There was little doubt that the Nittany Lions were a better team than the 6-0 loss to Robert Morris, Friday may have shown. It was just a matter of proving it.
Penn State did just that, knocking off Big Ten rival Ohio State 5-4, picking up a victory in the consolation game of Three Rivers Classic at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
For the first time all season, the Nittany Lions won after giving up the first goal. Ohio State captain Ryan Dzingel notched his first of three goals only 3:56 in to the game following a rebound in front of Penn State goaltender Matthew Skoff.
Curtis Loik responded four minutes later, knotting the game at one and giving the Nittany Lions their first goal in the Three Rivers Classic.
Taylor Holstrom and Casey Bailey both added tallies for the Nittany Lions in the final four minutes of the first period.
As expected, facing a 3-1 deficit, the Buckeyes came out in the second period with energy, looking to cut in to the Nittany Lions’ lead. Dzingel slotted his second of the game only 2:29 in to the period to cut the lead to 3-2.
After a physical 19 minutes, Bailey gave the Nittany Lions another two-goal edge with only 9 seconds remaining in the period. Penn State started the third period where it left off, scoring less than 30 seconds in to the final stanza to extend the lead to 5-2.
Dzingel completed his hat trick 7 minutes later to get the Buckeyes within two for the final 10 minutes of play.
With fans on the edge of their seats, Penn State and Ohio State skated a physical closing period and the Buckeyes cut it to only one with less than three minutes to play. Skoff made several key saves and the Nittany Lion defense repelled the Buckeye attack to secure the 5-4 victory.
Penn State improved to 8-9-0 on the year and the victory against Ohio State marked the first in program history against a Big Ten opponent. Big Ten hockey conference play is slated to begin next season.
