Mark Dixon, BTN lacrosse analyst, BTN.com staff, April 7, 2015

The biggest conference battle thus far took place Sunday night when Ohio State took on Johns Hopkins. Coming into the game the Blue Jays owned a 5-0 series record against Ohio State, including last season?s 10-9 triple overtime win in Baltimore. This game figured to be a defensive battle; we all figured wrong.

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Paced by Jesse King?s seven points (5G, 2A) the Scarlet and Grey scored a significant 15-12 win over Hopkins. Aiding King in the scoring department was Carter Brown. The Bel Air, MD native scored six times and proved almost impossible to cover for the Hopkins defense. Goalie Tom Carey stepped up as well, saving 14 Blue Jay offerings en route to the win.

Ohio State is now 6-0 in Columbus on the season. While the Buckeyes have had a number of huge wins in their lacrosse history (advancing to NCAA Quarterfinals in 2008, 2013) the win over a program like Hopkins is one of the many things the Big Ten Lacrosse Conference represents – non-traditional programs in growing areas competing with the best the sport has to offer.

It was indeed a happy Easter in the Horseshoe.

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Terps win again, Raffa injured

Maryland won their eighth straight, throttling Penn State 12-5. The win did not come without a price. Late in the first quarter All-American faceoff man Charlie Raffa left the game after colliding with a Nittany Lion defender. I'm posting this on Tuesday and as of now, his status remains unclear.

Raffa has been a mainstay in College Park for four years and has battled injuries his entire career. He has never played a fall season since arriving at Maryland via St. Anthony?s in the fall of 2011. In his last five games Raffa has won 70 percent of his faceoffs and is a huge reason the Terps are able to control tempo and dictate pace in games. His backup, Jon Garino Jr came in and did a great job in Raffa?s absence, winning eight of 10.

That was when he was an unknown. Now there is tape on him and his style. Maryland is in good hands with Garino but anytime you lose a player like Raffa there is some anxiety.

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He?s baaaaaaack

Michigan?s top scorer Ian King returned to the Wolverine lineup this weekend after missing four games with an injury. King, who remained the team?s leading scorer even after he missed time, dropped four goals on Rutgers this past Sunday to lead the Wolverines to a 10-8 win. Michigan had been struggling with King out of the lineup; the team scored single digits in their last three games. King?s return gives the Michigan offense a huge boost and makes the offense much tougher to cover.

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