Thursday, October 10, 2019 // FACEOFF 2019
6B

Big Ten Breakdown — ND, PSU, Wisconsin look strong

ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer

If the Michigan hockey team
hopes to rebound from prior
struggles, it must fare better in the
Big Ten. The Wolverines finished
second to last in the conference
standings last season and got
bounced in the first round of the Big
Ten Tournament.
Early next month, Michigan
kicks off conference play. A quick
glance shows that Penn State, Notre
Dame and Wisconsin appear to lead
the pack, but it’s hard to measure
the separation.
To get outside perspectives, The
Daily reached out to a few alumni
from
around
the
conference.
In particular, we talked to Paul
Caponigri, Jake Evans and Mike
Ferrantino.
Caponigri played for Ohio State
through the 2003-04 season and
now covers hockey for Big Ten
Network. Evans played on the
Notre Dame team that went to the
2018 National Championship game
and now plays in the AHL for the
Laval Rockets. Ferrantino played
for Michigan State from 2012 to
2016.
No. 8 Notre Dame
The
Fighting
Irish
have
dominated since the moment they
joined the conference two years
ago. Last season, they claimed
their second consecutive Big Ten
Tournament title and finished
runner-up
in
the
conference
standings. They also played in the
last four NCAA Tournaments and

appear primed for another berth.
With goaltender Cale Morris back
for his senior year, Notre Dame has
stability between the pipes. Morris
was one of 10 finalists for the Hobey
Baker Award as a sophomore, and
last season finished eighth in the
nation with a 0.93 save percentage.
A few other proven players returned
for their final years, most notably
forward Cal Burke. His 12 goals in
2018-19 tied for most on the team
with sophomore forward Michael
Graham.
The departures of defensemen
Bobby
Nardella
and
Andrew
Peeke, as well as forward Dylan
Malmquist, leave big holes, though.
The trio generated much of the
offensive production last year,
leading the team in assists. An
increased role for the sophomore
class could help fill that void. Evans
mentioned the speed of that class
stood out to him the most.
“I think the freshmen played a
big part last year,” Evans said. “So
I think if they take that next step,
I think they’re going to be a really
good team.”
No. 12 Ohio State
The
key
question
for
the
Buckeyes this season will be filling
in all of its lost production. They
topped the conference by a wide
margin last year and also made the
Tournament, but lost a crucial piece
in forward Mason Jobst headed
into this season. He led his team
in scoring and was a Hobey Baker
finalist.
“When you lose a player like a
Mason Jobst, who was just a really

good leader, you just have to wonder
where do you fill that in,” Caponigri
said. “ … He carried a lot of minutes
for them, so who’s going to step up?”
Ohio State lost two additional
contributors in forwards Dakota
Joshua and Freddy Gerard. The duo
combined for 44 points. Forward
Tanner Laczynski and goaltender
Tommy Nappier are back, though.
Laczynski was a major part of the
offense
alongside
Jobst,
while
Nappier boasted an outstanding
.934 save percentage. If the two
are as good as last year and can
help others get more involved, the
Buckeyes should be competitive.
“I think that their biggest
strength
is
probably
their
structure,” Caponigri said. “They
can put anybody — not anybody in
there — but, you know, you can lose
some high-end players, which they
have, but they have a really good
structure.”
No. 13 Penn State
Last season, the Nittany Lions
wildly underperformed. They got
hot in the conference tournament
and reached the championship
game, but that wasn’t enough. Penn
State started out ranked fifth in the
nation, yet finished below .500 in
conference play and failed to make
the NCAA Tournament.
Heading into this season, the
expectations are high once again.
The Big Ten preseason poll predicts
the Nittany Lions will win the
conference. They return their top-
five scorers from last year’s squad
that led the nation with 4.54 goals
per game.

Also, forward Aarne Talvitie
could help add to that production.
Talvitie notched five goals in
17 games for Penn State before
sustaining a season-ending injury
at the World Junior Championships
while leading the Finnish team to a
gold medal.
“I think they got it right in terms
of first place,” Caponigri said. “Penn
State, on paper right now, because
you haven’t seen any games or
anything, they have probably the
most talent.”
Whether
the
team
meets
expectations will depend largely
on the defense. The Nittany Lions
finished 56th out of 60 teams in
average goals allowed last season,
undermining
all
the
offensive
glamour.
No. 16 Wisconsin
Now in his fourth season as head
coach, Tony Granato looks to bring
the Badgers back to the spotlight.
Wisconsin
has
a
remarkable
program,
historically
speaking,
but the last five years have taken a
different path.
The Badgers secured just 12
combined victories the two seasons
before Granato took over. They
finished second in the conference
during his first year, but then
slumped back to mediocrity. Last
season, Wisconsin finished fifth in
the conference and tallied just 14
wins.
The team should be much better
this time around, though. Out of
the seven players who garnered the
most points last year, six return.
The Badgers brought in a talented
freshman class of seven, too. Four
of them were NHL draft picks —
including forwards Alex Turcotte
and Cole Caufield, who were chosen
at No. 5 and No. 15 overall. Last
season’s Canadian Junior Hockey
League Player of the Year and
projected first-round NHL draft
pick Dylan Holloway is also part of
the loaded class, at forward.
But there’s more. Forward Ty
Pelton-Byce could play a major
role, too. After sitting out last
season upon transferring from
Harvard, Pelton-Byce is ready to
rock. He excelled in his sophomore
campaign
with
the
Crimson,
tallying 25 points. If Pelton-Byce
and the other newcomers live up
to the hype — and if goaltending
improves — Granato could revive
the program.
Minnesota
It’s hard to know what to expect
from the Golden Gophers. Last
season, their power play efficiency

ranked eighth best in the nation
and helped them finish third in the
conference.
That said, Minnesota is without
forwards Rem Pitlick, Tyler Sheehy
and Brent Gates Jr., who combined
for 46 goals and 117 points last
season. And goaltender Mat Robson
— who had a stellar .921 save
percentage last season — left for the
Minnesota Wild.
Out of the 27 players on the
current roster, 19 are underclassmen
— including a freshman class of 11.
Four of the newcomers were draft
picks and should contribute early,
especially defenders Ryan Johnson
and Jackson LaCombe. Johnson
was selected No. 31 overall, while
LaCombe was taken in the second
round. For the Golden Gophers to
succeed, the youngsters need to
step up.
“Minnesota is very young — I
think they’re the youngest team in
the country,” Caponigri said. “And
a lot of times with that, that can be
exciting, but you don’t know what
you’re going to get from the guys
that are coming in, you know, how
they’re gonna react with a new level
of hockey.”
Michigan State
Danton Cole enters his third
season at the helm of the Spartans’
program. Those first two runs were
bumpy, with the team finishing last
in the conference both times.
The team returns many pieces
from last season, seeing only three
seniors graduate. The key gap
comes from star forward Taro
Hirose, who forwent his senior
year to join the Detroit Red Wings.
Before leaving, he tied for the most
points in the nation, won Big Ten
Player of the Year and was a Hobey
Baker Finalist.
Filling that void will be very
tough. Players like forward Sam
Saliba will need to carry more of the
load. That said, Ferrantino believes
the
overall
limited
turnover
heading into this season could help
bring stability in the program. He
also thinks that since the new coach
has had time to settle in, the only
way to go is up.
“Obviously, you have a lot of
turnover, a lot of changes of ideas,
philosophies,” Ferrantino said of
the coaching change. “So it’s tough
as a player because you gotta adjust,
and especially the guys that have
been there for two or three years. …
And I think you’ll see that over time
here, they’ll be able to kind of turn
things around and get going the
right direction.”