No. 13 Penn State men’s hockey (13-9-2, 5-8-1 Big Ten) finished its series against No. 4 Ohio State (15-5-4, 8-3-3 Big Ten) with a 6-4 loss.

Evan Barratt, Liam Folkes, Ludvig Larsson, and Chase Berger scored for the Nittany Lions, but poor defensive play and bad discipline doomed the team as it was swept for the first time this season.

Peyton Jones made 33 saves in the defeat.

How It Happened

Saturday’s game got off to a fast-paced start, and Ohio State capitalized by opening the scoring 6:39 into the first period. Grant Gabriele scored his first NCAA goal on a shot from the point past Peyton Jones to give the Buckeyes the early lead.

Evan Barratt answered with a gorgeous shorthanded goal late in the period to swing momentum back in Penn State’s favor and tie the game at one. Barratt’s 14th goal of the season and first since the World Junior Championship was unassisted.

Penn State began the second period right where it left off, as Liam Folkes gave the team its first lead of the weekend less than two minutes into the period. Alex Limoges and Barratt grabbed the assists on Folkes’ 11th of the season.

Ohio State got back into the game thanks to its power play. Dakota Joshua stuffed home a goal right at the doorstep to tie the game at two, and then Matt Miller gave the Buckeyes a 3-2 lead with 12:27 to play in the middle frame.

Blake Gober was ejected from the game for a huge hit on Tanner Laczynski, sending the Buckeyes to a five-minute power play. The Nittany Lions capitalized with their second shorthanded goal of the afternoon when Nate Sucese found Ludvig Larsson on a 2-on-1 rush.

The game was tied at three until Dakota Joshua stuffed his second goal of the game past Peyton Jones with 5:04 left in the second period. Gustaf Westlund added another goal before the penalty expired to extend Ohio State’s lead to 5-3 entering the second intermission.

Ohio State put the finishing touches on the victory with a Mason Jobst snipe from the half-wall midway through the third period. Chase Berger scored a bizarre consolation goal, but it wasn’t enough to ignite a comeback.

The Nittany Lions were swept for the first time in the 2018-19 season with the loss, which also marked Penn State’s first time getting swept at Pegula Ice Arena since the 2016-17 season.

Takeaways

• The second period was, to put it lightly, hectic. Ohio State and Penn State traded six goals, but four of them were scored by the Buckeyes. Penn State got off to a great start in the period, but got too carried away and allowed the Buckeyes to regain control of the game.
• Penn State scored two shorthanded goals on an otherwise brutal day for the penalty killing unit. Ohio State’s power play scored four times, and special teams was the difference in Saturday’s game.
• Blake Gober’s five-and-a-game penalty in the second period effectively killed any chance of a Penn State victory. Although one of Penn State’s shorthanded goals was scored during the man advantage, two quick Ohio State goals were the nail in the coffin.
• Buckeye center Dakota Joshua is good at hockey, but he’s even better at antagonizing Penn State and its fans. He made sure to celebrate his second period goal right in The Roar Zone’s collective face, and he was booed whenever he did anything for the rest of the game.

What’s Next

Penn State will travel to Ann Arbor for a game against Michigan at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The two teams will square off again at 7 p.m. Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.