Five Big Ten teams were in action last weekend. The Gophers and Badgers played at the Kohl Center, Michigan and Michigan State dueled in Detroit and Penn State defeated Vermont in out-of-conference play.
The Corsi stats are listed below: (more…)
Big Ten play resumes this weekend for all teams. The Nittany Lions host Wisconsin, Ohio State travels to Minnesota and the Spartans and Wolverines engage in the second part of their rivalry.
The Michigan-Michigan State game should be competitive, and it’s the third meeting between both teams in a month. It’s a battle of offense and defense, and last weekend defense (Michigan State) won.
In a battle of defense vs. offense on Friday night in Detroit, defense won. Michigan State limited Michigan to one goal in the win, snapping Michigan’s seven-game winning streak. The Spartans are now on a three-game winning streak, and both teams will play in Chicago next weekend.
The Gophers and Badgers resumed their rivalry just a couple weeks after a series-ending brawl. After a 7-5 Gopher win on Friday, the teams played a wild match on Saturday that ended in a 4-4 tie. The Gophers held a 2-1 lead in the third period, but Grant Besse tied the game. Christian Isackson gave the Gophers the lead back 30 seconds later, but Kevin Schulze tied it – thanks to a great play from Adam Rockwood – less than two minutes later. Cameron Hughes scored his first collegiate goal with less than two minutes left, giving the Badgers a 4-3 lead. But this is Minnesota-Wisconsin, so of course Seth Ambroz tied it with two seconds left in regulation.
The Badgers went on to win in the shootout, because Minnesota doesn’t win shootouts.
Penn State and Vermont faced off in Philadelphia. Again Penn State fell behind, but the Nittany Lions responded with four straight goals to defeat Vermont 4-2. Penn State scored three goals in the final period, and has scored eight third-period goals over the last three games.
Michigan is first in the conference, and Michigan State and Penn State are tied for second.
(After the jump: The truth about Michigan, a PairWise check in and the no-defense league) (more…)
This weekend features two rivalry Big Ten series. Michigan and Michigan State face off at the Joe Louis Arena for the second time this season, while Wisconsin hosts Minnesota.
Penn State faces Vermont in the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff, and Ohio State sits out with a bye. This is an important off week for the Buckeyes, who are trying to get healthy. When Ohio State returns to action, they’ll be without Matthew Weis. He was given a one-game suspension for a contact to the head hit on Spartan captain Michael Ferrantino.
The Wolverine-Spartan match is the biggest of the weekend. Michigan’s offense has averaged almost a touchdown per game over the past five contests, but hasn’t faced a good defensive team over that stretch. The Spartans have the best defense in the Big Ten, and limited the Wolverines to two goals during the GLI. But, Michigan played that weekend without Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski.
While it’s only one game, Penn State’s tilt with Vermont is also a big matchup. The Catamounts rank 14th in the PairWise. The Big Ten has struggled in non-conference games, and a win help Penn State’s current PairWise ranking.
Minnesota hits the road after dropping both games at the North Star College Cup. To be fair, Minnesota State and Minnesota-Duluthare both good teams. The Gophers have won four of their last 14 games, with wins over Boston College, RIT, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
The Gophers dominated the Badgers when these teams met last (and ended with a brawl), but the Badgers managed a tie in the first game of the weekend. (more…)
After throwing up 13 goals on the weekend in a sweep over Wisconsin, Michigan is now first in the Big Ten. The Wolverines have scored 34 goals in their past five games, and average 4.36 goals per game.
Eventually Michigan will face a strong defensive team (Ohio State and Wisconsin aren’t exactly defensive stalwarts), and their offensive numbers will go down. Next weekend will be telling, as the Wolverines will host the Spartans.
Speaking of the Spartans, they unsurprisingly stymied Ohio State’s offense, surrendering just one goal over the weekend. Matt Berry returned to the team after a force leave, and had a goal and an assist on Friday. He added an assist on Saturday. Berry now leads Michigan State with 16 points, and averages a point per game. Also, Matthew Weis was given a 10-minute misconduct for this hit on Michael Ferrantino. It definitely looked like contact to the head.
Until they get healthy, the Buckeyes have little chance of defeating any of their Big Ten opponents (except for Wisconsin). They’re missing some of their offensive power, and don’t have the defense to stop teams with poor defenses (like Michigan).
The Gophers lost both their games at the North Star College Cup, and have lost five of their nine games against Minnesota teams, and haven’t won since Nov. 1. I was actually expecting Minnesota to lose to Minnesota State. At the end of this game, Maverick goalie Stephon Williams knocked his net off so the referees would blow the whistle as his teammate late injured on the ice. Seth Ambroz took the penalty shot, and Williams made the save (not surprising considering the Gophers are terrible at shootouts).
This was my first time watching the Mavericks, and they looked excellent against the Gophers – like a true No. 1 team. But I was even more impressed with Bemidji State, which took down both Minnesota-Duluth and the Mavericks. I was pretty impressed with some of the skill, especially this goal from Kyle Bauman.
While we’re on the highlight reel, some of my favorite tallies from the weekend were this goal from Bryce Gervais (and a great pass from Matt Leitner), Evan Rodrigues’ end-to-end rush, Eric Scheid’s shorthanded goal on Saturday, another breakaway from Scheid, this hit on Travis Boyd from Minnesota-Duluth, and especially this huge hit from P.J. Musico, Penn State’s goalkeeper.
Michigan moved up to No. 12 in the PairWise, now Big Ten’s highest-ranked team. Minnesota is No. 20, while Penn State is No. 24. Michigan State is very low at No. 38, but I think they have a chance at winning the Big Ten tournament – especially with the offensive boost Matt Berry brings.
(After the jump: Penn State’s problem, quite the comeback(s), and why Michigan isn’t built for a tournament run) (more…)
Over the week, College Hockey News released in-depth metrics for each game. This allows for a better breakdown of who the shots are coming from. But I still calculated total Corsi the way I normally do – by going through the play-by-play sheets for the games so I can have numbers for each individual period as well as 5-on-5 and special teams.
After looking at the Corsi stats for this weekend, Wisconsin still has the worst in the league. Michigan is nearing the best, and I don’t think it’s a strategy to take more shots (like Penn State has) and just a bi-product of their high-powered offense. The Wolverines also convert more of their attempted shots than Penn State.
The Corsi stats are listed below: (more…)
In conference play this weekend, Michigan and Wisconsin square off while Michigan State hosts Ohio State. Minnesota participates in the second annual North Star College Cup, and Penn State hosts Northern Michigan.
Michigan’s high-powered offense will be a difficult challenge for Wisconsin, which was dominated by the Gophers last weekend. Ohio State was impressive last weekend despite its numerous injuries, but should have a tougher time against a much better Michigan State defense.
The North Star College Cup features Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State and Bemidji State. The Mavericks are ranked No. 1 in the PairWise, and have been strong all season. They’ll be Minnesota’s first matchup of the tournament, but don’t forget – Minnesota-Duluth gave the Gophers trouble earlier in the season.
Senior CLASS Award candidates were announced this week, featuring Ohio State’s Tanner Fritz, Michigan’s Zach Hyman and Minnesota’s Kyle Rau. Hyman was also named a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, along with Wisconsin’s Joel Rumpel.
Each week this season I’ve looked into Big Ten Corsi stats. A few days ago, College Hockey News introduced metrics for each game – which accounts for all shots taken by each player on each team.
The stats are lifted off shot charts, so it displays attempts that were blocked, wide, hit the post, saved or were goals. This allows us to calculate the Corsi For total for each players. Unfortunately we have no way of knowing (yet) how many shots were taken against these players while they were on the ice. But looking at the Corsi For totals for each player can give us a better idea who’s shooting the most, where their shots are going, and how many of their attempted shots are goals.
Penn State is a team known for puck possession. They average 40.29 shots on goal per game, most in the country. And they average 73.38 attempts per game. Of all their attempts, Penn State has recorded 71 goals – converting on 4.61 percent of their total shots attempted.
Casey Bailey leads Penn State with 26 goals, and he leads the team in shot attempts at 212. Almost half of Bailey’s shots have been on target, and he’s converted on 10.85 percent of his total attempted shot. In close situations, Bailey isn’t converting as much. But the forward still leads Penn State players with 142 attempts. So in close situations, Bailey averages 6.76 shots per game, and in total he averages 10.10 shots per game. (more…)
The return to Big Ten play featured a couple of ties and a very heated Minnesota-Wisconsin rematch. Penn State emerged on top of the conference standings, with a 5-2-1 record. After a 10-6 win over Ohio State, Michigan is second. The Gophers moved up from No. 5 to No. 3, while the Badgers are still in the basement.
“Heated” doesn’t accurately describe the closing minutes of Saturday’s Gophers-Badgers match. A very, very ugly hit from Eddie Wittchow on Leon Bristedt. That resulted in a full-out brawl – which includes Brady Skjei running and tackling a Badger and Joel Rumpel grabbing Skjei in a chokehold.
It was crazy.
On Friday night, the Gophers dominated the Badgers. But Wisconsin scored two goals late to tie the game, and then won in the shootout. It was a pretty disappointing result for Minnesota, which has been struggling lately. The Gophers are now 18th in the PairWise. Michigan passed them and moved up to No. 17, now the highest-ranked Big Ten team.
Michigan State and Penn State tied on Friday, but Penn State’s offense exploded in a win over the Spartans on Friday. Maybe that’s not the right word, because I think “exploded” would lend itself more for the 10 goals Michigan scored over Ohio State.
Anyway, Penn State has one of the best lines in the country of Taylor Holstrom, Casey Bailey and David Goodwin. They might not be as flashy as Dylan Larkin, Alex Kile and Zach Hyman, but they’re pretty solid. Penn State slipped in the PairWise after a slow post-break start, but is now 21st.
Going back to Ohio State. Anthony Greco recorded his second hat trick, and joined Robert Morris’ Cody Wydo and Canisius’ Ralph Cuddemi as the only players in the nation with two hat tricks. If it weren’t for injuries, the Buckeyes could have competed in the weak Big Ten.
(After the jump: Why I still don’t trust Michigan, why Penn State differs from its Big Ten counterparts, and Mike Eaves gives the best analogies.) (more…)
Big Ten play resumed this weekend, giving us a chance to compare possession during in-conference play. Penn State and Michigan State tied on Friday night, but the Nittany Lions offense broke out on Saturday for the win. Michigan dominated Ohio State, while Minnesota dominated Wisconsin – yet still ended the weekend with a tie and win.
Despite Michigan scoring 10 goals in its win over Ohio State, the Buckeyes actually finished with a slightly higher Corsi. But the Wolverines did score a couple of goals on a five-minute major power play.
The Gophers dominated possession against Wisconsin on Friday, but allowed the Badgers to tie the game very late. And Wisconsin won in the shootout, earning the extra point in conference play and leaving Minnesota disappointed. That rivalry resumed its hatred on Saturday night, with a crazy scrum ensued in the closing minutes. There were a lot of penalties handed out.
The complete Corsi stats are listed below, along with the score context and Corsi close from each game: (more…)
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