Ohio State 1 of 4 Big Ten teams in NCAA hockey tourney

3/19/2018
BLADE STAFF

COLUMBUS — The Ohio State men’s hockey team earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time Sunday, making the field of 16 for the eighth time in school history.

The Buckeyes (24-9-5), who are the tournament’s No. 4 overall seed, will play Princeton in a Midwest Region semifinal at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Northview graduate Gordi Myer and his Ohio State teammates will open NCAA Tournament play against Princeton.
Northview graduate Gordi Myer and his Ohio State teammates will open NCAA Tournament play against Princeton.

“It means the world to this program,” coach Steve Rohlik said. “This is about the guys in the room and the guys, the coaches who came before us. We are excited to be here and we are excited about what lies before us.”

This marks Ohio State’s second straight and eighth overall appearance in the NCAA tournament. The school reached the Frozen Four in 1998 in its first tournament appearance, and also earned a spot in 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, and 2017.

The regional final is at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, with the winner of the Ohio State-Princeton game playing the winner of second-seeded Denver and third-seeded and regional host Penn State. That will be the second semifinal, set for 7 p.m. Saturday. The regional final also will be on ESPNU.

The national semifinals will take place April 5 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The national championship game is April 7.

The Buckeyes are one of four Big Ten teams in the tournament. Notre Dame, the No. 2 overall seed, is the No. 1 seed in the East Region and will face Michigan Tech at 3 p.m. Friday in Bridgeport, Conn. That game will be televised on ESPN2.

Michigan is the No. 2 seed in the Northeast Regional and will play Northeastern in the opening round at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Worcester, Mass.

Ohio State fell in the Big Ten title game to the Fighting Irish 3-2 in overtime Saturday in South Bend, Ind. The Buckeyes fell behind 2-0 just 14 minutes, 30 seconds into the game. However, Ohio State got a second-period goal from Brendon Kearney and a third-period goal from Matt Miller to tie it up before Notre Dame won it in the extra period.

Northview graduate Gordi Myer had an assist on the Kearney goal, his 11th of the season.

Michigan Tech (22-16-5) got its bid to the tournament on the strength of its 2-0 victory Saturday in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association championship game at Northern Michigan. It’s the second consecutive berth for the Huskies, who beat Bowling Green in last season’s WCHA final.

Receiving an at-large bid into the tourney is WCHA squad Minnesota State (29-9-1), which leads the country in wins. The Mavericks will face Minnesota Duluth in a West Region semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

On the outside looking in is Bowling Green (23-12-6), which fell in the WCHA semifinal round to Northern Michigan. The Falcons finished 17th in PairWise rankings.