When the men’s hockey teams of Ohio State and Penn State last tangled, the Buckeyes rolled to a comfortable win. The Nittany Lions flipped the script in Friday’s contest. OSU failed to capitalize on quality opportunities early in the game and PSU ground out a healthy victory.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| No. 15 Penn State | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
The teams skated a spirited opening 20 minutes. The Buckeyes put 12 pucks on PSU goalie Eamon MacAdam. At least five of those were clean shots off the sticks of OSU’s top scorers. (Anthony Greco alone had three fairly uncontested chances.) However these opportunities either sailed wide or were scooped up by McAdam.
Despite having fewer quality chances, the Nittany Lions struck first. Penn State players won a puck battle along the end wall and sent a pass to David Glen who was waiting in the slot. Dave Gust drifted off his coverage of Glen and the PSU senior took advantage of the open ice to rip his sixth goal of the season.
Most of the Nittany Lions’ quality chances came on similar plays, a puck battle won in deep and a swift pass out front. Aside from Glen’s opening tally, Christian Frey shut the home team down. The Buckeye goalie made 11 saves in the first period.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2:14 | PP - Nick Schilkey (Anthony Greco, Matt Weis) |
Ohio State appeared to pick up where it left off early in the second period. Like they did in the first frame, the Bucks had opportunities to generate quality scoring chances. Unlike their earlier tries, these were slow to develop and Penn State was quick to block the shooting lane with a body or stick.
Several of these failed attempts were turned up ice quickly by the Nittany Lions and resulted in odd man rushes. PSU had three two-on-ones in the first ten minutes of the period. Vincent Pedrie cashed in on one, blasting the puck by Frey for a 2-0 Penn State lead.
The Buckeye offense got a boost midway through the period with back-to-back power plays. But, once again, the team failed to take full advantage of its opportunities. The Penn State penalty kill held firm. Riding high from the successful kill, the Nittany Lions further extended their lead. David Goodwin picked the top corner of the net from a sharp angle and put an end to Christian Frey’s night.
Matt Tomkins took over in net. Ohio State threw him to the wolves quickly. Dakota Joshua launched himself into a Penn State player, fully earning his two minutes in the penalty box. On the ensuing kill, Luke Juha scored a sniper’s goal. A minute and change later, Alec Marsh got behind the Buckeye defense and dented Tomkins again.
Ohio State preserved a measure of dignity in the third period. Nick Schilkey thwarted MacAdam's shutout bid with a power play marker in the opening minutes. Zach Saar capped off the Penn State scoring with an empty netter.
The final damage was 40 Nittany Lion shots to OSU's 34. The Buckeyes won the special teams battle with one conversion in seven tries. PSU was 0-for-4. With zero points recorded in Friday’s outing, Dave Gust’s point streak ends at 15 games.
Ohio State and Penn State close out their season series tomorrow. The game is scheduled for a 3pm start. It airs live on ESPNU and online via Watch ESPN.
Other Big Ten results: Matt DeBlouw's third period game winner lifted Michigan State over Wisconsin, 4-3. In non-conference action Michigan topped Ferris State, 5-2.
