The Buckeyes, who had a chance to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, fell one goal short.
The Wisconsin Badgers defeated Ohio State 3-2 on Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., to tie the quarterfinal series at 1-1.
The seventh-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (13-19-4, 4-18-2 Big Ten) will face the second-seeded Wisconsin Badgers (23-9-3, 16-0) in a quarter-final hockey series. They were defeated in the second game of the final series. -6-2 Big Ten).
The Badgers won in front of 10,837 home fans, a Big Ten tournament attendance record.
Wisconsin got two power plays to start the game and took the lead on the second. Sophomore forward Christian Fitzgerald's goal came 13 minutes into the first period as the Badgers spent most of the period in the offensive zone.
After a tripping penalty by senior forward Carson Bantle, the Buckeyes took advantage of the man advantage. With just 59 seconds left, freshman forward Thomas Weiss deflected a shot for the tying goal.
Assisting on the goal were junior defenseman Brent Johnson and freshman forward Max Montez, who both scored their third points of the series.
The Badgers scored in the opening four minutes to take the lead with their second goal. After holding the ball for a long time on the Ohio State side, senior forward David Cilliers took a shot from inside the frame, beating freshman goaltender Christopher Eberle. Sophomore forward Cruz Lucius had his second assist of the night on Cilliers' goal.
It didn't take long for Wisconsin to double its lead with a goal by senior defenseman Anthony Koehler three minutes after the second goal. Just 35 seconds after the Badgers scored, it looked like Ohio State had a goal back.
However, after Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings objected, the play was ruled goaltender interference and the goal was not made. This made the game 3-1 in favor of the Badgers.
The Buckeyes found a glimmer of hope when senior goaltender Kyle McClellan went five-hole and senior forward Patrick Guzzo put a shot into the net to cut the Badgers' lead to one point.
After the goal, Ohio State couldn't find any more offense, even after head coach Steve Roerich pulled Eberle as an extra skater with 2:45 left in the period. With the goal empty, Lucius added a goal that night with two assists, sealing the Badgers' victory.
The winner-take-all quarterfinal series will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus on Sunday at 6 p.m. If Ohio State wins, they will play Michigan State in the semifinals, and if Wisconsin wins, they will play Minnesota.