Photo courtesy:  Ohio State Athletics

NOTE: Blue Jackets TV analyst Bill Davidge is one of the most plugged-in sources for information on college hockey, and he breaks down the action from Ohio's CCHA teams in this blog.

Ohio State

Friday: Hjelle continues strong play in goal

A third-period goal by sophomore Ryan Dzingel broke a scoreless tie as Ohio State defeated Michigan State 1-0 at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. Buckeye senior goalie Brady Hjelle had 31 saves in capturing his third shutout of the season.

Saturday: “Full 60” needed to complete sweep for OSU

“Hockey, top to bottom, the parity is unbelievable right now,” Ohio State head coach Mark Osiecki said. “Sweeps are hard. Obviously a really talented team across the way, coached unbelievably well.

“Our guys had a couple of opportunities early in the game, but they scored first and had us on our heels and our guys battled through.”

The Buckeyes found themselves trailing 1-0 to the Spartans after the first period, but they responded with two unanswered goals in the second. Tyler Lundey scored the game-winner with a little over a minute remaining in the period to pull ahead of the Spartans and eventually win 3-1, earning a weekend road sweep in the process. Hjelle continued his outstanding play as he leads the CCHA with a 1.23 goals-against average, giving up a total of 11 goals in 534 minutes of play.

Miami (Ohio)

Friday: Sophomores lead Miami in 5-2 win over Alaska

Sophomore Cody Murphy scored two goals while the No. 4-ranked RedHawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and Miami went on to earn a 5-2 victory over Alaska. Another sophomore, Austin Czarnik, added a goal and two assists while freshman Riley Barber and senior Curtis McKenzie each chipped in a goal and an assist. The offense continued to mount as the RedHawks scored five goals for the second time this season.

Saturday: Balanced scoring and solid goaltending shutout for Miami

Freshman goaltender Ryan McKay stopped all 26 shots he faced to lead Miami to a 4-0 shutout over Alaska on Saturday night. A trio of RedHawks tallied two points led by senior forward and Hamilton, Ont. native Marc Hagel. Hagel scored the first two goals of his Miami career after transferring from Princeton. Sophomore Jimmy Mullin notched a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game of the year while Czarnik added two assists for his second straight multi-point contest.

Czarnik finished with a five-point weekend, which should put him in the running for player of the week honors. He now leads the CCHA in scoring with 19 points, one ahead of RedHawks freshman Riley Barber.