Friday, January 3
Chicago, Ill.
5 pm ET
Ohio State
vs
Michigan
No. 13 Buckeyes Set for Games vs. No. 9 Wolverines in Chicago, Ann Arbor
12/31/2024 2:29:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Teams will face off outdoors Friday in Wrigley Field
The Basics
- The No. 13 Ohio State men's hockey team returns to action this weekend against No. 9 Michigan.
- The teams will meet at 5 p.m. ET Friday in The Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sunday, the squads will face off at 5 p.m. in Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.
- The game Friday will be televised by BTN and Sunday's contest will be streamed through B1G+. Ohio State Radio will carry both games (1460 AM, Ohio State Buckeyes app and website) and live stats will be available through OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
- Ohio State ended 2024 with four wins in a row, sweeping Notre Dame in its last series Dec. 13-14. The Buckeyes are 13-4-1 this year, with a 6-2-0 2-0-0 Big Ten ledger. Michigan is 11-6-1 overall and has a 5-3-0 2-0-0 conference record. The Wolverines split a series vs. Wisconsin at home to wrap up their first half slate.
- Ohio State is No. 13 in the USCHO and USA Hockey/The Rink Live rankings this week, its 10th-consecutive poll in the Top 20.
- The Buckeyes are in the Top 16 in the NCAA in scoring offense (3.22 goals per game), scoring defense (1.94 goals allowed per game), scoring margin (+1.28) and penalty killing percentage (.843).
- Goalie Kristoffer Eberly is in the Top 10 in the NCAA in goals-against average (1.35), save percentage (.941) and goalie winning percentage (.900). Aiden Hansen-Bukata is tied for seventh nationally in assists per game (.89) and Max Montes has three gamewinning goals to tie for eighth in the NCAA.
- Seven Buckeyes have double-digit points, led by Gunnarwolfe Fontaine with 18. Montes is first with eight goals and Hansen-Bukata has a team-best 17 assists.
- Fontaine hit the 100-point mark for his collegiate career earlier this season and now has 115 points, ranking fourth among active NCAA players.Â
- Ohio State and Michigan faced off for the first time in 1964 and after games in 1969-70, 1974-75 and 1978-79, have met at least once each season since 1981-82 when Michigan joined Ohio State in the CCHA.
- The Wolverines lead the all-time series, 96-51-16, including 6-4-0 in neutral site contests and 49-20-9 in Ann Arbor. Each team has a win in an outdoor game in the series, with both in Cleveland. Michigan won at the MLB Guardians' stadium in 2012 and Ohio State was a winner at the NFL Browns' stadium in 2023.
- Last season, the Buckeyes were 0-3-1 vs. Michigan, with a loss and tie/shootout win in Ann Arbor Oct. 20-21, 2023 and two home losses Feb. 2-3, 2024.
- Patrick Guzzo leads the current Buckeyes with 18 games played vs. Michigan, along with a team-best six points (3g, 3a). Joe Dunlap has seen action in 15 games vs. UM and has a 1-3-4 line. Max Montes has three goals in four games vs. the Wolverines.
- The game at Wrigley Field, home of the MLB Chicago Cubs, will be the fifth outdoor game for the Buckeyes in the modern era. It is the second in a baseball stadium and the third vs. Michigan.
- The squad first played in the Frozen Tundra Classic/U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., vs. Wisconsin Feb. 11, 2006. The Badgers skated to a 4-2 win in front of 40,890 fans.
- Jan. 15, 2012, the Buckeyes took on Michigan at the Frozen Diamond Faceoff Classic at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The Wolverines topped the Buckeyes, 4-1, with a crowd of 25,864 on hand.
- The Buckeyes faced Minnesota in the Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis Jan. 17, 2014 in front of 45,021. The Gophers won the game 1-0 on a second-period goal.
- February 18, 2023, the Buckeyes defeated the Wolverines 4-2 in Cleveland Browns Stadium in front of an Ohio State-record crowd of 45,523.
- The No. 2-ranked Buckeye women will take on No. 1 Wisconsin Saturday in Wrigley. The Ohio State football team defeated Northwestern 31-7 Nov. 16 in a game played at Wrigley.
- Four Buckeyes are from the Chicago area. Freshmen Chris Able (Libertyville), Nathan Lewis (Shorewood) and Noah Powell (Chicago) call the Windy City home. Junior Davis Burnside lived in Chicago until he was about 16 and now resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Players Mentioned
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