Special Teams in the Spotlight As Men's Hockey Defeats Nittany Lions, Women Fall to Bulldogs

By Aubrey Nelson on January 18, 2019 at 11:27 pm
The men's hockey Bucks defeat Penn State while the women fall in Duluth.
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Special teams were a factor in both of tonight’s Ohio State hockey games. The puck men got the better of Penn State in a whistle-filled fest. Two first period power play goals helped boost Minnesota-Duluth to a big early lead over the Buckeye women. The Scarlet and Gray never recovered. 

OSU Men 4, Penn State 1 

Scoring by Period 1 2 3 Final
No. 4/5 Ohio State 1 2 1 4
No. 13/12 Penn State 1 0 0 1

The first three goals in the Buckeyes series opener at Penn State were power play tallies. Gustaf Westlund, returning from the injury ranks, made quick work of OSU’s first advantage. Note the nice screen provided by Dakota Joshua, not credited with an assist but nonetheless a key component of this score. 

Tanner Laczynski recorded the secondary assist on Westlund’s goal. It was career point No. 100 for the junior forward. Laczynski also blasted a 5-on-3 goal early in the second period to regain the Bucks’ lead. 

Ohio State’s reunited top trio of Westlund, Mason Jobst, and Quinn Preston combined to extend the Buckeye lead midway through the second period. Westlund potted his second score of the contest. Jobst and Preston picked up helpers. 

Ronnie Hein capped OSU’s scoring late in the third period with Buckeye goal No. 4. It was Hein’s ninth marker of the season. Laczynski assisted on this play as well, zipping the puck through a seam and straight to Hein’s tape. 

Sean Romeo stopped 24 shots in the victory. The win is the first of the calendar year for the Cary, North Carolina native. He is now 6-4-2 on the season with a 2.48 GAA and .909 save percentage. (I think. I am terrible at math.) 

Ohio State and Penn State combined for 12 penalties in this tilt. The Bucks went 2-for-6 while the Nittany Lions were 1-for-6. 

OSU and PSU close out their regular season series tomorrow afternoon at 3pm ET. The game was moved up from its original 7pm start to avoid severe winter weather forecast for the area. You can listen live on 1460 AM or stream the game with a BTN Plus subscription. 

OSU Women 2, Minnesota-Duluth 5 

Scoring by Period 1 2 3 Final
No. 5 Ohio State 1 0 1 2
Minnesota-Duluth 4 0 1 5

Nadine Muzerall said her team needed to stay out of the penalty box in order to defeat Duluth. Well, she was right. The Bucks made three trips to the sin bin in the opening 20 minutes. The Bulldogs cashed in twice. The pair of power play goals contributed to a four-goal first period for UMD. 

Ohio State got one back before the intermission. Gabby Rosenthal netted her first collegiate goal early in the game, briefly tying the score at 1-1. Maddy Field struck in the third period. Her tenth tally of the season cut Duluth’s lead to 4-2. But the Bucks could draw no closer. The Bulldogs chipped in an empty netter for a 5-2 win. 

All told, the Scarlet and Gray fired off a 41 shot barrage in the game. This included 17-15 and 17-5 margins in the first and third periods. Time and again they were shut down by UMD goalie Maddie Rooney. 

Duluth was the decisive winner of the special teams battle. The Bulldogs went 2-for-5 with the advantage. Ohio State was 0-for-3. 

The teams take to the ice again tomorrow at 5pm ET with the Buckeyes looking to avoid the sweep. Fans not able to attend in person can stream the game live online with a subscription to FloHockey. 

  • Emma Maltais recorded a whopping 11 shots on goal, more than a quarter of OSU’s total. 
  • The Buckeyes were without the services of standout defender Jincy Dunne for this game.
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