Ohio State Men's Hockey Hosts Penn State in Big Ten Quarterfinals
The No. 9 Ohio State men's hockey team drops the puck on the postseason against No. 10 Penn State at Value City Arena with a best-of-three series this Friday, Saturday and (if needed) Sunday.
The third-seed Buckeyes and the six-seed Nittany Lions will take part in the 2023 Big Ten Quarterfinals. The games this weekend mark the second straight year in which Ohio State and Penn State will play each other in the tournament's opening round.
As mentioned earlier, the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions squared off in Columbus in last year's Big Ten Quarterfinal. Ohio State won the first game of the series 4-3, but Penn State took the next two 3-2 and 2-1 respectively to punch their ticket to the next round.
The Buckeyes enter this series having lost two games on the road against the No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers last Friday and Saturday, 4-0 and 5-2 respectively. Those negatives weren't without positives however, as sophomore defensemen Cole McWard scored a power play goal, and Mason Lohrei was the third star in Saturday's contest.
Ohio State is one of the best teams in the country on special teams. The Buckeyes have the best penalty killers in the country (.894), along with the most shorthanded goals in the nation (10) and the Big Ten's second-best power play unit (.221).
Each game this weekend will stream on Big Ten Plus (B1G+), which can be accessed for free by opening the B1G+ website while connected to campus Wi-Fi, or by purchasing a subscription.
The Ohio State Sports Network on 1460 AM will also have coverage of the series.
If the Buckeyes prevail, they will advance and play a Big Ten Semifinal game against the winner of the Notre Dame-Michigan State series on March 11, once again on their home ice.
The stage is set for Ohio State. Only time will tell if this weekend is the end of the Buckeyes' first act, or their curtain call.
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