Five Big Ten teams opened play this weekend except for Michigan State. It’s early, but with a 6-3-1 record, the Big Ten already has a better non-conference record than it did at this time last season – and that Ohio State win over Denver could have huge implications come the end of the season.

Ohio State had the most interesting weekend. The Buckeyes first beat Denver – one of the top teams in the country – 3-2 at the Ice Breaker Tournament and then tied Air Force in the championship game. Probably no one expected Ohio State to beat Denver, but it’s even more shocking the Buckeyes limited the Pioneers to two goals. Christian Frey made 33 saves in the win. Against Air Force, Frey and Matt Tomkins split the start. Tomkins made 10 saves while Frey made 15 and allowed three goals.

Minnesota started the season 2-0, defeating both Alaska teams by a good margin. The Gophers’ wins weren’t surprising, as both Alaska and Alaska Anchorage have struggled and are in even more difficulty with the uncertain future of their programs. Minnesota defeated Alaska-Anchorage 6-0 and then beat Alaska 6-3. Jake Bischoff scored twice on Friday, while Tyler Sheehy netted two tallies on Sunday. Goaltender Eric Schierhorn assisted on one of them. It’s early, but Sheehy’s five points leads the team.

The Wolverines split with Union, giving up a 3-2 lead in the third period in a Friday night loss. They rebounded with a 4-0 win that included a pair of goals from James Sanchez. Zach Nagelvoort and Hayden Lavigne split starts.

Penn State also split, defeated St. Lawrence 4-2 and then losing 6-3. The freshman Peyton Jones played well in the win, recording five saves. But he was chased from the cage the next night after allowing three goals on eight shots.

Wisconsin earned a split too. After dropping the first game 3-2 against Northern Michigan, the Badgers won 6-5 in Tony Granato’s first win. Corbin McGuire scored twice, while Trent Frederic scored his first goal. McGuire had three goals on the weekend and Will Johnson had two. Matt Jurusik started both games but wasn’t tested much in the first. He made 25 saves in the win.

(After the jump: Michigan’s net, a promising start for Wisconsin and it’s still early)

Michigan’s net

Before the season began, Red Berenson said Zach Nagelvoort would be the team’s starter. He was in net on Friday, when the team lost to Union. Berenson also said Hayden Lavigne would get some time in net and that came quickly, as the freshman started on Saturday. Lavigne made 31 saves in the win and earned his first career start and his first shutout.

The Wolverines have long been plagued by goaltender issues and have changed netminders since Nagelvoort was a freshman. He’s done an okay job for the Wolverines but hasn’t been the solid netminder they need to make the next step. If Lavigne keeps playing well, he may get the starting job – and could solve Michigan’s goaltender woes.

Promising start for Wisconsin

Losing to Northern Michigan in their first game of the season wasn’t a great result for the Badgers. But it was early, and the Badgers are playing under a new coach. The rebound win signaled good things for the Badgers, who earned their first win of the season much faster than in 2014 or 2015. Last season it took Wisconsin seven games to win and in the season before that it took nine games.

But the win isn’t even the most promising thing – it’s the six goals Wisconsin scored that’s the difference. The Badgers didn’t score six goals until a tie in December against a defenseless Michigan. Granato stressed the talent and skill the offense had to work with, and he wanted to foster a system where they could use that skill to score. So far, it looks like it’s working.

It’s still early

There are a few positives and negatives that can be taken from the weekend, but it’s hard to know what will stick and what won’t. It’s still really early, and teams playing well now might not be playing well a few weeks later or when they’re facing tougher competition.

A couple promises were Ohio State’s defense and Penn State’s offense. The Saints are a tough team defensively, and scoring eight goals on them in a weekend is impressive. It’s still early but having a productive offense would be a boost for the Nittany Lions. Michigan’s offense seemed okay over the weekend, although nowhere near what it was like last year. Again, it’s still early so a lot of these trends might not stick.

Monday, October 10th, 2016 - 7:21 pm | Big Ten, Blogs, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings