Buckeyes Down No. 3 Michigan State in Overtime, Advance to B1G Tourney Final

Saturday, March 14

East Lansing, Mich.

7:30 p.m.

Ohio State

14-20-2

Michigan State (Semifinals)

25-8-2

OT 1

Ohio St.

Michigan St.

Buckeyes Down No. 3 Michigan State in Overtime, Advance to B1G Tourney Final

3/14/2026 11:30:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

Ohio State will take on No. 1 Michigan next Saturday in the championship game

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Felix Caron's overtime goal lifted the Ohio State men's hockey team to a 3-2 win at No. 3 ranked Michigan State Saturday in East Lansing, Mich., sending the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Tournament final. The No. 5 seed Buckeyes will take on No. 2 seed and No. 1 ranked Michigan in the championship game next Saturday at 8 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich. Ohio State will be making its fourth appearance, and second in a row, in the B1G tourney final.

The Buckeyes (14-20-2) and No. 1 seed Spartans (25-8-2) were meeting in the Big Ten Tournament for the third year in a row, all in East Lansing. Michigan State won in the semifinals in 2024 and prevailed in double overtime in the final last year before the Buckeye victory Saturday.

The Short Story
Michigan State scored less than two minutes into the game but Buckeye Riley Thompson deadlocked the score at 9:03. In the second, an early power play goal from Jake Karabela put the Buckeyes ahead, answered by the Spartans at 17:29 with a power play goal of their own.

Neither team scored in the third, with Buckeye goalie Kristoffer Eberly stopping all 13 shots he faced. Karabela set up Felix Caron for the overtime winner at 2:36, sending the Buckeyes to the final.

Eberly ended the game with 36 saves, as the Buckeyes were outshot 38-31. Karabela had a team-high two assists and three points in the win. The game was the 12th overtime contest for the Buckeyes this season and the fourth in the last five games.

How it Happened

Michigan State's Shane Vansaghi opened the scoring just 1:56 into the game.
The Buckeyes tied the contest at 9:03. Jake Karabela forced a turnover in the Spartan zone and found Riley Thompson in the high slot for a score.
Michigan State had seven of the first eight shots on goal and led 12-8 in shots after the first.
The teams started the second period skating 4x4 and a tripping penalty by Michigan State off the first faceoff put the Buckeyes on the power play. Karabela put a shot through a screen for a 2-1 Ohio State lead at 1:33, assisted by Broten Sabo and Davis Burnside.
A power play goal by the Spartans' Porter Martone at 17:29 tied the game at two.
Ohio State had the edge in shots in the second, 12-10.
Neither team scored in the third, with Michigan State outshooting the Buckeyes 13-8.
Felix Caron tallied the gamewinner 2:36 into overtime, one-timing a drop pass from Karabela. William Smith started the play in the neutral zone and had the second assist on the goal.
Each team had three shots on goal in overtime.
Buckeye goalie Kristoffer Eberly played all 62:36 and had 36 saves, as the Buckeyes were outshot, 38-31. Trey Augustine made 28 saves for the Spartans.
Ohio State blocked 14 Spartan shot attempts. Sam McGinley was first with three and Ethan Straky and Sabo each had two.
On the power play, the Buckeyes were 1-for-3 and the Spartans were 1-for-2.

Buckeye This and That

Karabela leads the Buckeyes with 22 assists and 36 points and is tied for second with 14 goals. He has 10 multiple-point outings this season and it was his three career three-point performance. He is on a six-game point streak (5g, 6a, 11p), with two or more points in each of the last three outings and a goal in each of the last three.
Ohio State will be making its fourth appearance in the B1G Tournament championship game and is looking for its first title. It will be the first time facing Michigan in the final.
Caron is tied for second on the team with 14 goals and ranks third with 29 points. He is on a four-game point streak (3g, 1a).
Thompson has a point in eight of the last nine games and now has 27 points on the year, with 13 goals and 14 assists.
Burnside is second in scoring with 32 points, ranking second with 20 assists.
Sabo leads the Buckeye defensemen in scoring with 21 points, including 19 assists.
Smith has a career-high 11 points this year, with three goals and seven assists.
The Buckeyes have scored at least three goals in each of the last eight games and are averaging 3.22 goals per game this season.
The Buckeyes are 32-for-133 (.241) on the power play this year.
Ohio State is now 2-8-2 in overtime this season. The program is 8-4 in overtime in the Big Ten Tournament, with a 4-1 mark vs. the Spartans in OT.