The NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament gets under way this weekend, which will bring Ohio State fifth-year senior Zach Pelletier closer to home.

Pelletier, a China native who played three seasons at Waterville Senior High School, and the Buckeyes will be in Manchester, N.H. for the Northeast Regional. No. 4 Ohio State (23-14-4) will meet No. 1 Boston University (31-6-4) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the Verizon Wireless Center.

"I'm happy to be going East," said Pelletier, a fourth-line forward. "We haven't been out East in awhile and we deserve it."

Pelletier added that more than two dozen family and friends will make the trip to Manchester.

The Buckeyes are joined in Manchester by host University of New Hampshire and North Dakota.

"We need to be physical," Pelletier said. "That's what I like to do. Whenever the coaches say we're going to play physical, my eyes light up and I'm ready to go."

For more on Pelletier and the Buckeyes, check out the Saturday edition of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.