March 20, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State men's hockey team has earned a No. 3 seed and will travel to Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., for the West Regional of the 2005 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee announced Sunday. Ohio State will face No. 2 seed Cornell at 6 p.m. EST Saturday, preceded by a game between No. 1 Minnesota and No. 4 Maine at 2:30 p.m. EST. The regional semifinal winners will face off at 3:30 p.m. EST Sunday for a spot in the 2005 NCAA Frozen Four in Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, April 7 and 9.

This is the third consecutive year the Buckeyes (27-10-4, 21-5-2/2nd CCHA) will compete in the NCAA tournament, marking a first for the program. It is the fifth time overall and in the last eight years the Buckeyes have earned a berth in the national tournament. Ohio State is 2-4 all-time in NCAA tournament play, with appearances in 1998, '99, 2003 and '04. The 1998 squad advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four.

The Buckeyes hold a one-game lead in the all-time series with Cornell, 6-5. The teams met twice in the 2003-04 season, with OSU winning in Ithaca, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2003, 4-3, and the Big Red downing the Buckeyes in overtime in the Everblades College Classic championship game, 4-3, Dec. 28, 2003, in Estero, Fla. Prior to this season, the teams met the last six years, with OSU leading, 5-3.

Reserved general public tickets to the NCAA West Regional are sold out. Standing-room only tickets for the event will go on sale to the general public at noon Wednesday. Any reserved tickets remaining from the competing institutions' allotment also will go on sale on Wednesday. Fans my purchase tickets by calling 612-624-8080 or 1-800-UGOPHER, or by logging on to www.gophersports.com.

Three-game all session ticket packages for reserved seats are $70, while all session standing room tickets are $60. Single session reserved seats are $45 and single session standing room tickets are $35.

Ohio State and Michigan are the two Central Collegiate Hockey Association teams to earn a bid into the national tourney this year. The Wolverines beat the Buckeyes in the CCHA Super Six Championship game Saturday (4-2) to earn the league's automatic bid. Michigan is the No. 2 seed in the Grand Rapids Regional.