No. 6 Penn State hockey (10-2-0, 6-1-0 Big Ten) was fortunate to leave Pegula Ice Arena with a 5-4 win over No. 11 Ohio State (6-4-1, 2-3-0 Big Ten) Friday night after a last-minute surge from the Buckeyes.

What looked like an easy 5-2 win quickly turned into a hot mess in the final two minutes as the Buckeyes’ relentless attack capitalized on some lackadaisical Nittany Lions defense.

Sam Sternschein potted two goals, including an empty-netter in the third period that turned out to be the game-winner after the snow settled from the late Ohio State attack.

Peyton Jones stopped 28-of-32 shots from the Buckeyes’, as Penn State managed to hold on for the win.

How It Happened

The Buckeyes came out of the gates strong on Friday night, and the Nittany Lions had trouble keeping the puck out of their own zone in the first three minutes of play.

It took a little bit for Penn State’s juggernaut offense to wake up, as it seemingly flipped a switch after those first three minutes.

Playing on their heels, the Buckeyes got caught with too many men on the ice with 10:51 to play in the first period, giving Penn State its first opportunity with a man-advantage on the night.

The Nittany Lions’ power play capitalized on the early chance when Sam Sternschein deflected Cole Hults’ shot from the point past Tommy Nappier to give Penn State an early 1-0 lead.

Not long after, the Buckeyes’ power play got a chance of its own with 8:26 to play, as Evan Barratt earned a two-minute minor for a retaliation shot after Alex Limoges took a gnarly hit in the corner. Ohio State’s special teams unit answered thanks in part to a lucky bounce off of Paul DeNaples’ stick that landed right on Carson Meyer’s stick in the low slot, and the teams entered the first intermission knotted at 1-1.

The second period started with a lot of back and forth play, as neither team managed to take control through the first half of the frame.

Penn State caught the first break of the period in the form of an Ohio State high-sticking penalty at the 9:36 mark in the period. The Nittany Lions’ power play once again took advantage of a golden opportunity.

Sternschein wrapped around the net and fired a cross-ice pass to Brandon Biro that he drove home to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead with 8:39 to go in the middle frame.

A little over a minute later, Limoges was the beneficiary of a rebound in front of the net that he tapped in for one of the easiest goals he will ever score. Limoges’ sixth goal of the season extended the Penn State lead to 3-1, where it stayed for the remainder of the second period.

The Nittany Lions came out flat in the third period despite starting with 1:46 of carry-over power play time.

Cole Hults took an early tripping penalty on a diving play that stopped a prime scoring chance on an odd-man rush for the Buckeyes. However, Ohio State’s power play only needed 12 seconds to score anyway, cutting the Penn State lead to 3-2 at 3:08 in the third period.

A short 44 seconds later, the Limoges-Barratt-Folkes line retaliated with a goal of their own, as Liam Folkes charged to the net and hammered home a one-timer from Limoges to reclaim a two-goal lead for the Nittany Lions.

After a long stretch of back and forth play, the Buckeyes pulled their goalie in the final three minutes, which left the net wide open for Sternschein’s ninth goal of the season from center ice to make it 5-2 with 2:15 left to play.

However, the Buckeyes refused to go down without a fight, rattling off two lightning-fast goals to pull within one goal with 53 seconds remaining on the game clock.

Ohio State’s late surge was relentless, as it kept the puck in the Penn State zone all the way until the final whistle. Regardless, the Nittany Lions escaped with a 5-4 win.

Takeaways

• Sam Sternschein is the team’s leading scorer for a reason. The junior forward’s goal in the first period was a prime example of his ability to find prime real estate in front of the net, which he has converted into goals time and time again.
• Despite allowing the Ohio State power play to score on 2-of-4 chances, Penn State’s penalty kill was stellar when it mattered most. The Nittany Lions took a late penalty in both the second and third periods, but the penalty kill thwarted both opportunities that could have drastically changed the momentum and outcome of Friday night’s matchup.
• Penn State’s defense played 58 strong minutes of hockey until everything imploded late in the third period. Surely, Guy Gadowsky will have some choice words for his squad after it let a 5-2 blowout slip to a narrow one-goal victory in the final two minutes of play.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will try to complete the weekend sweep against the Buckeyes tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena.