Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey

   NCAA Tournament Frozen Four1998, 2018NCAA Tournament appearances1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023Conference Tournament championships1972, 2004Conference regular season championships1972, 2019Current uniform

The Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents Ohio State University. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. They play at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

History

The Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey program began in 1963, the team played at the new Ohio State Ice Rink, constructed in 1961. The Buckeyes were a founding member of the CCHA in 1971. The Buckeyes won the inaugural 1972 CCHA men's ice hockey tournament with a 3–0 win over Saint Louis University.^[2]

One of the team's most successful seasons came in 1997–1998, the year before the Buckeyes moved into new the 17,500-seat Value City Arena, which replaced the aging and undersized (1,400-seat) Ohio State Ice Rink. The team finished the 1997–1998 season with an overall record of 27–13–2. They secured an at-large bid to the 1998 tournament.^[3] That same season the Buckeyes advanced to the 1998 Frozen Four and lost in the semifinal game to Boston College 5–2.^[3] The 1998 tournament was the program's first of two all-time Frozen Four appearances, the other coming in 2018. In 1999 the team advanced to the 1999 NCAA tournament. Despite a first round elimination with a 4–2 loss to Maine,^[4] this marked the first time in school history the team made the NCAA tournament in consecutive seasons.^[5]

The time period during the early 2000s was the most successful period in the program's history. Ohio State made the NCAA Post season tournament in 2003, 2004, and 2005. The 2003–2004 season also saw the Buckeyes win the school's second CCHA post season tournament with a 4–2 win over Big Ten and CCHA rival Michigan.^[6] After three seasons, the Buckeyes returned to the NCAA tournament in 2009,^[7] when they received an at-large bid to the 2009 NCAA tournament after a 5th-place finish in the CCHA regular season and falling to Alaska in the CCHA Quarterfinals. In the 2009 NCAA tournament the team lost 8–3 to Boston University in the first round.^[8] The program was also invited to play in the Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic against Wisconsin on February 11, 2006, which was the second-ever outdoor ice hockey game played between college teams.^[9]

On March 21, 2011 the Big Ten Conference announced plans to sponsor men's ice hockey starting in 2013–14 season. Ohio State along with CCHA rivals, Michigan and Michigan State would leave the CCHA to join Minnesota and Wisconsin from the WCHA and Penn State, who would elevate their men's and women's American Collegiate Hockey Association club programs to varsity status, to form a six-team Big Ten Hockey Conference.^[10]

During the first half of the 2011–2012 season, the Buckeyes jumped out to a sizeable lead in the CCHA standings when the team recorded a 10–3–1 conference record.^[11] The second half of the season proved much harder for Ohio State when the team recorded an eleven-game winless streak through January and the first half of February. The team broke the streak with a 4–3 win over Western Michigan,^[12] the team's lone win in the second half of the season.^[13] The Buckeyes fell from a season high, second-place ranking in January 2012 to 21st place by the end of the regular season.^[14][15] In the first round of the 2012 CCHA tournament, Ohio State was swept by Notre Dame 2–0 and 4–2 in the best-of-three series.^[16]

Despite an up and down 2013–14 season, Ohio State had a good showing in the inaugural Big Ten Hockey tournament. After defeating Michigan State in overtime in the first round, the Buckeyes upset #1 Minnesota 3–1. They ultimately fell 5–4 in overtime in the championship game to the Wisconsin Badgers. Despite missing out on the NCAA tournament, Ohio State would finish the 2013–14 season ranked #20.

After back to back losing seasons in 2014–15 and 2015–16, Ohio State had their first 20 win season and NCAA tournament berth in 8 years. Led by forwards Nick Schilkey and Mason Jobst, the Buckeyes had the second ranked offense in college hockey and a historically great power play. Ohio State finished third in the Big Ten, their highest finish in the league's four-year history. Despite the successful season, Ohio State did not clinch a tournament berth until Penn State defeated Wisconsin in the 2017 Big Ten tournament, giving the Buckeyes the final at large berth and the 4 seed in the West Regional in Fargo, North Dakota. The Buckeyes faced off against the #2 overall seed, the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the 1st round. A third period comeback sent the game to overtime with the score tied at two. The Bulldogs ended the Buckeyes season on a goal from Willie Raskob at 11:58 of the first overtime.

Season-by-season results

Source:^[17]

Records vs. Big Ten teams

As of the 2021-22 season^[18]

School	Team	Away Arena	Overall record	Win %	Home	Away	Last Result
University of Michigan	Wolverines	Yost Ice Arena	44–85–14	.362	23–37–6	18–43–8	3-0 L
Michigan State University	Spartans	Munn Ice Arena	46–89–13	.350	24–36–6	17–47–7	5-1 W
University of Minnesota	Golden Gophers	3M Arena at Mariucci	7–30–4	.225	4–9–1	2–16–3	4-1 L
University of Notre Dame	Fighting Irish	Compton Family Ice Arena	37–36–10	.512	19–16–6	15–18–4	3-2 L
Pennsylvania State University	Nittany Lions	Pegula Ice Arena	16–10–2	.593	8–5–1	7–4–1	4-1 W
University of Wisconsin–Madison	Badgers	Kohl Center	17–18–3	.473	8–6–1	8–6–2	4-3 W

Coaches

The Buckeyes are currently coached by Steve Rohlik. He was announced the new head coach on April 24, 2013 shortly after the departure of Mark Osiecki.^[19]

All-time coaching records

As of completion of 2023–24 season^[5]

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
2013–present	Steve Rohlik	11	197–163–43	.542
2010–2013	Mark Osiecki	3	46–50–16	.482
1995–2010	John Markell	15†	280–267–56	.511
1975–1995	Jerry Welsh	20†	328–381–56	.465
1972–1975	Gerald Walford	3	41–46–4	.473
1970–1972	Dave Chambers	2	44–14–0	.759
1966–1970	Harry Neale	4	49–48–3	.505
1965–1966	Glen Sonmor	1	9–7–0	.563
1963–1965	Tom Bedecki	2	6–14–0	.300
Totals	9 coaches	61 seasons	1,000–990–178	.502

† John Markell coached the final 9 games of the 1994–95 season after Jerry Welsh resigned.

Statistical leaders

^[18]

Career points leaders

Player	Years	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Paul Pooley	1980–1984	149	114	156	270	165
Ray Meyers	1970–1974	118	107	126	233	160
Dave Kobryn	1980–1984	154	72	151	223	194
Andy Browne	1980–1984	139	104	108	212	134
Paul Tilley	1976–1980	150	81	131	212	177
Larry Marson	1978–1982	143	82	128	210	49
Bruce Allworth	1973–1976	94	71	114	185	222
Rick Brebant	1984–1987	111	75	108	183	178
Tom Scanlon	1976–1980	145	76	101	177	215
Peter Bartkiewicz	1969–1973	115	86	88	174	68
Perry Pooley	1981–1984	152	85	89	174	151

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

minimum 30 games played

Player	Years	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Dave Caruso	2002–2006	96	5640	52	32	9	195	9	.919	2.07
Brady Hjelle	2011–2013	42	2361	16	18	6	82	5	.933	2.08
Sean Romeo	2017–2019	54	3189	30	17	7	118	5	.919	2.22
Jakub Dobeš	2021–2023	75	4405	42	28	5	168	6	.926	2.29
Tommy Nappier	2017–2021	82	4678	40	30	8	180	8	.925	2.31

Statistics current through the end of the 2023–24 season.

Players

Current roster

As of July 6, 2023.^[20]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Logan Terness	Junior	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-09-01	North Vancouver, British Columbia	UConn (HEA)	—
2		Nathan McBrayer	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	2004-05-11	Dublin, Ohio	Muskegon (USHL)	—
4		John Larkin	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-01-26	Northville, Michigan	Austin (NAHL)	—
6		Mason Klee	Graduate	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1999-10-04	Castle Rock, Colorado	RPI (ECAC)	—
7		Brent Johnson	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-03-20	Dallas, Texas	North Dakota (NCHC)	WSH, 80th overall 2021
8		Scooter Brickey	Graduate	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1999-05-27	Burtchville, Michigan	Western Michigan (NCHC)	—
9		Riley Hughes	Graduate	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2000-06-27	Westwood, Massachusetts	Northeastern (ECAC)	NYR, 216th overall 2018
10		Thomas Weis	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2002-02-08	Madison, Wisconsin	Madison (USHL)	—
12		Caden Brown	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-06-22	St. Louis, Missouri	Waterloo (USHL)	—
14		Dalton Messina	Graduate	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1998-03-29	Macomb, Michigan	Youngstown (USHL)	—
15		Cam Thiesing	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	2001-03-26	Nashville, Tennessee	Green Bay (USHL)	—
16		Max Montes	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2003-09-01	Hartland, Wisconsin	Dubuque (USHL)	—
18		Michael Gildon	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	2001-06-21	Plano, Texas	NTDP (USHL)	—
19		Stephen Halliday	Sophomore	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2002-07-02	Glenwood, Maryland	Dubuque (USHL)	OTT, 104th overall 2022
20		Matt Cassidy	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1999-07-31	Medford, New Jersey	Youngstown (USHL)	—
21		Joe Dunlap	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-11-30	Windham, New Hampshire	Fargo (USHL)	—
23		Davis Burnside	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	2003-09-22	Scottsdale, Arizona	Dubuque (USHL)	—
25		Sam Deckhut	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	2002-04-02	San Diego, California	Sioux City (USHL)	—
28		William Smith	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	2003-03-29	Toronto, Ontario	Omaha (USHL)	—
29		Ryan Gordon	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-05-05	Duluth, Georgia	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
34		Reilly Herbst	Junior	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-02-17	Niwot, Colorado	Omaha (USHL)	—
44		Theo Wallberg	Freshman	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	2003-12-04	Stockholm, Sweden	Dubuque (USHL)	OTT, 168th overall 2022
60		Kristoffer Eberly	Graduate	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	2002-12-10	Pinckney, Michigan	Green Bay (USHL)	—
71		Patrick Guzzo	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	2001-11-27	Marysville, Michigan	Waterloo (USHL)	—
91		Jake Dunlap	Sophomore	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-12-05	Windham, New Hampshire	New Hampshire (HEA)	—
93		Damien Carfagna	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-12-12	Wood-Ridge, New Jersey	New Hampshire (HEA)	—

Awards and honors

NCAA

Individual awards

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

CCHA

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-CCHA

Second Team All-CCHA

CCHA All-Rookie Team

Big Ten

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Big Ten

Second Team All-Big Ten

Big Ten All-Rookie Team

Ohio State Buckeyes Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the Ohio State men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Ohio State Buckeyes Hall of Fame.^[21]

Olympians

This is a list of Ohio State alumni who have played on an Olympic team.^[18]

Name	Position	Ohio State Tenure	Team	Year	Finish
Andrè Signoretti	Defenseman	1997–2001	ITA	2006	11th
Ryan Kesler	Center	2002–2003	USA	2010	Silver
Matt Tomkins	Goaltender	2013–2017	CAN	2022	6th

Buckeyes in the NHL

As of July 1, 2023.

= NHL All-Star team

= NHL All-Star[22]

= NHL All-Star[22] and NHL All-Star team

= Hall of Famers

• 
  Matt Bartkowski
• 
  Ryan Dzingel
• 
  Tanner Fritz
• 
  Nate Guenin
• 
  Ryan Kesler
• 
  Jamie Macoun
• 
  Max McCormick
• 
  Rod Pelley
• 
  Dave Steckel
• 
  Tyson Strachan

WHA

One Buckeye played in the WHA.