Buckeyes Start Year with Two Games at RPI

Friday, October 9

Troy, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Ohio State

RPI

Buckeyes Start Year with Two Games at RPI

10/7/2026 3:15:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Teams will meet Friday and Saturday in Troy, N.Y.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men's hockey team kicks off its season with a two-game nonconference series at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) this weekend. The teams will meet at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Troy, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the series, with live stats available through OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

Buckeyes vs. Engineers

Ohio State is 2-1-5 all-time vs. RPI, with all but two of the meetings on the Engineers' home ice.
The squads last met Oct. 13-14, 2017 in Columbus, skating to two 1-1 ties.
The first meeting was Dec. 27, 1973 in the RPI Tournament, a 5-5 tie, and the squads faced off in the tournament Dec. 30, 1977, ending in another 5-all deadlock. In November 1981, the Engineers defeated the Buckeyes, 8-5, in Troy, N.Y.
The squads met in RPI's tournament in November 2006, again tying 5-5.
November 2016 was the first two-game series between the squads, with Ohio State posting a sweep (4-0, 3-2) on the road.
RPI was 11-23-1 last year, with its season ending in the opening round of the ECAC playoffs.

The Buckeye Roster

Ohio State returns 14 skaters from last season, along with goalie Kristoffer Eberly.
Among the returnees are three of the top four scorers in Jake Karabela (15g, 22a, 37p), Felix Caron (14g, 16a, 30p) and Max Montes (15g, 13a, 28p).
Ohio State has an eight-member senior class, with seven of the eight in their fourth year in the Scarlet and Gray. The group is tied for the third-largest across the country.
Eleven newcomers joined the program, featuring eight freshmen and three transfers. The group, with nine NHL draft picks, includes two goalies, three defensemen and six forwards.
Buckeyes are natives of four countries - United States (16), Canada (6), Czechia (2) and Sweden (2).
Among the 10 U.S. states represented, three Buckeyes are from Michigan, with two from California, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin, along with Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Georgia. Canada is led by three Ontario natives and one each from Quebec, Albert and British Columbia. Two freshmen are Czechia natives and two juniors are from Sweden.

McBrayer and Gordon Selected Captains

Seniors Ryan Gordon and Nathan McBrayer were voted the Buckeyes' captains by their teammates.
McBrayer, a defenseman from Dublin, Ohio, is the second Central Ohio native to wear the captain's C for the Scarlet and Gray, joining Austin Pooley (2020-21). McBrayer was an alternate captain as a junior last season when he had 10 points and 29 shot blocks in 36 games. He has appeared in 111 games over the last three years, notching eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points, along with 94 shot blocks. He is a three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and two-time Academic All-Big Ten choice.
Gordon, who calls Stone Mountain, Ga., home, has seen action in 106 games as a forward for the Buckeyes, recording 39 points on 11 goals and 28 assists. He had a career-high 18 assists and 23 points in 2025-26 while playing in all 37 games. Gordon is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and AHCA Scholar All-American, as well as a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.

By the Numbers

Jake Karabela enters the season on a four-game goal streak (4g) and seven-game point streak (6g, 6a, 12p).
Nathan McBrayer started the year tied for fifth nationally in games played among defensemen (111).
Sam Deckhut is one game away from hitting the 100-game mark for his career.
Kristoffer Eberly begins his senior year seventh among active NCAA goalies in games (57) and minutes (3077:54) played and ranks tied for eighth in career wins (25).

A Look Back at 2025-26

The Buckeyes were 14-21-2 last season, with eight of the losses in 3x3 overtime. In all, Ohio State played in 12 overtime games, the most in program history ahead of the 11 for the 205-16 squad. During the season, 16 of the Buckeyes' games were decided by one goal. The Buckeyes' schedule was the sixth-toughest in the NCAA, with the squad ending the season No. 21 in the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI).
Ohio State, the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, made a run to the final with road victories at No. 4 seed Wisconsin (7-1) and No. 1 seed Michigan State (3-2 OT) before falling to No. 2 seed and No. 1-ranked Michigan in the final (7-3) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Then-freshman Jake Karabela led the Buckeyes in assists (22) and points (37) and shared the goal lead with Max Montes with 15 each last year.
The Buckeyes averaged 3.22 goals per game, ranking in the Top 20 in the NCAA, and were 12th nationally on the power play (25 percent). The squad allowed 3.62 goals per contest.
Following the season, juniors Riley Thompson and Broten Sabo signed professional contracts, as did seniors Davis Burnside, Adam Eisele and Ethan Straky.

Noting the #ProBucks

Last spring, Riley Thompson signed a two-way entry-level contact with the Philadelphia Flyers. He was the eighth Buckeye in the last four years to sign an entry-level contract with an NHL team, with five of the eight free agents.
Ohio State has a program-high 10 NHL draft picks on the roster this season - Sascha Boumedienne (2025, Round 1, Winnipeg), Jackson Crowder (2025, Round 5, Washington), Jakub Fibigr (2024 Round 7, Seattle), Evan Jardine (2026 Round 4, Columbus), Jake Karabela (2022 Round 5, Washington), Jakub Milota (2024 Round 4, Nashville), Erik Påhlsson (2024 Round 7, Nashville), Ryan Rucinski (2025 Round 7, Buffalo), Tomko (2026 Round 3, Vegas) and Wilmott (2026 Round 7, Seattle).
Five Buckeyes were on NHL opening day rosters – Mason Lohrei (Boston), Jakub Dobes (Montreal), Stephen Halliday (Ottawa), Dakota Joshua (Toronto/injured reserve) and Georgii Merkulov (Colorado/injured-non roster).\

The Schedule Ahead

Ohio State will be back on the road for two games at Sacred Heart next weekend, facing off at 7 p.m. Oct. 16-17 in Fairfield, Conn.
A four-game homestand follows, beginning with a series against Augustana Oct. 23 (6:30 p.m.) and Oct. 24 (5 p.m.).
The Big Ten season starts in Columbus vs. Michigan Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
Times and broadcast information for all Big Ten matchups will be released in the next few days.

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Ticket Information
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