Penn State men’s hockey faced No. 12 Ohio State once again on Saturday to wrap up a two-game series at Pegula Ice Arena. Unlike in Friday night’s shootout win, the Nittany Lions suffered a miserable 6-0 loss thanks to a series of issues ranging from poor defense to an overall lack of execution.

How It Happened

Guy Gadowsky opted to spice up his first line, which included freshmen Ben Schoen and Danny Dzhaniyev. Oskar Autio returned as the starting goaltender after getting the night off in game one. 

Ohio State won the opening faceoff, but Penn State quickly got the puck into the Buckeye zone. There was plenty of back and forth play, with Autio making a nice pad save to deny an Ohio State breakaway chance. 

Almost halfway through the period, the Nittany Lions went on the power play as Cole McWard got sent to the sin bin on a two-minute tripping call. Penn State had a couple of near-miss chances as it did throughout the period, but Jakub Dobaš remained solid in goal.

At 7:50 in the first period, Ohio State broke through and scored when Jake Wise netted his eighth goal of the season. The Buckeyes weren’t done just yet. Wise quickly struck again and scored his second goal of the night late in the first period to put Ohio State up 2-0. 

Despite trailing, the Nittany Lions arguably outplayed the Buckeyes. Penn State outshot Ohio State 17-10, in the first period but couldn’t capitalize. 

It didn’t take long at all for Ohio State to score once again. At the beginning of the second period, Joe Dunlap put the puck past Autio for the Buckeyes’ third score of the night. 

The first five minutes of the second period were frustrating for Penn State. It had one good chance that barely missed the net by hitting the goalpost, and Adam Pilewicz took a penalty. 

Penn State’s woes continued. Ohio State capitalized on a breakaway at 12:03 in the second period to go up 4-0.

Remarkably enough, Penn State was outshooting Ohio State 32-18 by the end of the second period, yet the Buckeyes had scored four goals when all of Penn State’s shots went anywhere but in the net. The crowd’s frustration only worsened as the referees booked Clayton Phillips for holding the stick, causing boos to rain down on the men in stripes. 

The bad night for the Nittany Lions continued into the third period. Penn State once again shot itself in the foot on a penalty, as Ohio State quickly scored on Autio for a fifth time within two minutes of the start of the third period. 

As the game dragged on, it became clear that Penn State wasn’t having its best night and being outplayed by a better team. 

Once again, Ohio State scored, and this time it was Tate Singleton. The crowd emptied, and the boos rained down from an outraged Pegula crowd. Obscenities were shouted towards the officials by some, and a sense of apathy and embarrassment was among the crowd. 

As the final horn sounded, boos poured in once more. Penn State fell 6-0 to No. 12 Ohio State.

Takeaways

• Penn State simply couldn’t execute tonight. The Nittany Lions had 51 shots and plenty of chances that almost went in the net, but things could have gone differently if they had better coordination. Plenty of shots hit the post, which is partially due to puck luck, but it’s hard to imagine some of those wouldn’t have gone in if coordination were better. 
• Conversely, Ohio State’s defense was outstanding. Jakub Dobeš, who leads the Big Ten in save percentage, made 51 saves and was practically a brick wall in goal. Ohio State’s defense blocked 26 shots and broke plays up all night. 
• Penn State’s defense and goaltending simply wasn’t good enough. Many of Ohio State’s goals happened when its skaters were able to slip past the defense. That can’t happen against the No. 12 team in college hockey.

What’s Next

Penn State will travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on February 4 and 5. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.