Penn State Men’s Hockey Upsets No. 9 Ohio State 3-2

Penn State men’s hockey (11-10-3, 2-9-3 Big Ten) shocked No. 9 Ohio State (15-7-2, 8-5-1 Big Ten) 3-2 in overtime on Saturday evening at Pegula Ice Arena.
In front of a record 6,604 fans, both teams had a defensive battle throughout much of the game. Penn State scored in the second period before Ohio State tied it a period later. However, two late goals sent the game to overtime, which Penn State won with 1:34 left in the sequence.
How It Happened
Seven seconds into the game, Carter Schade was assessed a minor penalty for interference. Multiple Penn State clearances compromised Ohio State’s ability to sustain momentum, leading to a penalty kill.
After roughly 10 minutes of back-and-forth hockey, Ohio State’s Joe Dunlap was called for cross-checking. Matt DiMarisico’s missed shot in front of the net highlighted two minutes’ worth of scoring chances, but the Nittany Lions were held scoreless in their first power play.
The first period ended with a combined 13 shots on goal, and none of them went in.
At 1:41 in the second period, Nathan McBrayer went to the sin bin for a holding minor. This time, Penn State took advantage. Danny Dzhaniyev received a pass from Reese Laubach and snuck a shot past Logan Terness in front of the net at 2:51 in the second period to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead.
Schade took another interference penalty at 6:49 in the period. Penn State held Ohio State to one shot, and killed the penalty without incident.
The penalty extravaganza continued. This time, William Smith was called for high sticking at 13:31 in the period. JJ Wiebusch missed a shot on a wide-open net, and a shot from Jarod Crespo was barely saved by Terness as the penalty expired.
Both teams exchanged shots to open the third period. But at 6:58, Schade took his third penalty of the game; this time for holding. The Buckeyes capitalized, as a Riley Thompson equalizer made it 1-1 at 8:36 in the period.
Penn State took another penalty, and this time, DiMarsico was booked for tripping at 11:20. Two blocked shots later and the Nittany Lions got another kill.
Then, at 16:30, Nicholas DeGraves scored from in front of Terness for his first collegiate goal to give Penn State a 2-1 lead. Wiebusch and DiMarsico assisted.
With one minute left in regulation, Terness went to the bench for the extra skater. Then, with 21 seconds left, Patrick Guzzo scored after a barrage of shots to tie it 2-2. The game went to overtime.
Penn State controlled the puck, danced around the neutral zone, and waited for an opening. The Nittany Lions had two near-misses, then Ohio State gained control and played the same game.
Then, Ben Schoen had a breakaway and sped down the ice with Reese Laubach. Schoen passed to Laubach, who buried it to win the game 3-2 in overtime.
Takeaways
- Goaltending dominated the game. Arsenii Sergeev had 24 saves, while Logan Terness had 27.
- Penalties were an issue for both teams. Ohio State took three and Penn State took four, and both teams allowed power-play goals.
- The Nittany Lions have only lost once since the New Year. The team has played better hockey in every aspect since then, which is impressive considering two of its series thus far have been against ranked opponents.
What’s Next?
Penn State begins a series against Michigan at 7 p.m. on Friday, January 31, in Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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