By Jacob Messing

The No. 5-ranked Ohio State hope to continue building momentum this weekend as they host conference bottom-dweller Michigan State.

The Buckeyes, 17-5-4 overall, are on a roll: they’re 9-2-1 since December 1 and 5-1-0 in 2018 as they fire on all cylinders. The run has allowed them to gain ground on conference leader Notre Dame, who sits No. 2 nationally and has dropped two of their past three.

Michigan State, 9-16-1, has gone 1-7-0 in January and looks like easy prey for the Buckeyes this weekend.

The two teams matched up to start the New Year, when the Buckeyes scored nine goals in the series sweep, handing the Spartans their second and third home losses of the season.

The rematch will be streamed live right here on FloHockey, with games coming Friday and Saturday this weekend, both at 7 PM EST.

? ⬆️The Buckeyes move up one to No. 5⃣ in this week's @USCHO poll.

Ohio State is 17-5-4 this season, 10-5-1-0 in the Big Ten, with a 9-1 record in the last 10 games. Buckeyes host Michigan State this weekend. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XhiukaJcdI

— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 29, 2018

The Buckeyes have gone 7-3-3 at home, where they’re coming off a sweep of No. 17 Michigan, a rival they bested with a collective 9-3 effort and a total of four times this season.

“It is nice that we were able to go out and win four hockey games against them,” coach Steve Rohlik said following the sweep. “We are going to enjoy the win tonight. We have to have short-term memory and turn around and get ready for next week.”

On paper, Rohlik’s team looks ready for another season sweep versus a conference foe, but like any good coach, he’s keeping his team in check.

Rohlik also gave a nod to the parity in college hockey last weekend, expressing his team’s need to play their best in every game to get results.

That still includes a subpar Michigan State team with a lowly 2-7-1 away record. The Spartans have gone just 2-10-0 against ranked opponents this season. Michigan State has eight games remaining, which all come against teams currently in the top 25.

Case in point: a strong Wisconsin team underestimated the Spartans twice this season. The Spartans handed them two 2-0 losses — one in November when Wisconsin was ranked No. 7, and another a few weeks ago as the No. 18 team.

MSU is also coming off a bye week, which could bode well for a return to the win column.
Coach Danton Cole praised his team’s performance last series, where a close second game saw them fall 2-1 against Minnesota.

“That’s what young guys on a young team have to figure out. That’s how hard you have to play,” Cole told Neil Koepke of MSUSpartans.com. “It doesn’t mean everything is going to go your way. If you’re lucky to be on a championship team, that’s how it feels every night.”

The season has hardly gone MSU’s way, but encouraging performances from leading scorer and freshman Mitchell Lewandowski, as well as sophomores Taro Hirose and Patrick Khodorenko, show a bright future in East Lansing.

The school wants the future to come now, however, and with eight games to go, the team will look to end the season on a high note with some wins against college hockey’s best teams.

Don’t miss the streaking Buckeyes face off with the slumping Spartans, as FloHockey streams both games of the series live, right here this weekend.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @JMessing23.