Buckeyes Fall at No. 5/6 Wisconsin, Will Play Game Three Sunday

Saturday, March 9

Madison, WI

7:00 PM ET

Ohio State

13-19-4

University of Wisconsin

26-10-2

Ohio St.

Wisconsin

Buckeyes Fall at No. 5/6 Wisconsin, Will Play Game Three Sunday

3/9/2024 10:14:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men's hockey team will play for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals Sunday after falling to No. 5/6 Wisconsin, 4-2, in game two Saturday in the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. The No. 7 seed Buckeyes won the opener, 3-1, Friday before the No. 2 Badgers tied the series Saturday to force a decisive third game.

Game three will be played at 6 p.m. ET Sunday in Madison, with the game on Big Ten Plus and Ohio State Radio. This is the third year in a row Ohio State will play a quarterfinal game three. The Buckeyes fell in the third game to Penn State in 2022 and won the third game vs. the Nittany Lions in 2023, with both of those series in Columbus. An Ohio State win would set up a semifinal game at No. 1 seed Michigan State next Saturday.

The Short Story
In game two, the Buckeyes (13-19-4) and Badgers (26-10-2) were tied at one after the first period. Wisconsin opened the scoring with a power play goal at 13:07, answered by Buckeye Thomas Weis with 59 seconds left in the stanza, also with the man advantage. The Badgers scored twice in the second for a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes. Ohio State drew within one midway through the third on a Patrick Guzzo tally, but the Badgers scored an empty net goal to seal the win.

Ohio State was 1-for-2 on the power play, with Wisconsin 2-for-5. The Buckeyes outshot the Badgers, 39-37, in the game.

Quoting head coach Steve Rohlik
"It was a tight playoff game. It comes down to special teams and they had a few more opportunities and cashed in. We played hard right to the end. It all comes down to a one-game shot tomorrow."

How it Happened

Wisconsin's Christian Fitzgerald tallied on the power play at 13:07 for a 1-0 lead.
The Buckeyes converted their first power play chance to tie the game, as Thomas Weis redirected a Brent Johnson pass right in front. Max Montes also assisted on the tally, which came with 59 seconds left in the period.
Ohio State had nine of the 20 shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes. Wisconsin had two power play chances, with Ohio State scoring on its one chance.
In the second, Wisconsin's David Silye broke the tie at 3:52 and Anthony Kehrer's power play goal at 7:02 put the Badgers up 3-1.
The Buckeyes scored 41 seconds after the Badger goal, but Wisconsin challenged for goalie interference and the goal was taken off the board after review to revert to a 3-1 game.
Ohio State cut the lead to one at 9:47 of the third. A Patrick Guzzo shot got through the goalie and the Badger defender trying to clear the puck out of the crease put it in the net for a 3-2 game.
Ohio State pulled its goalie with 2:45 remaining and Wisconsin moved the lead back to two on Cruz Lucius' empty net goal at 17:44.
The teams combined for 28 shots in both the second and third periods. Ohio State was ahead, 17-11, in the second and UW had the edge in the third, 15-13.
For the game, Ohio State outshot Wisconsin, 39-37. Kristoffer Eberly made 33 saves in 58:28 for the Buckeyes.
Damien Carfagna led the Buckeyes with three shot blocks; Ohio State had eight as a team.
Ohio State converted one of its two power play chances, with Wisconsin 2-for-5.

Buckeye This and That

Johnson has three points in the series, with a goal and two assists, as does Montes, with two goals and a helper.
Weis, a Wisconsin native, notched his fourth goal of the season and second on the power play.
Guzzo now has eight goals this season.
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Buckeyes vs. Wisconsin.
Ohio State is 14-12 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament, including 12-5 in the quarterfinals.