A little faith can go a long way. Just ask Ohio State's second-year coach. A class of unproven freshmen has quickly proven itself for the top-ranked Buckeyes.

Ohio State coach Mark Osiecki will be the first to admit that the expectations for his Buckeyes weren’t exactly high before this season.

Ohio State was coming off a losing season in Osiecki’s first campaign behind the bench, and four of the top five scorers from that underwhelming squad were graduating. All Osiecki had was going for him was snipers Chris Crane and Danny Dries, enigmatic goalie Cal Heeter, and blind faith in about a dozen freshmen.

“We probably didn’t have a lot of expectations. We didn’t want to put a lot of pressure on them,” Osiecki said after his Buckeyes dispatched Robert Morris 4-2 in the College Hockey Showcase last Friday. “I like the enthusiasm we had coming into the year. The returning players have done a great job incorporating the freshman. I think the maturity of our freshmen coming in – they don’t act like true freshmen. I think it’s created a team concept from the get-go. I think they’ve done a great job.”

Those freshmen – led by Ryan Dzingel and his 16 points in 18 games – have been enough to send the Buckeyes from also-rans into the upper echelon of college hockey rankings this year. The rookies have accounted for 26 of Ohio State’s 63 goals this year. That’s a big reason the Buckeyes have upped their offensive output from 2.57 to 3.32 goals per game over the last year.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for ice time for us (freshmen),” Dzingel pointed out. “Coach likes guys that play hard, so I try to do everything I can to get more time and play the body as well as the puck.

“I’m getting a lot of opportunities playing with Chris (Crane), he can put it in the net. The coaches have confidence in me, and I’m just getting a lot of ice time.”

He and his classmates aren’t the only ones getting a chance to shine. Heeter, who will likely be one of the more sought-after free agents after the season, has improved each year he’s been in Columbus. This season, he’s 12-2-1 with a 2.11 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.

“Last year was our first year coming in, we didn’t know anything about anyone, including (Heeter),” Osiecki remembered. “Everyone told us he can’t play back-to-back games. Everyone associated with the program said he couldn’t play back-to-back and be good. Well, guess what? He’s played like that back-to-back years now.”

And the senior goalie hasn’t just benefited from the added faith in his endurance. Asked to point out what’s he’s seen as helpful to Heeter’s development, Osiecki didn’t pause to answer.

“His maturity, his preparation away from the rink, making sure school’s in order. He’s taking care of his diet nutritionally. He sees the big picture. He knows what it takes to play for his teammates, himself and what he needs to do to take his game to another level.”

Ohio State currently sits atop the CCHA standings and the latest Pairwise rankings, used to select and seed NCAA Tournament teams.

Osiecki has found great success just by having faith and giving his players a chance to show what they could do. Those prognosticating the NCAA Championship this spring might be wise to do the same.

Notes

ESPN has reported that former U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Jim Scherr will be the new commissioner of the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference. … NCAA hockey heads north of the border this Saturday, when North Dakota and Clarkson face off in the U.S. College Hockey Classic at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. … The outdoor portion of the college schedule kicks in this weekend as well. Fenway Park hosts a doubleheader Saturday when Massachusetts faces Vermont and Maine battles New Hampshire. The rink will stay intact through next weekend, when Harvard faces Union on Friday beneath the Green Monster. Boston College and Northeastern wrap up the Fenway schedule Jan. 14. … The Michigan-Ohio State game scheduled for Jan. 14 has been moved to the next day, Jan. 15. More importantly, the game will move from Ohio State’s Value City Arena outdoors to Cleveland’s Progressive Field. 

IN MEMORIAM

College hockey lost a great this week, when Charles “Lefty” Smith, who was Notre Dame’s first hockey coach and led the team from 1968-87, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81. The Irish were already scheduled next month to dedicate the sheet of ice at their new Compton Family Ice Arena as “Lefty Smith Ice Rink.” During his time at the helm, every single player he coached at Notre Dame – 126 by all counts – graduated with a degree. Smith, the WCHA Coach of the Year in 1973, was featured prominently just last weekend on Versus’ feature broadcast of “Onward to Victory: Notre Dame Hockey.” On a personal note, I was sitting next to Smith at the team awards program in April 2008 when the announcement was made that his name would adorn the rink once it was built. Smith was shocked and moved to tears at the honor that day; it was the first and only time that many saw the fiery coach moved so emotionally. Now the culmination of that tribute will unfortunately come posthumously.

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