by Scott Weighart, GoTerriers.com

BOSTON – After a disappointing showing against UConn in the Hockey East semifinals, the Boston University men's ice hockey team is on the road to redemption in the NCAA Tournament.

On Sunday, the Terriers learned that the road in question will take them just off I-75 to Toledo, Ohio.

As the No. 2 seed in then four-team regional (and seventh seed overall in the 16-team tournament), the Terriers will face Toledo's No. 3 seed (10th seed overall), Ohio State, on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.

The Buckeyes have not faced a Hockey East opponent all season, but they do feature a familiar face. Graduate student Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, a four-year standout at Northeastern, is now the leading scorer on his new team with 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in 39 games played this season.

That said, the immediate focus for the Terriers is their own focus and intensity. The team has had some stirring wins this season, highlighted by a thrilling 4-1 win over archrival and then-No. 1 Boston College, in the Beanpot title game. Yet on other nights, such as last Thursday, they looked like a totally different team, making too many mistakes and lacking spark.

To what degree has coach Jay Pandolfo focused on drilling down on what went wrong last Thursday versus turning the page in the postseason?

"A little of both," Pandolfo said immediately after Sunday's selection show. "You don't want to dwell on it, but there are some things we can learn from that game. The margin for error is slim this time of year, and you have to do things a certain way. Every time you're on the ice, there's going to be mistakes that are made at times over the course of the game because that's how the game of hockey is played. You just have to limit the mistakes. That was a big part of it the other night."

Sophomore co-captain Shane Lachance acknowledged that there are no more chances to bounce back if there is another poor showing.

"It's definitely important to turn the page. I don't think anybody had their best game, and it's unfortunate for us to put that performance on a big stage. We have to know that we're out of lessons learned. We have a one-game series the rest of the way; it's win or go home from here on out."

Freshman winger Cole Eiserman is looking forward to his first NCAA tournament but is no stranger to big-stage games representing the United States in various world championships.

"We didn't have it for whatever reason in the semifinal game, but I think in games where our back has been against the wall, we've been really good this year, winning a lot of big games. We know how to win championship games and games that get hard."

Beyond Fontaine and former UConn netminder Logan Terness, this Ohio State squad is largely unknown to BU. They do have a few common opponents: Ohio State swept Notre Dame in a pair of tight games, while BU beat the Fighting Irish 4-3 to win the Belpot in November. The Terriers got swept in a weekend road series at Michigan in November, while Ohio State split their four games against the Wolverines—all one-goal games.

The two programs have not faced off since the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2009, when the Terriers pounded the Buckeyes by an 8-3 score en route to the Frozen Four and the program's most recent national championship.

However, that BU team was a top seed, while Ohio State was a fourth seed. The teams are more evenly matched this year. Looking over the stats, Ohio State seems to be a less explosive team than BU, scoring fewer goals per game and lacking the type of power-play effectiveness that the Terriers have enjoyed. On the other hand, Ohio State also has given up significantly fewer goals per game than BU.

 "Every team in this tournament is a good team," Lachance said. "We'll watch video on them and make sure we know what they do out there. At the end of the day, we're focused on our own game."

One striking contrast is in penalty minutes. BU leads the nation in the dubious category of penalty minutes per game, averaging 13.4. Ohio State has been one of the best teams in that area, ranking 56th out of 64 D-1 teams with just 7.69 PIM per game.

Pandolfo was quick to point out that the Terriers have improved significantly in this area over the last month or two, so it seems likely that even-strength play will be especially huge in this matchup if BU can maintain its discipline. Since the start of the new year, BU has averaged just 9.63 penalty minutes per game.

"We need to make sure we're ready for a 5-on-5 game because they don't take a lot of penalties, and recently we haven't taken as many," Pandolfo said. "We need to make sure we're really good 5-on-5 and that when do get the opportunity on special teams, we do the job there as well."

BU does have an edge in postseason experience on the national stage, as the majority of the roster has made it to the last two Frozen Fours. Ohio State last made the NCAA tournament in 2023, when they were also a No. 3 seed in their regional. They crushed Harvard 8-1 before losing to eventual national champion Quinnipiac in the second round.

"We have some guys who have played in the NCAA tournament a number of times," Pandolfo said. "That experience can certainly help, so I'm hoping that carries over. Our group certainly wasn't happy with the way we played versus UConn, and hopefully we respond to that."

Pandolfo knows the big question going into Thursday. "Are we going to find a way to play the way we're capable of playing to have success?" he asked. "Knowing this group and the way they respond, I think they'll be ready to go."

If they can dodge this particular pothole on the road to redemption, the Terriers will earn a chance to play for a three-peat in reaching the Frozen Four.