Penn State tops Ohio State, 2-1, in defensive battle

by:William James12/02/22

The No. 6-ranked Penn State men’s hockey program defeated No. 17-ranked Ohio State, 2-1, in a battle of goaltenders on Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions improved to 14-3 on the year, and 6-3 in Big Ten play with the win. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

This game started fast-paced, almost too fast. Both teams were moving faster than the puck, with many possessions ending with the offense losing control of it. 

Neither team was able to get anything going. Both sides trying to get started took many different approaches. No new strategy worked. Both teams were getting stonewalled by the opposing goaltender. 

As the period dwindled, Cam Thiesing of the Buckeyes was called for hooking with 1:35 to play in the first period. Penn State got to bring out their powerplay unit for the first time in the game. 

Before the public address announcer could even announce the penalty, Connor MacEachern had put the Nittany Lions on the board with his powerplay goal, assisted by Jimmy Dowd Jr. and Kevin Wall, four seconds after the penalty with 1:31 to play in the period. 

Things were getting scrappier in the second period. There were multiple scuffles between the two sides in the period. 

However, the only penalties awarded were for the scrum with 7:50 to play between Xander Lampa and Tate Singleton. Lampa was called for roughing and Singleton was called for roughing and slashing, so the Nittany Lions got the powerplay. 

The Buckeyes killed the penalty, which gave them a jolt of momentum. 

With 3:58 to play, Cole McWard put the Buckeyes on the board with his equalizing, unassisted goal to make it a 1-1 game. 

The game went into the third period a tie. 

The third period was as slow of a start as the rest of them. No action came until late in the third period. 

With 9:09 to play, Scooter Bricky was called for a crosscheck. A minute and a half later, Jaedon Leslie heads to the box for a face-off violation, giving the Nittany Lions a two-man advantage for 29 seconds. The Nittany Lions were on the powerplay for three and a half minutes. 

As the Buckeyes were taking a deep exhale after another successful penalty kill, Dowd Jr. nailed the game-winner for the Nittany Lions with 5:31 to play, assisted by Connor McMenamin and Wall.

TAKEAWAYS

  • Liam Souliere played a fantastic game in net tonight, tallying 35 saves, including a highlight, jaw-dropping save early in the third period. His play won the Nittany Lions this game. 
  • Ohio State has one of the best special teams units in the Big Ten and even the Country. Penn State picked up an early powerplay goal on the Buckeyes, and even though the game-winner was at full strength, it was moments after the Buckeyes were back at full strength, so they were still adjusting. “It was nice to see,” said coach Guy Gadowsky about the Nittany Lion powerplay unit. “It seems now that power plays going and even strength is, too.” 
  • The star of the night was a fan who solved a Rubik’s Cube in the crowd. He gave not only the Roar Zone student section a jolt, but also but the entire stadium. And it occurred right after it looked like Ohio State had drained the crowd. Coach Godowsky even mentioned it in his opening remarks. “It was a great game. It may have taken a Rubik’s Cube guy to get us going, but once he did, we got better.” 

Even the players loved it. Souliere mentioned how it made him laugh in the net when he looked at the clock. He said, “I still have five minutes left, I should probably get more serious.” 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR PENN STATE

The Nittany Lions face off against the Buckeyes tomorrow at 5:30 pm back at Pegula Ice Arena.

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