COLUMBUS, Ohio — As a preview to Saturday’s football game, Penn State men’s hockey concluded its two-game stint at Ohio State on Friday night.
The Nittany Lions triumphed 4-3 after a back-and-forth affair at the Schottenenstein Center.
How it happened
The first power play of the game was awarded to Penn State, leading to good looks for both squads. Despite playing down a man, Ohio State’s Max Montes earned a breakaway but missed the cage, while Nittany Lion defenseman Jackson Smith lit the lamp with a slap shot moments later to give his squad the lead, following a review.
Penn State quickly made it two-for-two on the power play, with right wing JJ Wiebusch dishing the puck to Matt DiMarsico on a platter in front of the net to double the lead.
The Buckeyes chopped into the lead on an odd-man rush, with Adam Eisele finding the back of the net off assists from Felix Caron and Jake Karabela.
The tide turned when a slashing call on left wing Lev Katzin sent the scarlet and gray on a power play, leading to a goal from left wing Felix Caron from a tough side angle and reigniting the scarlet and gray faithful.
The opening frame of action inside Schottenstein Center yielded 13 shots for Ohio State to Penn State’s nine, though the Nittany Lions once held a 7-1 advantage.
“I thought all tonight we played Penn State hockey, and the first period, I thought we played really well,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said after the game. “We ended up tied, but I thought we played extremely well.”
Things got chippy in the second period, with every whistle serving as an opportunity for extracurriculars. The refs did their best to maintain control, assessing roughing penalties when called for.
“We got to find a way to find the right balance playing hard and staying out of the box,” Gadowsky said.
Most of the action throughout the period came after the whistle, but with 3:31 remaining, Wiebusch netted his second goal of the night on an assist from DiMarsico, who once again set him up with a golden opportunity in front of the net, essentially shooting the puck to ricochet off Wiebusch’s stick and into the net.
Immediately after the PA announcer said “one minute remaining in the second period” and directly before the Ohio State fans could respond “and Michigan still sucks,” left wing Dane Dowiak piled on with his fourth goal of the season, assisted by defenseman Mac Gadowsky, rounding out a dominant middle period.
Despite holding a multi-goal lead, Penn State remained aggressive into the third period, until Ohio State pulled its goaltender with four minutes to go. The Buckeyes saw quality chances at Josh Fleming’s doorstep, finally breaking through with 14.7 seconds left to play.
“He’s just such a calm guy,” Gadowsky said. “He doesn’t get rattled. You know, I thought both goaltenders, this entire weekend, our goaltenders were fantastic.”
The Nittany Lions held on for a 4-3 win in enemy territory to close out a sweep in the first conference series of the season.
“Anytime you sweep, it’s very difficult to sweep on the road, it doesn’t happen a lot, so you should feel really good about it,” Gadowsky said.
