Ohio State will not have to travel far in the quest for its first national championship, which begins Thursday in Toledo.
The Buckeyes (24-13-2) are the No. 3 seed in the Toledo Regional and will play No. 2 Boston University (21-13-2) of Hockey East on Thursday (2 p.m., ESPNU) in the Huntington Center.
No. 1 seed Michigan State (26-6-4) faces No. 4 Cornell (18-10-6) of ECAC Hockey on Thursday, (5:30 p.m., ESPN+) in the other semifinal.
The regional winner advances to the Frozen Four in St. Louis on April 10 and 12.
“I think it’s great to be in Ohio,” forward Davis Burnside said. “Hopefully, Ohio State fans show out, and I think they will, but Michigan State as well. They’ll have a lot of fans. I think just the atmosphere and the camaraderie will be great.”
OSU is coming off a gut-wrenching 4-3 double overtime loss at Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday. The Spartans were ranked No.1 in the latest USCHO poll.
The Buckeyes knew before the game that they had secured a spot in the 16-team NCAA field but the announcement was made Sunday afternoon.
“It’s just exciting to get going here,” Burnside said. “Obviously, we kind of had a good idea of who we were playing and where, but to make it official is pretty exciting and after last night, I know we’re hungry to get back after it.
“Obviously, we took it to heart last night. It’s not the result we wanted, but there’s a lot of exciting hockey to be played, and I think that’s kind of our mindset and we’re looking forward to proving ourselves once again here in this upcoming week.”
Ohio State is in the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons and are making their 11th appearance.
There could be a rematch with the Spartans just as there was in 1998 when Michigan State defeated the Buckeyes 3-2 in double overtime in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association title game at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
A week later, OSU downed the Spartans 4-3 in overtime in the West Regional final to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time. The Buckeyes also played in the 2018 Frozen Four.
No Rest For Weary
The Buckeyes must overcome emotional and physical fatigue from not only the game Saturday but whole Big Ten tournament in which they twice faced elimination games in the quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin and, obviously, won both – one in overtime – then needed overtime again to defeat Penn State in the semifinals.
Now, they play the opening game of the NCAAs instead of possibly starting Friday. Boston U. last played on Thursday, losing 5-2 to Connecticut in the Hockey East semifinals. BU is led by forward Cole Eiserman, the No. 20 overall pick by the New York Islanders in the 2024 NHL draft.
“We’re going to have these guys go through rehab and recovery, and we’ll be prepared,” OSU coach Steve Rohlk said. “Our guys have worked extremely hard to be in this position, so we’ll be ready.
“I’m just proud of my guys. We had an opportunity there, double overtime, against the No. 1 team in the country and they got one more bounce than we did last night. It’s another tournament now and we’ve got a chance. We’re one of 16 and that’s what you play all year for is this opportunity.”
He said going through the Big Ten tournament has the Buckeyes prepared.
“Just the belief that our room has,” he said. “They’re relentless. They never give up. It’s the attitude you’ve got to have in tournament time, and it’s attitude we’re going to have on Thursday against a really good BU team.”
Burnside understands what lies ahead.
“We’re probably in the hardest brackets. That’s good,” he said. “We’re excited for the challenge. To be the best, you have to beat the best. So, I think we’re just looking to get back to our simple game and be relentless.”
Defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata has the unique experience of facing BU in the NCAA tournament for a second straight season. He played for Rochester Institute of Technology in a 6-3 regional semifinal loss in 2024.
“They’re a different team. I’m on a different team now, so circumstances are a lot different,” he said. “But I remember they’re a high offensive team, skilled and can beat you in a lot of different ways.”
