{"id":25418,"date":"2003-01-16T17:33:14","date_gmt":"2003-01-16T23:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2003\/01\/16\/this-week-in-the-wcha-womens-league-jan-16-2003\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:55:21","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:55:21","slug":"this-week-in-the-wcha-womens-league-jan-16-2003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2003\/01\/16\/this-week-in-the-wcha-womens-league-jan-16-2003\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in the WCHA Women’s League: Jan. 16, 2003"},"content":{"rendered":"
When Ohio State’s schedule for this season was unveiled, no one envisioned a paved road to the Frozen Four.<\/p>\n
Besides perennial WCHA powers Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth and Wisconsin, which the Buckeyes would see a total of 12 times, they had such notables as Dartmouth, New Hampshire, Princeton, Providence and St. Lawrence to contend with.<\/p>\n
To date, Ohio State has played the toughest schedule in the country. The Buckeyes have played 13 games against teams ranked in the top 10 and have been outshot only four times. However, the Buckeyes are just 1-11-1 in those games and find themselves in a battle for a spot in the WCHA Final Five, currently in fifth place, with just six points separating third place from seventh.<\/p>\n
“We’ve played hard and we compete for 60 minutes,” Ohio State head coach Jackie Barto said. “There’s a fine line between winning and losing those games. I feel we’ve been in every game except one. It comes down to doing the little things and we’ve made little mistakes that have cost us.”<\/p>\n
Six one-goal losses have been crucial. Barto said her team realizes that they need to improve in all aspects of the game.<\/p>\n
\n"We’re improving and doing some good things but now we have to step up and turn some of these games into wins."<\/p>\n
— OSU head coach Jackie Barto<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“We’re all looking at ourselves to step up a notch and win games,” she said. “We’re improving and doing some good things but now we have to step up and turn some of these games into wins.”<\/p>\n
At times, the offense has been productive and has sparked wins. However, OSU has been shut out six times this season, nearly one-third of its games. The Buckeyes have scored 23 goals in their last six games, despite being shut out, 1-0, at Princeton in their last series before the break. They turned around and blanked the Tigers 4-0 the next night.<\/p>\n
Defensively, they’ve limited opponents to just 22 shots per game. On the flip side, they’re allowing nearly three goals per game and, at a time when a .900 save percentage is no longer the magic number it once was, the Buckeyes have posted a team save percentage of just .879.<\/p>\n
“I’m happy with our effort but we need to take that step forward,” Barto said. “Our offense is starting to come together. We’re playing four lines and we’re confident in attacking the net.<\/p>\n
“We need to secure our own zone defensively and work on cutting down the number of shots we give up in front of the net.”<\/p>\n
With the season entering the home stretch, Ohio State is playing for a spot in the Final Five but, Barto said, the team can’t look that far down the road.<\/p>\n
“Our big goal is to stay in the moment,” she said. “We need to play for and prepare for the next game. We’re really putting an emphasis on our league games but we do it game by game and don’t look ahead. Right now, we can control our own destiny.”<\/p>\n
A strong finish may put the Buckeyes in contention for a spot in the Frozen Four. They have seven games, and could play as many as nine, against ranked opponents, games which add to their strength of schedule and, ultimately,their PairWise Ranking<\/a>.<\/p>\n