Buckeyes Rally but Fall in OT to Irish, 5-4

Thursday, March 5

Columbus, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Ohio State

12-19-2, 8-14-1

Notre Dame

8-22-5, 4-17-2

OT 1

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Buckeyes Rally but Fall in OT to Irish, 5-4

3/5/2026 10:29:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Teams will close regular season Friday

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men's hockey team rallied in the third period to force overtime, but fell to visiting Notre Dame, 5-4, Thursday in the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes (12-19-2, 8-14-1 B1G) and Irish (8-22-5, 4-17-2 B1G) close the regular season at 6:30 p.m. Friday on Senior Night for Ohio State. The Class of 2026 will be recognized pregame.

The Short Story
Ohio State led 2-0 at 12:15 of the first on goals from Felix Caron and Riley Thompson (on the power play). The Irish tallied three times in 1:46 to take a 3-2 lead at 17:49 and carried the advantage into intermission. Notre Dame scored the only goal of the second at 2:19 for a 4-2 lead. In the third, James Hong set up Ryan Gordon for a goal at 4:47 and then notched a tally of his own at 10:13 to tie the game. In overtime, Notre Dame notched the gamewinner at 3:23.

The Buckeyes outshot the Irish, 33-26. Ohio State was 1-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

The loss was the Buckeyes' seventh in overtime this season and was the team's 10th overtime game of the campaign, with a 1-7-2 ledger in the outings.

How it Happened

Just 3:23 into the game Buckeye Felix Caron scored on an odd-man rush, assisted by Jake Karabela.
Riley Thompson converted on the power play at 12:15 for a 2-0 Ohio State advantage. Broten Sabo started the play with a shot from the point, deflected first by Davis Burnside and then by Thompson.
The Irish scored three times in a 1:46 span (16:03, 17:20 and 17:49) for a 3-2 lead.
Ohio State led in shots, 10-6, after the first period.
The only goal of the second came from Notre Dame at 2:19 and the Irish were ahead 4-2 through 40 minutes. The teams combined for 22 shots in the second, with Ohio State leading 12-10.
In the third, James Hong found Ryan Gordon in front at 4:47 for a one-goal game, with William Smith also assisting.
At 10:13, Hong deadlocked the score at four. Adam Eisele took a leadout pass from Bryce Ingles and skated up ice, finding Hong at the far post for a goal.
Ohio State again had the edge in shots, 10-8, in the stanza.
In overtime, the Irish notched the gamewinner at 3:23, with Evan Werner scoring all alone in front.
Notre Dame put two shots on net in the overtime, Ohio State one.
For the game, the Buckeyes led in shots, 33-26. Kristoffer Eberly played 63:23 and had 21 saves for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State blocked eight Irish shot attempts, led by Sam McGinley with three.
The Buckeyes were 1-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, including a stop in the third when the game was tied.

Buckeye This and That

With the results around the Big Ten Thursday, Ohio State is locked into the No. 5 seed for the Big Ten Tournament and will travel for a quarterfinal game next Wednesday.
With a goal and an assist, Hong had his sixth career two-point game and his fourth of the season.
Thompson is on a six-game point streak, with two goals and five assists in the stretch. He has 23 points (10g, 12a) this year.
Burnside (12g, 17a) and Karabela (11g, 18a) share the team lead with 29 points this season. Karabela leads the squad with 18 assists.
Caron is tied for second on the squad with 12 goals and is tied for third with 26 points.
Gordon reached the 20-point mark for the year, with five goals and 15 assists.
Three of the Buckeyes' last four games have gone to overtime.
The Buckeyes are 27-for-118 (.229) on the power play this year.