Michigan hockey ready to take on young Ohio State team in Columbus

Coming off a split series against Minnesota at Yost Ice Arena last weekend, the Michigan Wolverines will travel to Columbus this weekend to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State sits at 9-5 overall on the season and 5-3 in the Big Ten. Much like Michigan, the Buckeyes also split their series last weekend on the road at Notre Dame, a team that swept Michigan earlier this season.

Michigan is now 13-5 overall and 6-4 in conference play after its series against the Golden Gophers in Ann Arbor last weekend.

Ohio State has been lead all season long by a dynamic freshman trio. First-year defenseman Mason Lohrei has two goals and 10 assists to lead the Buckeyes. Not far behind with 11 points is freshman forward Georgii Merkulob, who has compiled four goals and seven assists thus far. Third in points for Ohio State is freshman forward Cam Thiesing, with two goals and seven assists. He also leads the Buckeyes in total shots with 43.

The Buckeyes have also had solid goaltending up to this point in the season. Freshman goaltender Jakub Dobes has played in 12 games and has racked up a .932 save percentage by giving up just 1.84 goals allowed per game. He has 289 saves and allowed just 21 goals.

The Wolverines have fire power all over the ice and up and down the lineup; it hasn’t been just first-liners putting up all the points. They are lead by sophomore forward Kent Johnson (four goals, 19 assists), sophomore defenseman Owen Power (three goals, 20 assists) sophomore forward Brendan Brisson (10 goals, 11 assists) and sophomore forward Matty Beniers (11 goals, nine assists). I could go and on about these kids and their stats, but those are the main guys to watch on the offensive side of the puck.

Goaltending for Michigan has been up and down with sophomore goalie Erik Portillo, but he has been solid overall. In 18 games played, he has a 13-5 record with a .913 save percentage, 42 goals allowed and one shutout.

Michigan is an astounding 5-0 away from Yost Ice Arena so far during the 2021-22 season, scoring 25 times and only allowing nine goals in those five contests. Hopefully the Wolverines can keep that statistic going and improve upon their standing in the Big Ten Conference this weekend.

Game 1 begins Friday night at 7 p.m. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 8 p.m. You can check out both games live on Big Ten Network.