Buckeyes Fall to Falcons on the Road, 5-3

Saturday, January 3

Bowling Green, Ohio

6:07 p.m.

Ohio State

6-11-1

Bowling Green

9-5-4

Ohio St.

Bowling Green

Buckeyes Fall to Falcons on the Road, 5-3

1/3/2026 10:00:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Ohio State returns to Big Ten action at home next weekend vs. No. 3 Michigan State

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men's hockey team lost the series finale to Bowling Green, 5-3, Saturday in Slater Family Ice Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Buckeyes (6-11-1) and Falcons (9-5-4) skated to a 2-2 overtime tie in game one Friday in Columbus.

Up Next

Ohio State will be back in Big Ten play next weekend, hosting Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday.
Game one features the $5 Power Play Special ($5 domestic beers, $5.50 premium/import beers, $5.99 craft beers; chips included with purchase).
Game two is First Responder Night and postgame there will be a meet and greet with the Buckeyes on the concourse.

The Short Story
Bowling Green scored early in the first but power play goals from Jake Karabela and Riley Thompson gave the Buckeyes a 2-1 lead through the first 20 minutes. Each team scored once in the second, with Sam McGinley tallying for the Buckeyes, for a 3-2 game at the second intermission. A Bowling Green shorthanded goal 11 seconds into the third tied the game and the Falcons went ahead 4-3 at 12:37, adding an insurance goal on the power play just over a minute later.

Ohio State was outshot, 39-28, in the game and each team was 2-for-7 on the power play in the game. Davis Burnside had two assists for the Buckeyes and Karabela added a helper for a two-point game.

How it Happened

Bowling Green opened the scoring just 1:17 into the contest when Tyler Hotson redirected a pass from in close.
Ohio State scored the next two, with both on the power play.
Jake Karabela tied the game at 4:22, skating through the Falcon defense from the Buckeye defensive zone and putting a shot far side. Davis Burnside and Broten Sabo assisted on the tally.
The Buckeyes went on a five-minute major power play and tallied once on the advantage. Burnside and Riley Thompson were alone in front and Felix Caron passed from near the wall to Burnside, who set up Thompson for a one-timer at 9:24.
Shots were 10-8 in favor of the Buckeyes in the first.
The Falcons tied the game with a power play goal from Hotson at 10:03 of the second, tallying with just seven seconds left on the man advantage.
Ohio State responded on Sam McGinley's first goal as a Buckeye. He scored from in front after a scramble, assisted by Ethan Straky and Karabela.
Bowling Green had 19 shots on net in the second, with Ohio State putting nine on goal.
Eleven seconds into the third Bowling Green tied the game on a shorthanded score by Jaden Grant. The Falcons took the lead on a Brett Phof redirection at 12:37 and extended the advantage to two at 13:56 with a power play goal by Brody Waters.
In the third, BG led in shots, 12-9, and for the game, the Buckeyes were outshot, 39-28.
Freshman Sam Hillebrandt had 34 saves for Ohio State while playing 56:39.
The Buckeyes had four shot blocks in the game, led by Straky with two, and BG had 19 blocked shots.
Each team had 13 penalties and was 2-for-7 on the power play.

Buckeye This and That

The loss ended a nine-game unbeaten streak for the Buckeyes vs. Bowling Green (8-0-1).
Karabela leads the Buckeyes with 13 assists and 17 points. It was his fifth multiple-point game of the year.
Thompson is tied for first on the squad with four power play goals and has six goals this season.
Burnside had his fourth career game with two assists and now has 51 helpers as a Buckeye, along with 43 goals for 94 points. He has a 6-8-14 line on the year.
Caron is second on the team with 15 points, on seven goals and eight assists.
McGinley is in his first year of NCAA hockey after playing at the University of New Brunswick (USports) the last two seasons.
The shorthanded goal was the first allowed by the Buckeyes this season.