COLUMBUS, Ohio – Three members of the No. 9 Ohio State men’s hockey program are finalists for Big Ten awards, the conference announced Wednesday. Jakub Dobeš is among the Top 3 for the goaltender of the year honor, Mason Lohrei is one of three Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year finalists and Steve Rohlik is among the three finalists for the coach of the year award. This is the second year all three have been finalists for their respective awards.
The Big Ten awards are selected by the league coaches and a media voting panel and the award winners and all-conference teams will be unveiled next Tuesday.
Dobeš, who was selected the 2022 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, is a sophomore from Ostrava, Czechia, and a Montreal Canadians draft pick. He has started all 37 games for the Buckeyes this season and leads the nation in minutes played. A Mike Richter Award semifinalist for the second year in a row, he is in the Top 16 nationally in goals-against average (2.25) and save percentage (.920) and has recorded 20 wins. Though his first 72 games in the Scarlet and Gray, Dobeš has 41 victories, a 2.26 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.
Lohrei, a defenseman from Madison, Wis., and Boston Bruins draft pick, has 25 assists and 28 points this season. He is tied for 12th in scoring among NCAA defensemen, ranking third in the Big Ten, and is seventh among the nation’s blueliners with .68 assists per game, ranking sixth in total assists. He has played in all 37 games, with a point in 25, and has 52 shot blocks. Lohrei has skated in 68 games as a Buckeyes, with 57 points, including 50 assists.
Now in his 10th year, Rohlik led the Buckeyes to a third-place finish in the Big Ten with an 11-11-2-0-0-1 record. The Buckeyes are 20-14-3 on the year and are in the Top 17 in the NCAA in scoring offense (3.22 goals per game), scoring defense (2.41 goals allowed per game) and scoring margin (+.81). The Scarlet and Gray lead the country on the penalty kill (.893) and with 10 shorthanded goals. Ohio State has been ranked in the Top 20 all season and in the Top 10 since Jan. 9.
Rohlik was the Big Ten Coach of the Year award winner in 2018 and ’19. The Buckeyes have claimed one Big Ten Best Defensive Player honor – Sasha Larocque in 2019 – and two B1G Goaltender of the Year awards – Tommy Nappier in 2019 and Dobeš in 2022. Dobeš also was the 2022 Big Ten co-Freshman of the Year.
This week, Ohio State will take on No. 4 Michigan in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal game. The teams will meet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., with the game televised by BTN and on Ohio State Radio.
