Buckeyes Advance to B1G Semis with 7-1 Win over No. 10/11 Badgers

Wednesday, March 11

Madison, Wis.

8 p.m. ET

Ohio State

13-20-2

Wisconsin (Quarterfinals)

21-12-2

Ohio St.

Wisconsin

Buckeyes Advance to B1G Semis with 7-1 Win over No. 10/11 Badgers

3/11/2026 10:45:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Ohio State will take on Michigan State Saturday

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men's hockey team is moving on in the Big Ten Tournament after a 7-1 road win over No. 10/11 Wisconsin in the quarterfinals Wednesday in the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. The Buckeyes led 1-0 after the first period and 3-0 through 40 minutes, stretching the lead to 7-0 in the third. Seven Buckeyes scored a goal in the game and 12 Ohio State skaters in all had a point, while Kristoffer Eberly made 33 saves.

The No. 5 seed Buckeyes (13-20-2) eliminated the No. 4 seed Badgers (21-12-2) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament for the third year in a row. This is the first year the quarterfinals have been single elimination games on campus sites. The Buckeyes won a road series vs. Wisconsin in 2024 and a home series in 2025, both in three games.

Ohio State advances to the semifinals, where it will take on top seed and No. 3-ranked Michigan State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in East Lansing, Mich. The game will be televised by BTN and on Ohio State Radio. The Buckeyes and Spartans met in the tournament final last year, won by the Spartans in double overtime. Ohio State was 2-1-1 vs. MSU in the regular season this year.

The Short Story
Ohio State's Nathan Lewis notched the only goal of the first period at 5:01. Felix Caron and Jake Karabela tallied for Ohio State in the second for a 3-0 lead at the second intermission. The Buckeyes scored four times in the first 10:23 of the third, with power play goals from Broten Sabo, Max Montes and Riley Thompson and an even strength score from Adam Eisele, to extend the lead to 7-0. A Wisconsin shorthanded goal was the final tally of the game.

Ohio State was outshot, 34-20, in the contest. Kristoffer Eberly had 33 saves in all 60 minutes and Ohio State blocked 20 shot attempts. Thompson led the Buckeyes with three points on a goal and two assists and had a team-high five shot blocks. Eisele, Karabela and Sabo each had two points with a goal and an assist and Davis Burnside and William Smith both had two helpers. Ohio State was 3-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill in the win.

How it Happened

Buckeye Nathan Lewis opened the scoring at 5:01 of the first. At the side of the net, Sam Deckhut got to the rebound of an Ethan Straky shot and he was able to feed Lewis for his fourth goal of the year.
Wisconsin led in shots early and was ahead after the first, 8-7.
In the second, Riley Thompson got the puck to Felix Caron entering the zone and his shot from the faceoff dot went in at 2:06.
Jake Karabela put the Buckeyes up 3-0 at 17:30. He forced a turnover in the Badger zone, fed Davis Burnside and went to the net, where Burnside set him up for a goal.
The Badgers had the advantage in shots, 12-7, in the second.
Ohio State started the third period on a 5-on-3 power play and Broten Sabo took advantage, beating a defender in close just 25 seconds into the stanza. Karabela and Thompson assisted on the tally.
The lead moved to 5-0 at 6:42. From the Buckeye zone, William Smith found Adam Eisele at the Badger blue line with a stretch pass and he scored with a shot in close. Bryce Ingles had the second assist on the goal.
Ohio State then scored twice on a five-minute major power play for a 7-0 lead. Eisele set up Max Montes inside the faceoff circle at 6:42, with Smith also assisting on the tally. Thompson scored a goal of his own at 10:23, backhanding in a shot off a pass from Sabo. Burnside picked up the second assist.
A Wisconsin shorthanded score at 12:29 broke up the shutout and was the final goal of the game.
The home team led in shots in the third, 14-6, with Buckeye goalie Kristoffer Eberly making 13 saves.
For the game, Wisconsin outshot the Buckeyes, 34-20. Eberly had 33 saves while playing all 60 minutes. Two Badger goalies combined for 13 saves.
Ohio State blocked 20 Badger shot attempts. Thompson was first with five, while Ingles had three and Straky had two.
The Buckeyes were 3-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Buckeye This and That

The Buckeyes have scored at least three goals in each of the last seven games and are now averaging 3.23 goals per game this season. The seven goals were a season high after two six-goal outings. The seven goals were the second-most for the Buckeyes in a Big Ten Tournament game, behind a 9-1 win over Wisconsin March 6, 2020.
Ohio State advanced to the semifinals for the fourth year in a row and will be making its 10th semifinal appearance.
Karabela leads the Buckeyes with 20 assists and 33 points and is tied for second with 13 goals. He has seven two-point games and nine multiple-point outings this season. He is on a five-game point streak (4g, 4a, 8p).
Burnside is second in scoring with 31 points, ranking second with 19 assists. It was his seventh career game with two assists and his 26th multiple point outing.
Thompson, who has a point in seven of the last eight games, now has five collegiate games with three or more points and 10 games with multiple assists. He has a 12-14-26 line on the year.
Caron and Eisele both have a point in each of the last three games. Eisele had his fourth two-point game of the year. Eisele is tied for fourth on the team with 12 goals, adding seven assists for 19 points. Caron is third in scoring with 13 goals and 15 assists.
The Buckeyes are 31-for-130 (.238) on the power play this year. The three power play goals were a season high.
Deckhut has a point in four of the last six games.
Smith marked his third career two-assist and two-point game.
Sabo leads the Buckeye defensemen in scoring with 20 points and had his fourth career multi-point game.