No. 3 Seed Buckeyes Host No. 6 Penn State in B1G Quarterfinal Series
3/2/2023 1:27:57 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
The Basics
- The No. 9-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team takes on No. 10 Penn State in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal series in Value City Arena in Columbus.
- Ohio State is the No. 3 seed, with Penn State No. 6. The squads will meet in a best-of-three series, with the winner advancing to the single-elimination semifinals.
- The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will meet at 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday, with game three, if necessary, at 5 p.m. Sunday.
- Big Ten Plus will stream the series, with the broadcast on Ohio State Radio.
- Ohio State is 18-13-3 on the year and was 11-11-2-0-0-1 in Big Ten play. Penn State enters the series 20-13-1 and had a 10-13-1-0-3-0 B1G ledger.
- Tickets can be purchased online HERE or at the box office on game night. Ohio State students receive free admission with BuckID. Parking is free around the arena.
Buckeye Notes to Know
- Ohio State and Penn State are meeting for the second straight year in a quarterfinal series in Columbus. The Nittany Lions won in three games last season and also have a semifinal win over the Buckeyes in Value City Arena in 2019.
- The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions split the regular season series, meeting in State College in December and Columbus in January.
- Ohio State dropped two games at No. 1 Minnesota last weekend. Penn State split a series at home vs. Wisconsin to wrap up the regular season.
- Ohio State is first nationally on the penalty kill (126/141, .894) and in shorthanded goals (10).
- The Buckeyes are 10-3-1 at home this year and were 7-3-1 in Columbus in B1G games.
In the B1G
- The Buckeyes placed third in the Big Ten final standings, the fifth time in the last seven years the squad has been among the Top 3 teams.
- Since the start of Big Ten play in 2013-14, Ohio State has a championship (2019), two second-place finishes and now two third-place finishes.
- In the 2022-23 preseason coaches poll, Ohio State was picked to finish fifth.
- Minnesota earned the No. 1 seed and first round bye in the tournament. The other quarterfinal matchups are No. 7 Wisconsin at No. 2 Michigan and No. 5 Michigan State at No. 4 Notre Dame. The final seeding of Nos. 2-6 came down to the last night.
- The Gophers will host one semifinal, with the highest remaining seed hosting the other. The final will be played at the highest remaining seed after the semifinals. The tournament winner earns the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Buckeyes in the B1G Tourney
- The Buckeyes are 11-9 all-time in Big Ten Tournament action, with a 6-3 home record.
- In the quarterfinals, Ohio State is 9-3, with four wins when the tournament was single elimination at neutral sites, sweeps of Michigan State (2018) and Wisconsin (2020) and a three-game loss to Penn State (2022) in a best-of-three series in Columbus.
- Ohio State has never won the Big Ten Tournament, reaching the title game twice (2014, 2018). The squad has advanced to the semifinals seven times (with the 2020 game canceled).
- The program has two conference postseason tournament titles, winning the CCHA in 1972 and 2004.
- This is the second time Ohio State is the tournament’s No. 3 seed. The squad was a 6-3 winner vs. Michigan State in the 2017 quarterfinals in Detroit.
- Of the current Buckeyes, Gustaf Westlund is first with seven Big Ten Tournament games played, followed by CJ Regula and Tate Singleton with six each. Singleton has a team-best three assists and four points in B1G Tournament action.
Buckeyes vs. Nittany Lions
- Ohio State leads the all-time series with Penn State, 23-17-4, including a 12-10-2 record in Columbus.
- The series between the teams is 2-2 this season. In University Park Dec. 2-3, the squads split their matchup. Penn State took game one, 2-1, before a 4-3 Ohio State victory. In Columbus Feb. 3-4, Penn State again won the opener, 4-3, before a 4-2 Buckeye win for a split.
- In the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State is 2-3 vs. Penn State. The first meeting was a 3-1 single elimination victory in the quarterfinals in Detroit March 19, 2015. In the semifinals in Columbus March 17, 2019, the Nittany Lions upset the top-seeded Buckeyes, 5-1, to advance to the final. Penn State won a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal series March 3-6, 2022, in Columbus. Ohio State won game one, 4-3, before Penn State prevailed in the next two, 3-2 and 2-1, to advance.
- Penn State is 10th nationally in scoring offense (3.41 goals per game) and is allowing 2.79 goals a night. The power play has converted 15.5 percent of its chances and the penalty kill has stopped 74.7 percent of its opponents’ opportunities. The Nittany Lions are fourth in the NCAA in faceoff winning percentage (.546) and lead the country in shots per game (41.0).
In the Rankings
- This week, the Buckeyes are ninth in the DCU/USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
- Ohio State started the year No. 16 in the DCU/USCHO.com preseason poll and was No. 18 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason rankings. The squad has been ranked in the Top 20 all season and in the Top 10 since Jan. 9.
- Ohio State is one of six Big Ten teams in the USCHO Top 20 this week, joining No. 1 Minnesota, No. 4 Michigan, No. 10 Penn State, No. 19 Notre Dame and No. 20 Michigan State.
Ones to Watch
- Freshman Stephen Halliday has been named to the Tim Taylor Award watch list for the nation’s freshman of the year honor.
- Jakub Dobeš, Mason Lohrei and Jake Wise are all among the candidates for the 2023 Hobey Baker Award. In the fan voting as of Tuesday, Wise was seventh among all players.
- Wise was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week after the series vs. Michigan, when he had three points, a shootout goal and 38 faceoff wins. VOTE BUCKEYE FOR HOBEY
A Richter Award Semifinalist Again
- For the second year in a row Jakub Dobeš has been named a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, the honor given annually to the top goalie in Division I men’s hockey.
- He is one of nine semifinalists (one of two sophomores) after 41 were on the original watch list.
- Dobeš started the first 34 games in net and has a 2.35 goals-against average and .916 save percentage, with 18 wins.
- Dobeš became the 24th Buckeye goalie to play in at least 50 games with his start in game one at LIU Nov. 26 and then made his 50th career start in game two at LIU (he is now at 68 starts and 69 appearances). He is in the Top 5 in program history in career save percentage (.926) and goals-against average (2.30) and is now tied for 10th in school history in career wins.
Special Teams
- The Buckeyes were 9-for-11 on the penalty kill against Minnesota last weekend, allowing two 5×3 goals Friday, and are now 126-for-140 (.894) this season, leading the NCAA.
- Ohio State is first nationally with 10 shorthanded goals, ahead of Northern Michigan with eight. Davis Burnside and Patrick Guzzo each have two shorthanded goals to lead the Buckeyes and tie for sixth in the NCAA. Ohio State also has man-down tallies from Cam Thiesing, Dominic Vidoli, Tate Singleton, Kamil Sadlocha, Joe Dunlap and Tyler Duke.
- The 10 shorthanded goals are the most for the Buckeyes since the 2006-07 squad had 11. The previous best since that year was five in 2012-13 and 2015-16.
- The squad has allowed four shorthanded goals – vs. Wisconsin Oct. 8, Bentley Oct. 20, LIU Nov. 26 and Penn State Dec. 3.
- Overall, Ohio State is 31-for-140 (.221) with the man advantage and has put 241 shots on goals while a man up. The squad was 2-for-7 vs. Minnesota, with two 5×3 goals Saturday.
- Jake Wise leads the Big Ten and is tied for seventh nationally with eight power play goals. Stephen Halliday is second on the team and tied for 12th in the NCAA with seven power play tallies and Travis Treloar has six. Cam Thiesing has three power play goals and Michael Gildon has two. Scooter Brickey, Tyler Duke, Mason Lohrei and Cole McWard have also scored on the power play.
- Halliday has a team-best 21 power play points, ranking second with 14 assists, and Mason Lohrei is first with 15 assists with the man advantage, ranking second in points with 17. Treloar (6g, 9a) and Wise (8g, 7a) each have 15 power play points.
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