title).

Early in the season both Ohio State and Wisconsin have shown flashes of being better than they were last year. The Badgers and Buckeyes are tied for fourth in the conference, but they’ve stuck with the top teams – Minnesota, Penn State and Michigan – this season.

Ohio State keeping up with Michigan this weekend wasn’t too surprising, since the Buckeye offense has always exposed the Wolverine weakness. The Badgers fought Penn State to overtime on Friday. And don’t forget how closely Ohio State played Minnesota.

Perhaps we could see some surprise wins in the Big Ten tournament.

The top line

Michigan’s top line of J.T. Compher, Tyler Motte and Kyle Connor is on fire. In the 8-6 win over Ohio State, they combined for six goals and six assists. Now Connor is second nationally with 38 points, while Motte is first with .86 goals per game. In Friday’s game, Motte and Compher had two points each (1g, 1a) and Connor had a goal.

I know Michigan’s strength of schedule is still a question mark, but you can’t deny the talent, power or scoring prowess of Michigan’s top line. Especially from Connor, the top freshman in the country. It’s also good for the Wolverines that Compher has broken out of his sophomore “scoring slump”. The forward now has 32 points, a career high and eight more than he had all of last season.

Expecting more from Wisconsin

I predicted a split for this series. It came close, with the Badgers and Nittany Lions going to overtime on Friday night. While watching some of Saturday’s game I thought the beginning of it was fairly even, with the Badgers and Nittany Lions exchanging chances. Penn State ended up with a 4-1 lead.

I was disappointed with the outcome for the Badgers, maybe because now over halfway through the season I expect a lot more from them. I know they’re young, I know last year was difficult, but the Badgers have too much talent (especially in Luke Kunin) to keep losing. Or to get shut out (like they did against Ohio State).

Or maybe I’m still cautious with Penn State, since the Nittany Lions (much like the Wolverines, as I touched on in the preview) has a really, really weak schedule this year per KRACH. Penn Sate’s schedule is by far the weakest in the conference.

Monday, January 18th, 2016 - 4:53 pm | Big Ten, Blogs, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings