Michigan Hockey Preview: Ohio State comes to town for a weekend series

The No. 2 Michigan Hockey team will look to utilize a strong special teams advantage to hold off the unranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Ann Arbor this...

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The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (11-3-0) return to Yost tonight for a two-game stand against Ohio State (5-5). After a brutal month where the Wolverines played three Top-10 opponents in four weeks, Michigan’s schedule relents slightly for the next two weeks with a pair of unranked opponents, beginning with the Buckeyes.

Head coach Brandon Naurato’s team returns home after a split at No. 5 Penn State. Currently, the Wolverines are second in the Big Ten standings — only trailing the top-ranked Spartans

— and should view this weekend as a chance to narrow the gap.

Michigan’s offense remains the best in college hockey, averaging five goals per game, and has looked like an unstoppable force at its best moments and an inevitability at its worst. Led by a potent triumvirate featuring the nation’s top goal-scorer in Will Horcoff (13G, 5A), Michael Hage (8G, 11A), and T.J. Hughes (6G, 13A), the Wolverines have found success both by stacking their top line and spreading the wealth.

Transfer Jayden Perron (5G, 8A) and freshman Adam Valentini (4G, 9A) have been playing just off a point-per-game pace, and the latter is the second-leading scorer among 2026 draft-eligible players (only trailing consensus top overall pick Gavin McKenna from Penn State).

Defensively, the Wolverines remain improved from last season, but the loss of Henry Mews for the year has certainly been felt. Michigan’s scoring defense has fallen to No. 12 in the country and second in the Big Ten, but bounced back against Penn State by allowing five goals in two games compared to the 10 allowed to Wisconsin the weekend before. Progress is expected to continue with four of the seven blue-liners being newcomers, three of whom are true freshmen.

Between the pipes, Jack Ivankovic (.914) remains a dog. Despite the dip in his save percentage from the beginning of the year, his advanced numbers ranked him as one of the best two goalies in college hockey. As the defense gets more connected in front of him, his more traditional numbers will inevitably rise.

Getting to Know Ohio State

A .500 record would lead you to believe this Ohio State team puts the “mid” in Midwest. However, no Big Ten team can be taken lightly this season, especially one this young and whose losses have all been by one goal. The Buckeyes have been a little snake-bitten this season, and nothing would spark an early-season rally like a win or two in Ann Arbor.

Ohio State is led up front by the reigning Big Ten Second Star of the Week, Adam Eisele (5G, 3A), who is fresh off a four-point weekend against Wisconsin, along with Felix Caron (4G, 5A), and Jake Karabela (1G, 8A). With Eisele’s emergence last weekend, all three newcomers are now clicking at the same time and will look to elevate the conference’s fifth-best offense by attacking the Wolverines on the rush.

Ohio State is ranked third in the conference on the blue line — only behind the top two teams in the country — and has found success with reliable depth. Broten Sabo (1G, 4A) leads the defensemen in scoring, while Nathan McBrayer (1G, 2A) leads with a +7 rating.

A familiar face is back in net with Kristoffer Eberly now in Year 3. The 6-foot-4 Michigan native has continued his solid career by posting a .917 save percentage and 2.23 goals against average this year in nine starts (5-4). Last season, Eberly went 1-1 against the Wolverines, but allowed three or more goals in each start.

Key to the Game

Dominate special teams. Michigan is undefeated this season when scoring at least three goals. With that being the standard Eberly line from last season, the Wolverines need to use special teams to ensure they reach this threshold. Ohio State’s penalty-kill unit is the worst Michigan has faced since Robert Morris five series ago, and although the Buckeyes are better than 80 percent (.833), this is an area the Wolverines and their third-ranked power-play should look to exploit.

On the other side of that coin, Michigan should not allow any cheap goals when at a disadvantage. Michigan’s penalty-kill played vastly better last weekend compared to Wisconsin two weeks ago, and that should continue against Ohio State’s lackluster power play (.194). If Michigan controls the advantages and disadvantages all weekend, the Wolverines will have a good chance to sweep the team from Columbus.