With only eight games remaining, the No. 13/14 Ohio State men’s ice hockey team has definite expectations for the remainder of the year.

“We need to win at least six of our last eight games to make a push for the second seed in the tournament,” senior forward Dave Steckel said.

Talking about second place was not how the season was shaping up for the Buckeyes earlier in the year. On November 29th, first-place OSU destroyed Bowling Green State University on the road by a score of 7-0.

But everything changed the following weekend when the Miami RedHawks swept the Buckeyes and took over first place in the CCHA. Including that series, OSU has gone 5-7 in their last 12 games after an impressive 11-5 start.

“I think going 6-2 at the minimum is realistic,” junior defenseman Thomas Welsh said.

The team travels to Ferris State to face the defending CCHA champion Bulldogs this weekend in a two-game series. OSU leads the overall series between the two teams but, Ferris State is 5-4-1 against the Buckeyes in their last ten matchups. That includes a two-game sweep of OSU last season.

“They’re a gritty, in-your-face team,” Welsh said. “We need to be disciplined and play like we did against Bowling Green (last weekend).”

The game Welsh is referring to came on the road this past Saturday. The Buckeyes squeezed out a 4-3 victory over the Falcons. The victory gave OSU a sweep of the season series against BGSU and has given the team momentum for the remainder of its season.

Five of the last eight games the Buckeyes play will take place outside the friendly confines of the Schottenstein Center.

This does not faze the Buckeyes, however. The team averages 3.5 goals a game on the road compared to 3.0 at home, and gives up 2.3 on the road as opposed to 2.5 at home.

“We’ve had our road legs on all year,” goalie Mike Betz said.

Steckel agreed with Betz.

“We always play well on the road,” Steckel said. “There are less distractions.”

Steckel was named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s Offensive Player of the Week after his performance against the Falcons Saturday. Steckel tallied three points in the victory over BGSU, including the Buckeyes’ first goal of the game. He also assisted on goals by freshman Andrew Schembri and the eventual game-winner by Welsh.

“It was a greasy road win,” Welsh said of the victory. “It sure didn’t come easy.”

This marks the second time this season that Steckel has received the award. He is also three points shy of having 100 career points. If he attains the milestone, he will be the third Buckeye to do so during this season.

Still, the team knows that all the old clichés hold true for the rest of the season.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Betz said.

After the road series against Ferris State, the Buckeyes will play their last home series of the season against Nebraska-Omaha Feb. 13 and 14.

OSU knows that the series between the teams this weekend will be physical.

“There will probably be a lot of penalties, so the play of special teams is going to be very important,” Steckel said.