Ohio State men’s hockey head coach Steve Rohlik signed a contract extension through the 2023-24 season.
The back-to-back Big Ten Hockey Coach of the Year led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship, three NCAA berths and a Frozen Four appearance through his first six seasons.
“We appreciate Coach Rohlik and the leadership he brings to the program on and off the ice,” Shaun Richard, senior associate athletics director for sport administration at Ohio State, said. “He has executed the plan he laid out to elevate this program and the success academically and athletically over the past six years has shown that.
“We are looking ahead to his continued leadership within the hockey program as we strive to continue moving this program forward on a national level.”
Rohlik, a two-time AHCA National Coach of the Year finalist (including a runner-up finish in 2018), holds a 113-84-28 record, with three consecutive 20-win seasons.
The Scarlet and Gray won the 2019 Big Ten regular season title under Rohlik’s guidance, marking the first Big Ten crown in program history and Ohio State’s first regular-season title since 1972.
Four Buckeyes have garnered All-America honors, 14 have compiled First/Second Team All-Big Ten honors and seven have earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team during Rohlik’s tenure in Columbus. Under his tutelage, two players have been Hobey Baker Award finalists and two goalies garnered Mike Richter Award semifinalist mention.
In addition to their success on the ice, Ohio State men’s hockey players have won the Derek Hines Unsung Hero award, been named a Hockey Humanitarian Award finalist and claimed Senior CLASS Award First Team All-America accolades.
Also accomplished in the classroom, Rohlik’s men have been outstanding academically, combining to notch a grade-point average above 3.0 throughout his tenure. Thirty-nine different players have combined for 79 Academic All-Big Ten accolades and 46 Buckeyes have accumulated 106 Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honors.
Ohio State entered the 2018-19 season as the nation’s No. 3 team and rose to No. 1 before even playing a game (first time at No. 1 since 1983). The Buckeyes responded to the lofty expectations, winning its first-ever Big Ten crown with a 13-7-4-3 record and a nine-point cushion in the final standings.
The Scarlet and Gray earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons, matching the program record set from 2003-05.
In 2018, Ohio State claimed a No. 1 seed for the first time and won the NCAA Midwest Regional, defeating defending national champion Denver in the regional final. The victory advanced the Buckeyes to the NCAA Frozen Four for the second time in program history, their first appearance in 20 years.
On the ice, Ohio State led the NCAA on the power play in 2016-17 and on the penalty kill in 2017-18 — both a testament to solid coaching.
Ranking in the Top 10 nationally in scoring offense and in the Top 12 on the power play three of the last four years, the Buckeyes have shown the ability to put the puck in the net under Rohlik. Defensively, Ohio State allowed just 2.07 goals a game in 2017-18, the best mark in program history.
The Buckeyes returned 20 players from the Big Ten championship squad for the 2019-20 campaign. Rohlik’s squad seeks an NCAA Tournament appearance for a program-record fourth year in a row.
