MEN'S HOCKEY: OHIO STATE'S HEIN AND MEYER LOOK BACK ON BITTER END TO BUCKEYE CAREERS
It wasn’t the end they wanted, but senior forwards Ronnie Hein and Carson Meyer still capped their Ohio State careers on a high note.
The Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin in back-to-back games in Columbus, Ohio, to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, where they were destined for a matchup with rival Michigan.
But just three days before the March 15 matchup with the Wolverines, the remainder of the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
“It was a bummer, but at the end of the day, this is a lot bigger than just hockey right now,” Hein said.
The rivalry game was slated to take place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, where the teams played in the conference semifinals just two years prior.
Hein missed that game with an injury and lost out on the chance to gain back the opportunity this year. He said it was disappointing to not experience that moment with his fellow Buckeyes.
“Two years before, when we played Michigan, I was out with my hip surgery, so I did not get to play in that at all towards the end of the year,” Hein said.
The Big Ten Conference announced March 12 that it was canceling all conference and nonconference competitions through the end of the academic year.
Hein, the team’s head captain, said the campaign’s abrupt end didn’t leave room for a proper goodbye to his teammates.
“We were all getting ready to go play at Nationwide and the next day we had guys packing up their stuff and going home,” Hein said. “That day in the locker room, when coach told us that everything was kind of done, that was the last time the entire group will be together at one time.”
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https://www.thelantern.com/2020/04/...r-look-back-on-bitter-end-to-buckeye-careers/