After a very brief winter break, college hockey resumed this week with a bunch of tournaments and some non-conference matchups. It also brought some surprises from the break, including an Ohio State championship at the Florida College Classic and some much-needed out-of-conference success.

The Buckeyes stunned everyone by taking down Boston College in the first round of the Florida College Classic. Ohio State followed with a win over Cornell, becoming the first Big Ten team to win a trophy this season.

But the Wolverines followed just one day later with a trophy of their own, winning the Great Lakes Invitational. At the tournament, Michigan defeated Northern Michigan 3-2 and then Michigan Tech 4-2 in the championship game. The Spartans, who also participated in the GLI, lost first to Michigan 3-2 in overtime and then 2-1 to Northern Michigan in overtime.

Penn State continued its in-state rivalry with Robert Morris at the Three Rivers Classic, but dropped the opening-round matchup to the Colonials 6-4, Penn State’s first loss since Oct. 30 against St. Lawrence. The Nittany Lions rebounded with a 5-1 over Clarkson.

The Gophers also failed to come away with a championship, losing in the championship round of their own Mariucci Classic. After defeating UConn 3-2 on Friday, the Gophers dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Harvard. The Crimson accrued a 2-0 lead before the Gophers scored three straight, but Kyle Criscuolo tied it with 34 seconds left. He also scored the game-winning goal.

(After the jump: Nothing makes sense anymore, holiday tournaments are good, goaltending could lead Michigan to big things.)

Nothing makes sense anymore

The Buckeyes have been struggling to win, although have played better of late. Most of Ohio State’s wins were also fairly recent. But the Buckeyes still were expected to lose to Boston College – and one of the best netminders in the nation in Thatcher Demko. The Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the first, but that was it for BC as Ohio State scored twice in the second and the game-winning goal in the third. Ohio State beating BC was odd, but I was more surprised by the Buckeyes defeating Cornell.

The Big Red have been surprisingly good this season, and they’re not the easiest team to score against. I had actually picked them to win the Florida College Classic (and expected them to beat Providence). The Big Red defense wasn’t an issue for Ohio State, which scored eight goals – the most the Buckeyes have scored all season and the most by far Cornell has conceded this year. It was definitely a statement win for the Buckeyes.

The win provided a non-conference boost for all Big Ten teams, but it’s hard to tell what this means for Ohio State. The Buckeyes do have an explosive offense, but the key for them is keeping that consistent. The Buckeyes have played in a few close games this year so it could be possible they’ve been knocking on their shell and have finally cracked it.

And there were a lot of other crazy results happening around college hockey, which is why nothing really makes sense anymore.

Holiday tournaments are good

This is my favorite time of the year. There are so many tournaments going on at once, from the old Great Lakes Invitational to the newer Three Rivers Classic. There are those who like holiday tournaments as a way to “ease” back into the schedule after a short break or to rekindle rivalries.

I love the non-conference part of the tournaments, where a team like Minnesota plays Harvard. It’s one of the last times to gauge a team before conference play kicks in full swing (especially in Big Ten hockey, where there aren’t many teams). Harvard is a good team, and coming back to tie the Crimson makes me a little more confident in the Gophers. But some might say wins and losses are an indication of teams still shaking rust off (I wonder if this anything thinks this about Ohio State).

Either way, there are some things we can take from the Big Ten holiday tournaments. The Gophers might be better than early play indicated, the Buckeyes aren’t terrible and the Nittany Lions can struggle against good teams. And more on Michigan below.

Goaltending: The key for Michigan

First off, thanks to Michigan Daily’s Jason Rubinstein for tipping me off to this topic. The Wolverines managed to win the Great Lakes Invitational despite missing a couple players, including defenseman Zach Werenski. The Wolverines beat the Wildcats 3-2 in the opening round and followed with a 4-2 over Michigan Tech. Steve Racine made 35 saves on Tuesday and 27 on Wednesday.

The Wolverines have a good overall record and are 11-3-3 on the season. But Michigan’s strength of schedule hasn’t been great, and consistency, defense and goaltending have always been called into question. But Racine did well at the GLI (as Jason told me). So Jason asked me where Michigan will be if Racine keeps up that play. I think that would easily put Michigan first in the Big Ten. Even if the defense is inconsistent, or you can’t score goals every night, a solid goaltender would give the Wolverines a better chance to win the Big Ten.

Monday, January 4th, 2016 - 5:45 pm | Big Ten, Blogs, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings