It’s White Out week in Hockey Valley.

No. 13 Penn State men’s hockey (13-7-2, 5-6-1 Big Ten) will welcome No. 4 Ohio State to Pegula Ice Arena for a weekend set. The puck drops at 7 p.m. Friday for the annual White Out game, and the second game of the series was moved up to a 3 p.m. puck drop on Saturday because of the incoming winter storm.

The Team

No. 4 Ohio State (13-5-4, 6-3-3 Big Ten) is back among college hockey’s elite this season, checking in at No. 5 in the Pairwise rankings entering this weekend’s series.

Led by head coach Steve Rohlik, the Buckeyes have been consistently good throughout the season. They finished November with a 6-2-1 record and have lost only once since a 4-3 home loss to Penn State on November 23.

The team’s offense ranks No. 16 in the nation with 67 goals scored in 22 games played, but its calling card is easily the defense, which has allowed only 48 goals this season.

Forwards

Ohio State boasts a well-balanced, but not explosive, offensive attack. Led by standouts Mason Jobst and Tanner Laczynski, the forward group is deep and features at least three dangerous trios.

Jobst and Laczynski are the Buckeyes’ top two scorers with 25 and 20 points, respectively. Penn State needs to watch out for this duo throughout the weekend, since both players have scored more than a point per game throughout their collegiate careers.

Second-line center Dakota Joshua isn’t far behind those two with 17 points in 22 appearances, and he’s one of seven Buckeye forwards with at least 10 points this season. Ohio State’s depth up front is best demonstrated by the fact that its top three scorers all play on different lines; this could create plenty of problems for Penn State’s struggling defense.

Defense

Ohio State can score fairly consistently, but its true strength lies on defense and in goal.

Sophomore Tommy Nappier is having a breakout season while splitting time with Sean Romeo in goal. Nappier’s posting a .945 save percentage and a 1.58 goals-against average, both ranked second in the nation. Romeo isn’t all that bad, either. He tallies a more modest 2.63 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

As far as the blue line is concerned, the Buckeyes are structurally sound, but don’t get too much production offensively from the back end. Junior Matt Miller leads his team’s defensive core with eight points, while fellow veterans Sasha Larocque and Wyatt Ege aren’t far behind with seven and six points, respectively.

Prediction

Penn State’s start to the second half of the season hasn’t been exactly inspiring, and this will be its toughest challenge yet. I predict a 4-4 tie with Penn State picking up the extra point Friday night, but Ohio State will bounce back to win 5-3 on Saturday.