McCarthy said he was going to take advantage of Ohio's rejuvenated depth by playing three to four lines against Michigan State. Defenseman Jack Pepper said the team must be ready because Michigan State is the best Division II team. It is nice that coach always gets a difficult team to play the weekend before nationals while most teams just take the weekend off.
Pepper is one of the four Ohio players returning from Poland.
Adding to that defense will be goaltender Scott Walls, who will be in the nets this weekend after missing the Illinois game because of graduate-school work. Last year, we were the team that everyone was gunning for, and this year we are more of a underdog. These situations can make or break you when you get a power play in the tournament and have to get a goal.