Buckeyes Skate to 6-2 Win over Minnesota

Friday, February 6

Minneapolis, Minn.

8 p.m.

Ohio State

9-15-1, 5-10-0

Minnesota

10-17-1, 6-11-0

Ohio St.

Minnesota

Buckeyes Skate to 6-2 Win over Minnesota

2/6/2026 11:27:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

Karabela led the Buckeyes with three points

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With five goals in the final two periods, the Ohio State men's hockey posted a 6-2 road win at Minnesota Friday in 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Buckeyes (9-15-1, 5-10 B1G) and Gophers (10-17-1, 6-11 B1G) will close the weekend and regular season series at 9 p.m. ET Saturday, with the game on Big Ten Network and Ohio State Radio.

The Short Story
The teams were tied at one after the first period. Minnesota converted on the power play to open the scoring and a late tally from Buckeye Ryan Gordon tied the game. A three-goal run by Ohio State in the first nine minutes of the second period, with tallies from Riley Thompson, Max Montes and Ethan Straky, pushed Ohio State's lead to 4-1. Minnesota tallied its second power play goal of the game for a 4-2 Buckeye lead through two. Ohio State scored twice in the third, early at even strength from Nathan McBrayer and a Jake Karabela power play tally, for the 6-2 final.

Karabela led the Buckeyes with three points, on a goal and two assists, and Felix Caron had a two-point night with two helpers, while Thompson had a goal and an assist for two points. Ohio State outshot Minnesota, 46-21. The Buckeyes were 1-for-3 with the man advantage and Minnesota was 2-for-2.

How it Happened

The first goal of the game came on the power play from Brodie Ziemer at 12:43.
With time winding down in the first, a turnover by the Gophers led to a Ryan Gordon goal, as he gathered the puck and scored from in close at 19:30. Shots were 16-6 in favor of Ohio State in the opening 20 minutes.
Felix Caron found Riley Thompson for a tip in in front of the crease at 1:57, putting the Buckeyes ahead, 2-1.
Another Gopher turnover in their zone led to a Buckeye tally. James Hong set up Max Montes for his team-best 11th goal of the year at 6:32.
At 8:51, defenseman Ethan Straky scored on a backhand from the side of the net to put the Buckeyes up 4-1, assisted by Jake Karabela and Thompson.
The Gophers' Brody Lamb converted on the power play at 13:16 for a 4-2 Ohio State lead.
Ohio State controlled play throughout the second, outshooting Minnesota, 17-5.
In the third, Nathan McBrayer scored from the point at 1:07 after a Karabela faceoff win.
Karabela tallied a goal of his own at 8:37. Sabo found Karabela down low and he was able to bring the puck to his forehand and score. Caron also assisted on the tally.
Ohio State led in shots, 13-10, in the third.
For the game, the Buckeyes outshot the Gophers, 46-21. Buckeye goalie Sam Hillebrandt made 19 saves in all 60 minutes. Minnesota starter Luca Di Pasquo had 25 saves on 29 shots in 28:51 and Nathan Airey made 15 saves on 17 shots in 30:55.
The Buckeyes blocked 10 Gopher shot attempts, led by Bryce Ingles with two.
On the power play, Ohio State was 1-for-3, with Minnesota 2-for-2.

Buckeye This and That

Jake Karabela leads the Buckeyes with 16 assists and 23 points. It was his second career three-point game and his fourth outing with two assists.
Felix Caron, who has an 8-12-20 line on the year, had his fifth collegiate two-assist game.
Riley Thompson has a goal in three of the last five games and a point in four of the last five. On the year he has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points.
Broten Sabo leads the Buckeye defensemen in points with 13 and is second on the team in assists with 13. He has a helper in four of the last five outings.
Max Montes is first on the squad with 11 goals and fourth with 19 points. He has a 2-3-5 line in his last three games combined.
Ethan Straky's goal was his first as a Buckeye.
Nathan McBrayer has a goal in back-to-back games and now has four on the year.
The six goals scored tied the Buckeyes' season high, first set in a 6-5 overtime win against Minnesota Dec. 5. Ohio State is averaging 3.04 goals per game on the year.
The game was the third time this season the Buckeyes had 40 or more shots and was the first since both games of the season-opening series vs. Northern Michigan.