This past week for the Big Ten felt right. After week 1 having the positive vibes that comes with being welcomed back to school and week 2 bringing out the negative “oh crap I’m back in school” feeling, week 3 was just college hockey. There were highs. There were lows. In Michigan’s case, underclassmen scored all three goals – including a penalty shot by Alex Guptill against BU – in a weekend split against the Terriers and UMass-Lowell.

No one played incredible for all 120 minutes while no one was outclassed all weekend, either. It was regular season hockey complete with all the highs and lows.

(After the jump: Ohio State takes steps, Penn State learns a lesson, non-conference shootouts and a bonus thought about Friday’s Minnesota-Boston College game) (more…)

Making snap judgments after one weekend is a recipe for disaster. Or shows we’re human. Remember the whole “Big Ten did not embarrass themselves” narrative I wrote about opening weekend last week? That flipped faster than a virtual banner. It was an ugly Friday night on the road for anyone not named Minnesota. Penn State looked like a team developing against Air Force. Michigan State was overmatched against Massachusetts. Wisconsin…well the Badgers learned the Boston College goal celebration.

In fact, Wisconsin left Boston losing games to the Eagles and Boston University by a combined 16-5. Not quite the results the Badgers (nor the Big Ten, which went 3-6-1) were looking to get. Fortunately, a new narrative is always a week or two away.

(After the jump, Ohio State missing Brady Hjelle, Sam Warning’s early success and Michigan went 1-0-1 on the big Whittmore Center ice.) (more…)

Durham, NH- The game was as evenly played as possible and the weekend was as a whole as well. On Friday night, UNH dominated long stretches of play in route to a 1-1 tie. On this night, despite the 35-24 shot advantage to Michigan, stalemate was the best adjective one could find to describe this game.

UNH opened the scoring at six minutes, 18 seconds of the first period when Trevor van Riemsdyk sent an innocent looking point shot towards the net, which Kevin Goumas tipped into the net to give UNH the early lead. The goal was the first of the season for Goumas, who saw limited action last weekend because of an oblique injury. Alex Guptill answered about three minutes later on the power-play when he was left untouched of Casey Desmith and put it past him to send it into the first intermission tied at 1.

The second period was much of the same, as the teams each had 12 shots on net. Michigan took the lead, on the power-play four minutes into the period as Luke Moffatt found a puck at Desmith’s feet that he put behind him for the 2-1 lead. UNH answered later in the period to send it into the second intermission tied at two. It stayed that way through another stalemate period and the team’s entered the overtime tied, for the second night in a row.

Unlike last night this one would have a winner. Freshman, JT Compher went around the back of the net found a trailing Derek Deblois in the slot who took a shot. Casey Desmith left a rebound to his stick side which Tyler Motte found and was true to give Michigan the 3-2 overtime victory over UNH. Michigan improves to 3-0-1 on the season, while UNH falls to 1-2-1. (more…)

Welcome to the first-ever “3 Things I Think” about the Big Ten. Like the title says, each week I will discuss 3 topics going on in the Big Ten hockey world.

In a way, this blog has been a long time coming. It has been nearly 3 years since Terry Pegula donated $88 million (later adding a cool $14 million) to Penn State to kick the wheels in motion for the conference. Since then, the thought of Big Ten has been in the back of college hockey fans’ minds as the 2013-14 season drew closer and closer.

In a different way, this blog is about the present. Enough has been written about college realignment in the last few weeks to last a lifetime. Most has been fitting. This season is different than past years and the effect one way or another will be felt for years to come. Or as College Hockey News managing editor Adam Wodon put it, “not since the Louisiana Purchase has the stroke of a pen changed the landscape so much.” Honestly, it’s weird to see the Big Ten on the ice rather than WCHA or CCHA.

But right now all that matters is opening weekend. Let me tell you, being back at the rink is great.

(After the jump, the Big Ten’s opening weekend, Pegula Arena & the best goal in conference history) (more…)