Nothing on paper suggested that Penn State should have beaten Ohio State 5-1 like it did on Sunday afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Buckeyes have always been the thorn in the Nittany Lions’ side. They had lost just nine times to Penn State, the fewest by any member of the Big Ten short of newcomer Notre Dame.
Ohio State ruined Penn State’s first weekend ranked No. 1 in the nation a few years ago. It had provided the program with eye-opening defeats and humbling results.
The Buckeyes have never been an easy out, and have rarely given one of the nation’s top offenses a comfortable outing, be it home or away.
In short, Ohio State has always been a problem for the Nittany Lions. A tenacious defense has prevented the kind of free flowing play Penn State thrives on. Simply in a numeric sense Penn State has now beaten Ohio State four times in the last 14 meetings. Nothing about Sunday, from the setting in Columbus, or the 2018-19 iteration of Penn State’s inconsistent play, gave you a compelling reason to pick the Nittany Lions.
And yet, despite the opening 10 minutes when the Buckeyes pressed and probably should have scored at least one, Penn State won 5-1 with a performance that might have made the casual onlooker assume the Nittany Lions were the No.1 seed, not the Buckeyes.
Peyton Jones was in his usual postseason form with 31 saves, while Liam Folkes opened the scoring to put Penn State ahead 1-0. A goal by Alex Limoges punched the Nittany Lions head with just over a second to play in the period, the puck dribbling over the line, tying him for the nation’s lead in points with 50.
From there it turned out to be an ongoing formality. Ohio State had chances but never found the back of the net. Meanwhile, a tic-tac-toe goal by Brandon Biro made the most of a five-minute power play, a tally by Nate Sucese early in the third period made it 4-0. His second of the night, an empty net goal from center ice, gave the game it’s final 5-1 score.
It was a remarkable performance relative to the program’s up and down play during the year. The Nittany Lions are perhaps the deepest on the offensive end that they have ever been in the program’s history. At the same time they have been prone to bad performances, and shaky defense. You never know what you’re going to get.
At their best the Nittany Lions are a Frozen Four team, at their worst they are a team you just shake your head at.
But there is something about the postseason for this program. It just shows up when March begins. After an otherwise forgettable regular season, Jones has been outstanding in his last three postseason starts and every aspect in front of him has followed suit. It defies conventional logic, but Penn State’s exponential growth as a program has never completely made sense. The Nittany Lions were always going be okay as a program, but for the second time in three years they will play for a Big Ten Tournament title. They could become the first team to win the tournament twice.
Given conventional wisdom, Penn State should be punished for a season not short on dumb mistakes and missed chances. It ought to be sitting at home watching on TV next weekend. All of that would make sense.
But for whatever reason, this group really does his the reset button when the postseason shows up, no matter how cliche that sounds. And you just have to forget what you think you know about this team.
So what happens next Saturday when Penn State travels to Notre Dame for the Big Ten Championship? Your guess is as good as mine.
