Friday, January 10
Columbus, Ohio
5 pm
Ohio State
vs
Minnesota
Photo by: Ohio State Athletics
No. 11 Buckeyes Ready for Home Series vs. No. 3 Golden Gophers
1/9/2025 12:05:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Team will meet Friday and Saturday in Value City Arena
The Basics
- The No. 11 Ohio State men's hockey team is set to host No. 3 Minnesota in a two-game Big Ten series.Â
- The teams will meet at 5 p.m. ET Friday (note the time has been moved earlier than previously announced) and at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Value City Arena in Columbus.
- The game Friday will be streamed through B1G+ and Saturday's contest will be televised by BTN. 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, 14-5-1 this season with a 7-3-0 2-1-0 (20 points) B1G ledger, is coming off a split vs. Michigan, with a 4-3 win at Wrigley Field and a 3-2 OT loss in Ann Arbor. Minnesota is 17-3-2 overall and 8-1-1 1-0-0 (24 points) in league play. The Gophers swept Mercyhurst (6-2, 5-2) at home last weekend.Â
- Saturday is Alumni Night, with players from throughout the program's history in attendance and recognized pregame. There will be a postgame skate with the team that night (fans must bring own skates and fill out a waiver HERE) and the first 2,000 fans will receive a scarlet glow wand. Popcorn will be $2 throughout the game Saturday.
- Single game, miniplan and group tickets are all available now. Ticket information and purchasing options are online and fans can also contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-GOBUCKS (select Option 2, then Option 2) or Athletic.tix@osu.edu. Customer service representatives are available via phone Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Parking is free for all men's hockey home games.
- The series between Ohio State and Minnesota dates to 1968 but 58 of the 64 games have been since 1999.
- In Columbus, the Gophers lead the all-time series 17-6-3 and Minnesota leads in B1G regular season games, 31-11-6. In the overall series, Minnesota is ahead, 47-11-6.
- Last year, Ohio State was 0-3-1 vs. the Gophers, with a shootout win. The teams met in Columbus Dec. 8-9, 2023. A Buckeye comeback fell short in game one with a 5-4 loss and in game two the teams skated to a 1-1 overtime tie before Ohio State won the shootout. In Minneapolis Jan. 19-20, 2024, the Gophers posted a sweep with 5-2 and 6-3 wins.
- Ohio State is No. 11 in the USCHO and USA Hockey/The Rink Live rankings this week, its 11th-consecutive poll in the Top 20.
- The Buckeyes are in the Top 10 in the NCAA in scoring defense (2.05 goals allowed per game), scoring margin (+1.15) and winning percentage (.725).
- Goalie Kristoffer Eberly, the HCA National Goalie of the Month for December, is in the Top 10 in the NCAA in goals-against average (1.50), save percentage (.937) and goalie winning percentage (.909). Aiden Hansen-Bukata is tied for fifth nationally in assists per game (.90) 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 22. Fontaine is first with nine goals and Hansen-Bukata has a team-best 18 assists  Hansen-Bukata enters the series with 97 career points (10g, 87a) in 152 collegiate games. Fontaine has 119 points in his collegiate career.
- The series vs. Minnesota is the first of four Big Ten series at home for the Buckeyes to close out 2025. The squad enters the weekend with an 8-0-1 record in Columbus.Â
- Ohio State is off next weekend (Jan. 17-18) and will return to action with a road series at Penn State Jan. 24-25.
- The next home games are vs. No. 1-ranked Michigan State Jan. 30 (8 p.m.) and Feb. 1 (7 p.m.) in Value City Arena in Columbus.
Players Mentioned
Goalie
/ Men's Ice Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Ice Hockey
Defenseman
/ Men's Ice Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Ice Hockey No videos available.
