Things never really got headed in the right direction Saturday afternoon as Penn State closed out another season at Pegula Ice Arena with a 7-4 loss to Ohio State.
For one the Nittany Lions didn’t get a shot on goal for nearly 10 minutes of the first period, something essentially unheard of for one of the best offenses in all of college hockey. Even when Penn State fails to find the back of the net, the pucks are still flying.
And then Ohio State scored first. A blooper of a puck that dribbled past Matthew Skoff on his senior night start just 1:31 into regulation. Another blast from in close found its way past Skoff again a few minutes later. Then a third goal to send the usually energized crowd into a stunned silence.
But because Penn State hockey has never been one to roll over, the Nittany Lions found a way to inject some life into the offense. Chase Berger casually slapping home a pass from Eric Scheid with 2:14 to go in the period. Penn State nearly scored again, but the margin remained 3-1 after two periods. The Nittany Lions out shot and out worked. A rarity on any night, let alone at home.
So it was of little surprise when Penn State came out on to the ice for the second period of play with a bit more energy in the skates. Andrew Sturtz raced in and skated through Ohio State’s defense with 9:17 to go in period for an unassisted tally that cut the lead to just a single goal.
It took a 5-on-3 and nearly all of it for Penn State to finally tie the game as David Goodwin rifled home a shot between the circles with just a second left on the two man advantage. The Nittany Lions continued to push and nearly found a fourth consecutive goal, but a review deemed the call on the ice of ‘no-goal’ correct and after 40 minutes of play the game was deadlocked.
Just 2:53 into the final period Kevin Kerr entered the offensive zone late, collecting a pass between the circles and blasting it home to give Penn State the all but assumed 4-3 lead to complete the comeback.
But it was short lived, with 15:00 to go in regulation Ohio State answered with a rifle blast of its own and almost 45 seconds later the puck dribbled through Skoff’s legs and into the goal to put Ohio State up 5-4.
So Penn State once again pushed back and fired pucks on net, but failed to find the equalizer. And as Matthew Weis put home a shot under the crossbar on a 2-on-1 it ended the hopes of erasing a 3-0 lead and turning it into a comeback victory with Ohio State up two goals with 5:05 to play. An empty net goal gave the game its final margin.
On paper Penn State falls to 19-9-4 with at least five games left before the end of the season. Still on the NCAA tournament bubble and little room for error along the way. Wins against Wisconsin on the road and any form of points against Michigan will go a long way towards solidifying their resume before the Big Ten tournament.
To some Saturday will feel like a miss opportunity, and in some regards it was.
But as Penn State’s eight senior class members skated off the ice in front of a home crowd one last time, it’s worth remembering that they were the first to ever commit to a Division I Penn State hockey program. And in turn they have managed to turn that program from something new, to something nationally relevant in a few short years.
So a missed opportunity? Perhaps. But in the big picture, Penn State is still alive and kicking for the postseason and finished off the home season in front of 31 straight sell out crowds.
Maybe a missed opportunity, but certainly not a failure.
