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MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University senior defenseman Blake Cosgrove expects to have an emotional weekend when the Wildcats host Ohio State in a first round Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoff series beginning Friday.


“Absolutely. It has been a great four years here and it’s the last time I’ll play in this (Berry Events Center) barn,” he said earlier this week. “It will be an emotional series for me, for sure.


“You come here as a freshman and think four years is a long time. But you blink and it’s already over. It has gone by real quick.”


Cosgrove and the sixth-seeded Wildcats (15-17-4 overall) will entertain the No. 11 seed Buckeyes (11-23-4) at 7:35 p.m. Friday, Saturday and (if necessary) Sunday in the best-of-three series.


The two teams met in Columbus Feb. 15-16, with NMU winning the first game 2-0 and then losing the second, 3-2.


“They pressured us hard, really came at us,” Cosgrove recalled. “They’re a good team to play against, very fast and good at ... getting the puck up ice.


“That’s something we’ll have to watch.”


The Buckeyes of coach John Markell feature senior forward Tommy Goebel, freshman forward Peter Boyd and freshman forward John Albert on offense. Goebel leads OSU with 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points, followed by Boyd (9-13-22) and Albert (4-16-20).


“Defensively, we’ll have to pay attention to our 1-on-1 zone coverage and hitting our forwards with the first pass to get the puck out of our zone as fast as we can,” Cosgrove said.


“I anticipate a physical series (too). It’s the playoffs. Both teams will put everything they have on the ice.”   


OSU sophomore goaltender Joseph Palmer is 9-17-4 with a 3.02 goals against average and a .891 save percentage.


Northern sophomore netminder Brian Stewart, meanwhile, will carry an 11-12-4 record into the series with a 2.56 gaa and a .917 save percentage.


On offense, junior right wing Nick Sirota leads NMU with 16-15-31 totals. Freshman center Mark Olver (15-15-30) and senior right wing Matt Siddall (14-14-28) are right behind.


“We have to get some shots on net,” said Siddall, who with Cosgrove and Andrew Sarauer form the Wildcats’ senior class. “We have to play Wildcat hockey — forecheck hard, get the pucks in the corners and hold pucks for long possession time.


“We have to work hard and keep our feet moving. We have to take advantage of any opportunity we can get.”


The weekend series is a rematch of last year’s CCHA first round in Columbus. OSU took the first game, 6-2, before Northern won the second in overtime (3-2) and the third (3-2).


This is the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs in Marquette since 1981. Overall, the Wildcats hold a 4-3-2 postseason edge over the Buckeyes.


“Ohio State is truly an underrated team,” Siddall said. “They’re coming with a lot of firepower and a lot of older guys. They have a strong defense and good goaltending.


“It’ll be a test. We have to be prepared.”


Series notes: NMU freshman defenseman Erik Gustafsson leads the team in assists with 19 ... OSU has a .138 success rate on the power play and is .822 on the penalty kill; NMU is .137 and .766, respectively ... Sirota has scored Northern’s first goal in a game six times.


Freshman center Jared Brown is Northern’s top faceoff performer, winning 55.2 percent of his draws ... Olver leads NMU in power play goals with six ... the Buckeyes have picked up 417 penalty minutes this season, the Wildcats 547 ... Northern has been outscored 32-23 in the first period in 2007-08.

 

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