While the victories helped, the first few weeks also settled the goaltending competition when freshman Jakub Dobeš established himself as the starter over Ryan Snowden.

After beginning their conference schedule, OSU swept Penn State and then earned splits with Michigan, Minnesota and Notre Dame, all ranked teams.

While their record wasn't particularly outstanding by the end of December, Ohio State had played well enough to rise up to 17th in the ranking, putting them in a prime position to make the NCAA Tournament.

All the Buckeyes needed to guarantee themselves a spot in the tournament was a win or two in the final few weeks of the season but, just as they were ready to make postseason plans, the wheels came off.

The four consecutive losses could not have come at a worse time, dropping Ohio State down the rankings, but the team's postseason hopes were still alive due to the strength of their conquerors.

Their opponent, Penn State, had had a dreadful conference season; despite being just one place behind the Buckeyes, PSU was 22 points lower in the standings.

While Ohio State was able to score in the first match, they faltered in games 2 and 3, allowing the Nittany Lions to win both and potting themselves on the postseason bubble.