Ohio State coach Ryan Day still has scars from last year’s loss to the Michigan Wolverines, and it has motivated the Buckeyes all season to make sure this season doesn’t end in similar fashion.
“I think you’re shaped by whatever’s happened in your past, and we have scars and it motivated us all offseason,” Day said. “So we’ve worked very hard to get to this moment right here, and now it’s time to go to go prepare the best we can and that’s what we’re going to focus on physically, mentally and emotionally to go play the hardest game we’ve ever played. And we’ll find out where we’re at on Saturday.”
The No. 2 Buckeyes (11-0) host No. 3 Michigan (11-0) on Saturday, with the winner moving on to the Big Ten Championship game and likely to the College Football Playoff. It is the 12th time that the rivals have met with both ranked in the top 5.
The extra emotion tied to this game can sometimes cause unnecessary distractions and disrupt preparation, but Day said his team has been locked in and focused, partially because of how the Buckeyes felt from last season’s loss.
“I think you start talking about some of those other things, you can get distracted on what the most important thing is right now,” Day said Tuesday. “I think when you’re playing an emotional game and a big game like this, the easiest thing to do is say, ‘Let’s just get to Saturday. Let me just get to the game.’ But we have to utilize every single minute.
“We have that countdown in our building, and every time a minute clicks off of that is one less minute for you to prepare for the game. So let’s utilize every single minute we have to get ready to go.”
The countdown is slowly ticking toward Saturday and the entire season is on the line for both programs.
It was reported that Day had privately said his team would hang 100 points on Michigan. After the Wolverines won last season, then-offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said the Buckeyes were “a finesse team; not a tough team.”
“I really don’t give a s— what anyone outside this program says about our toughness,” Buckeyes tight end Cade Stover said Tuesday. “We know what we’ve got.”
Day and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, however, have not provided any bulletin board material this season.
Harbaugh said there is no hate, and his team is just grateful to be in this position. Day said there will naturally be friction, but that he and his team are just focused on what will happen on the field and figuring out ways to stay undefeated.
“I’m not going to talk about it right now,” Day said. “Maybe there’s another time to hit on that. But like I said, there’s certain things you listen to, there’s certain things you don’t. And any time you’re in a high-profile game with a lot of stuff going on, there’s a lot of things said.
“But there’s a time and a place to talk about that, and it’s not now.”
The Buckeyes are hoping the time and place is after they win Saturday, so they don’t have to experience the feeling of another loss for the next year.
“Our guys know they felt the pain last year and let it simmer,” Day said. “And we had to chew on that for a whole year, and it’s a long time. So we’ll see the corrections we made, we’ll see about the growth that we’ve made and find out who we are on Saturday.”
NEWARK, N.J. — Simon Nemec hasn’t had an ideal start to his NHL career. But in Game 3 of the New Jersey Devils‘ Stanley Cup playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, he finally had his career highlight.
The 21-year-old defenseman scored an unassisted goal at 2:36 of double overtime on Friday night to give the Devils a 3-2 win and new life, cutting the Hurricanes’ series lead to 2-1.
In the process, Nemec, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, had the most impactful moment of his pro career with his first playoff goal.
“I was so happy,” he said. “Amazing feeling. It’s been a tough season for me, and that’s a really big win for us.”
A native of Slovakia, Nemec spent his first season after the draft in the American Hockey League. He split time between the AHL and the Devils in Year 2, thrust into action because of injuries to the New Jersey defense. He split time between the NHL and the minors again this season. Nemec has played 87 games in the NHL, with five goals and 18 assists while skating to a minus-17.
He was a frequent healthy scratch in New Jersey, including Game 1 on Sunday, and his lackluster play caused many to wonder if Nemec would live up to his lofty draft position. Nemec was last on the Devils in goals above replacement at minus-8.7, according to Evolving Hockey.
Thanks to injuries to defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, Nemec was called upon in Game 2 against Carolina and was back in the lineup for Game 3, in which the Devils lost defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to injury after just 10 shifts. That injury, plus the multiple overtimes, meant massive increases in ice time for veterans such as Brian Dumoulin (36:29) and Brett Pesce (32:25), as well as more responsibility for Nemec.
“You just need guys to step up at the right times,” Dumoulin said. “He knew he was going to be going out there, we’re going to be relying on him, and we needed him. You could see that he took that moment. He wasn’t scared of it, and he took the reins of it.”
Nemec said the overtime goal, which beat Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen (34 saves), was the kind of boost he needs in his career.
“Yeah, it helps me a lot,” he said. “I feel like my confidence is back the last couple games. I’m just trying to play my game and do this stuff. I have to play offense a little bit, too, so my confidence is higher, and I just feel good about myself.”
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe admitted that he dreamed about defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 4 and played 27:09, being the Game 3 hero.
“But if I was really thinking, I would have said, ‘Wouldn’t this be something if the young guy who just stepped up so big for us here, if he ended the game?'” Keefe said.
The message the coach gave his team in the overtime intermissions was one of aggressiveness. That apparently wasn’t lost on Nemec.
“We’ve got to go win this hockey game. We don’t want to sit back, we don’t want this game to go on forever,” Keefe said. “Credit Nemo with doing that. To have the mindset to do it, not just sitting back and conserving energy. He was on the front foot. You love to see it and love to see him get rewarded.”
Game 4 of the series will be Sunday afternoon in New Jersey.
Hagel will miss Saturday’s Game 3 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers lead the series 2-0.
Around midway through the third period of Thursday’s Game 2, Tampa Bay was on the power play while trailing 1-0. Barkov pressured defenseman Ryan McDonagh deep in the Lightning zone. With the puck clearly past Barkov, Hagel lined him up for a huge hit that sent the Panthers captain to the ice and thumping off the end boards.
A penalty was whistled, and the officials conferred before calling a “five-minute penalty.” After review, Hagel was given a 5-minute major for interference. Barkov left the game with 10:09 remaining in regulation and did not return to the Panthers’ 2-0 win.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game that he didn’t expect Hagel to receive a major penalty for the hit.
“Refs make the call. I was a little surprised it was a five, but it was,” he said.
The NHL ruled that Hagel’s hit made “some head contact” on Barkov.
“It’s important to note that Barkov is never in possession of the puck on this play and is therefore not eligible to be checked in any manner,” the league said.
In the Friday hearing, held remotely, Hagel argued that he approached the play anticipating that Barkov would play the puck. But the Department of Player Safety said the onus was on Hagel to ensure that Barkov was eligible to be checked. It also determined that the hit had “sufficient force” for supplemental discipline.
It’s Hagel’s first suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. He was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen in May 2022.
The Panthers held an optional skate Friday. Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov “hasn’t been ruled out yet” but “hasn’t been cleared” for Game 3.
“He’s an irreplicable player,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Barkov. “One of the best centermen in the league. He’s super important to our team.”
The Lightning lose Hagel while they struggle to score in the series; they scored two goals in Game 1 and were shut out in Game 2. Tampa Bay was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.56), with Hagel contributing 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games.