Michigan Hockey Preview: Wolverines hit the road to take on Ohio State

SB Nation

The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines (20-4-0) are back in action and headed to Columbus to face Ohio State (8-13-1) after a well-deserved bye week. The last time we saw them, the boys were sweeping Minnesota

at Mariucci for the first time since 2018 despite back-up Stephen Peck starting between the pipes. Michigan will need to bring the same attacking approach to complete the season sweep over the Buckeyes, who will be looking for revenge from the beating they took two months ago.

When these teams met in November, it simply wasn’t competitive. Fueled by a T.J. Hughes (11G, 23A) five-point weekend, Michigan pummeled Ohio State. Even in the second game when the Buckeyes outshot Michigan, 39-30, the Wolverines won, 8-1. Michigan could do no wrong. The Wolverines won by a combined score of 13-3 and the closest game was a three-goal margin.

The sweep over Ohio State started a hot streak for fourth-year head coach Brandon Naurato’s squad, winning nine of its most recent 10 games — including four straight — and currently sits atop the Big Ten standings. Conversely, Ohio State has lost eight of its last 12 and is only above lowly Notre Dame in the conference standings. If the Buckeyes are going to play spoiler, it could fall on the shoulders of an unlikely hero.

Freshman goaltender Sam Hillebrandt (.898) has earned at least a timeshare with junior Kristoffer Ebberly (.883), the latter of whom has only won two games since Halloween. Hillebrandt isn’t a Jack Ivankovic or Trey Augustine in net, but he gives the Buckeyes a chance, and that is all you need in college hockey. Look no further than two weeks ago when Hillebrandt stopped 25-of-26 shots to hold Michigan State to its second-lowest scoring output of the season — only behind Michigan’s shutout, of course — in a 2-1 upset victory. The Wolverines have not seen Hillebrandt this season, and that change in net could be the spark Ohio State’s bottom-feeding defense (No. 53 out of 63) needs to salvage some dignity this weekend.

Ohio State’s offense has struggled up front, but the production is balanced. Despite having zero 20-point scorers, the Buckeyes have six players with 13 or more. Felix Caron (7G, 10A) led the way with two points in the first series against Michigan, but to pull the upset, leading scorer Jake Karabela (5G, 14A) is going to have to be more impactful.

Key to the Game

Start fast. Michigan is the only team in the country to be ranked in the top-five of both scoring offense and scoring defense. Even with the loss of Ivankovic, Peck (.910) proved he was no slouch by stopping 43-of-46 shots (.935) against Minnesota two weeks ago. However, the Wolverines must continue to ease the burden on the inexperienced goalie.

Against the Gophers, Michigan peppered its opponent with 100 shots in two games to secure the sweep. This weekend, the song remains the same. Start fast coming off the bye, shake any rust off the skates, and pepper the Buckeyes with as many shots as possible. If Michigan can play with the same intensity it showed before the bye, it should sweep the season series.

Furthermore, gaining these six points is critical for the regular-season Big Ten title chase. After this weekend, Michigan enters its hardest stretch of the season against Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin (all second series) in three consecutive weeks. If Michigan can sweep this weekend, .500 hockey against that triumvirate should be all it takes to keep Michigan alive for the regular season crown entering the final weekend of the season against Minnesota.