The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions resumed hostilities in another fast and furious Big Ten bout on Saturday night. The back-and-forth battle had a lot in common with Friday's game. This time, though, the Scarlet and Gray stuck to their gameplan and came out on top.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Penn State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| No. 5 Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
Once again, Mason Jobst staked Ohio State to an early lead. The Buckeye captain lit the lamp for a team-leading ninth time this season. The tally was also career conference point No. 87 for Jobst, giving him sole possession of the Big Ten’s all-time scoring record.
Highlights from tonight's 5-2 victory over Penn State.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/yP0ompupW3
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) November 25, 2018
With a 1-0 lead, the Buckeyes continued to both harass PSU goalie Peyton Jones and frustrate the Nittany Lions skaters. The Bucks ramped up the intensity late in the period. They didn’t find the back of the net again but it appeared they would finish the frame strong and carry their momentum into the second period.
Instead, they mentally checked out a few ticks too soon. With .4 seconds left on the clock, Aarne Talvitie sent an equalizer winging by OSU goalie Tommy Nappier. Compounding their woes as the Bucks are wont to do, Dakota Joshua was penalized on the play that led to the goal. Penn State began the second period on the power play. It wasn’t long before Alex Limoges cashed in. PSU surged ahead, 2-1.
The Buckeyes regrouped and got back on their game. Midway through the second, OSU went on its third power play of the game. Ronnie Hein struck. Or, more accurately, Hein was struck. The puck bounced off him and past Jones to level the score at 2-2.
Penn State came out firing in the third period but Nappier and the Bucks weathered the storm. Eventually, Joshua turned the tide and regained Ohio State's lead. The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect drew the Nittany Lions into a penalty, putting a stop to their momentum.
It briefly looked as though Joshua scored on the ensuing power play. The non-goal was quickly waved off, but the big senior would not be denied. With fewer than three minutes to play, he collected a faceoff win from John Wiitala, bulled his way to the net, and buried the game-winning goal.
Sasha Larocque, Coach Rohlik and Ronnie Hein spoke after the 5-2 victory over Penn State.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/idsfremSU0
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) November 25, 2018
In the final minutes, though shorthanded and facing an extra attacker to boot, Sasha Larocque nailed the empty net from approximately Obetz. Then Brendon Kearney hammered one last nail in PSU's coffin, cementing a 5-2 Buckeye win.
The Bucks become the only team this season to hold Penn State's No. 1 offense to fewer than four goals in a game. Ohio State improves to 9-4-1 overall and 4-2-0-0 in the Big Ten. The Bucks move into a tie for first place in the conference with idle Notre Dame.
OSU is back to work next week on a road trip to Minnesota. The Buckeyes and Gophers square off in the series opener on Friday at 8pm ET. The tilt is scheduled to air on FS North and locally on SportsTime Ohio.
- Penn State led in shots on goal, 40-33.
- Dakota Joshua paced all Buckeye shooters with 8 pucks on net.
- Tommy Nappier is now 5-1-1 this year with (provided my math is correct) a 1.37 GAA and .957 save percentage.
- Sasha Larocque scored his first goal of the season and was +4 on the night.
- It was a three point outing for Ronnie Hein who recorded a goal and two assists.
- Carson Meyer also posted a multi-point effort, contributing a pair of helpers.
