The No. 11/13 men's hockey Buckeyes fell to Penn State on Saturday by a final score of 4-0. The teams skated a scoreless opening period. Ohio State outshot the Nittany Lions 8-5. That would be the last positive stat of the day for the Bucks.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RV Penn State | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| No. 11/13 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Buckeyes began the middle frame with a power play. Special teams did light the lamp, but not for the Scarlet and Gray. PSU's leading scorer, Andrew Sturtz, struck shorthanded for his tenth goal of the year. The OSU power play unit came up empty on the remainder of the advantage.
A second Penn State penalty gave the Bucks another man-up opportunity. This was shortly negated by an interference call against Dakota Joshua. The Nittany Lions had an abbreviated advantage following Ohio State's failed power play. Denis Smirnov cashed in quickly and stretched the visitors' lead to 2-0. A pair of third period goals cemented a 4-0 PSU victory.
OSU chucked a lot of rubber at Peyton Jones, 33 shots including 16 in the second period alone. But PSU's sophomore netminder turned aside every attempt. Sean Romeo made 32 saves for the Buckeyes.
Like the overall contest, today's special teams battle was won decisively by Penn State. The Nittany Lions went 1-for-3 on the power play. Their kill held Ohio State 0-for-5 on its advantages and notched the shorthanded goal.
The Buckeyes take only one point out a possible six from the series. They drop to 8-4-4 overall and 3-4-1-0 in the Big Ten. The Bucks look to shake off this dud and rebound for next week's clash with No. 7 Minnesota. That series will be the team's final action before the holiday break.
