No. 4 Penn State men’s hockey (8-1-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten) rallied back from another multi-goal deficit to defeat No. 17 Ohio State (4-3-0, 0-1-0 Big Ten) 3-2 in Columbus on Thursday night to open Big Ten play.

The Nittany Lions trailed 2-0 less than five minutes in, but worked their way back in the game. A pair of third-period goals by Dane Dowiak and Luke Misa flipped the game and started conference play on the right note.

How It Happened

Kevin Reidler got the start for Penn State, his sixth start in net this season. Penn State won the opening draw, but quickly iced it and spent most of the early going in the defensive zone.

Ohio State, an elite faceoff team, won a draw in the Penn State end, and defenseman Broten Sabo ripped a shot from the point that deflected off of Dowiak and past Reidler for the opening goal for the Buckeyes just 79 seconds in. An unfortunate bounce to start the night.

The start of the game was extremely choppy, with a number of stoppages resulting in 13 faceoffs in the first three minutes. A turnover in center ice led to Penn State’s best chance of the early going, with a drop pass finding Jackson Smith in the middle of the ice for a powerful shot that went off the post.

The Buckeyes were able to turn it quickly and get out in transition, ultimately drawing a slashing penalty on Matt DiMarsico at 3:18. After an early clear, a long shot from the point by Davis Burnside deflected into the back of the net, as Riley Thompson scored his fourth goal of the season at 4:12 to make it 2-0.

Down a pair of goals almost immediately, the Nittany Lions needed a quick response. Not too long after, Penn State won an offensive zone draw, had Aiden Fink tee up Mac Gadowsky for a one-timer from the point, and the puck trickled onto the stick of Gavin McKenna, who seemingly potted his fourth goal of the season, only for it to be called back due to goaltender interference by Shea Van Olm.

Shortly after, Penn State got another chance when Charlie Cerrato and JJ Wiebusch sprung a 2-on-1 odd-man rush, with Wiebusch getting a golden opportunity in the crease, only for a sprawling save by Kristoffer Eberly to keep it out.

Penn State would once again go on the penalty kill at 7:13 when Van Olm took a minor penalty for head contact. In a critical moment early in the game, the Nittany Lions pulled off a successful kill despite several long shots and deflections by Ohio State.

McKenna stayed active in the early going, drawing a hooking penalty at 10:14 on Burnside. After struggling on the power play against Stonehill, it was more of the same on the first opportunity of the day for the Nittany Lions. An uber-aggressive Ohio State penalty kill generated a shorthanded breakaway by Max Montes, but Reidler made the stop.

At 14:00, a shot from Casey Aman was saved by Eberly and held onto, but in the post-stoppage scrum, Lev Katzin took a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. That third Ohio State power play lasted just 29 seconds, as Sabo slammed into Cerrato at center ice and took an interference penalty.

The 4-on-4 saw action both ways, with Reidler making a few nice saves and McKenna missing the net on an open look. The abbreviated Penn State power play after Katzin’s penalty expired saw no action.

The last few minutes of the period were back-and-forth, with the only big chance coming in the final minute, when Carter Schade blocked the shot. Penn State was outshot 15-7 in the period, their largest shot deficit in a period this season.

Just 24 seconds into the second period, Penn State took its fourth penalty of the game, as Dowiak went off for hooking. After some shaky early penalty kills, the Nittany Lions had an outstanding kill when they needed it, even turning it into a shorthanded chance at the end, with Eberly needing to make a save on Reese Laubach. Shortly after, Wiebusch nearly converted on another open chance in the crease, but Eberly made another stop.

Penn State got sustained offensive zone time, and McKenna was able to draw another slashing penalty behind the net, with Chris Romane going off at 4:17. In the first 30 seconds, there were three separate chances, one on a stuff-in and a pair of shots by McKenna and Fink.

Late in the power play, Mac Gadowsky turned the puck over in the open ice on an attempted backpass, leading to a Thomas Weiss breakaway that was initially stopped by Reidler. Ohio State challenged that it crossed the goal line, and it was overturned to a goal. However, Guy Gadowsky challenged for goaltender interference, and the goal was taken off the board after it was evident that Weiss pushed Reidler’s pad into the net.

The power play once again came up empty despite a much-improved effort. In the ensuing minutes, both goaltenders had to make tough saves. The Nittany Lions got another power play at 8:54 when Chris Able went off for boarding, but came up empty-handed again despite a pair of shots on goal, including one where Fink thought he scored on a basic glove save by Eberly.

After a pair of great saves by Reidler and a tremendous blocked shot by Mac Gadowsky on a 2-on-1, Ohio State took a bad penalty at 13:35 when Ryan Gordon went off for cross-checking after a whistle.

The Buckeyes played with fire one too many times, as Gadowsky picked up a loose puck, delivered a quick feed to McKenna, who ripped a deceptive pass to Wiebusch in the slot, who dangled around Eberly and deposited his tenth goal of the season into the back of the net to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 14:13 of the second period on the power play.

A very, very special pass and a patient finish!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/IRy7Z0qsJS

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 31, 2025

The Nittany Lions were playing harder and crisper towards the end of the second period, creating a variety of opportunities in the final minutes. Ohio State got a golden opportunity in the final minute, when Thompson delivered a beautiful pass to Niall Crocker in front of the net, but Reidler made a big save. The second period ended with Ohio State still in front, but the Nittany Lions outshot the Buckeyes 16-6 in the period.

Similar to the second period, the third period started with a penalty in the first minute. This time, Ohio State’s Sam McGinley tripped up Jarod Crespo to give Penn State a sixth power play. This power play was more of a struggle, as the Nittany Lions failed to get anything going aside from a late shot by McKenna that was stopped by Eberly.

DiMarsico had a shot on goal that resulted in a juicy rebound, but they were unable to pick it up. Shortly after that, Jackson Smith went off for tripping at 5:30 to give Ohio State another power play. The Buckeyes’ extended zone time wore down the penalty killers, but they were unable to seriously challenge Reidler as Penn State got the kill.

A defensive zone turnover by Ohio State bounced onto the stick of McKenna for a prime scoring opportunity, but Eberly got a piece of the shot. The next few minutes would see both teams playing loosely and not many scoring chances.

That would change when the Nittany Lions got extended zone time. The puck bounced off the stick of Dowiak to Crespo, who fired a shot that didn’t get through. A scrum involving Nic Chin-DeGraves in front of the net saw him pass the puck with his skate to Dowiak, who potted the game-tying goal at 10:14. Ohio State challenged (again) for a high stick earlier in the play, but the goal stood, and we had a tie ballgame.

TIE GAME IN COLUMBUS!!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/prUVKvrra7

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 31, 2025

The Buckeyes went back to work in the offensive zone after the game-tying goal, once again firing some long shots and looking to control the net-front. The rebound control was questionable, but Reidler’s teammates did a good job denying the opportunities.

On the other end, Ohio State struggled to clear the zone when Penn State hemmed them in. A loose puck on the wall was controlled by the Nittany Lions, where Luke Misa fired a shot that got blocked, but Ben Schoen was able to get the freshman the puck right back in the middle of the ice, where he fired a howitzer over the right shoulder of Eberly for the go-ahead goal, his first as a Nittany Lion, at 11:51 in the third, making it 3-2.

A MISA MISSILE!! #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/QH43Tbqbdy

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 31, 2025

Ohio State had gotten extremely sloppy on its own end of the ice, struggling to get out in transition. It culminated in a loose puck at center ice, leading to a nasty collision, where Misa got decked by Nathan McBrayer. McBrayer would be called for interference at 13:54, giving Penn State another power play.

Just 11 seconds later, however, an ill-advised hook by Wiebusch would negate the power play and the team’s skated four-aside for the next 58 seconds until another penalty, a trip on Dowiak at 15:03, gave the Buckeyes a massive 4-on-3 power play.

Ohio State would get 11 seconds of a brief 5-on-3 due to the timing of the penalties, but didn’t take advantage. Dueling unsportsmanlike penalties on Crespo and Thompson at 16:13 took a key player off the ice for both teams, but the Nittany Lions somehow managed to overcome Reidler losing his stick by forming a wall to smother the puck and kill off the power play.

Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik pulled Eberly with 1:30 to go, but the Buckeyes took a brutal icing shortly after to force him back into the net. The goalie was pulled again shortly after, but a turnover at the blue line led to Sabo tripping Laubach going for a loose puck at 19:11, giving Penn State a power play in the final minute.

That costly penalty by Ohio State would prove to be the dagger, as smart play by the Nittany Lions kept the Buckeyes from threatening shorthanded, securing the victory.

Takeaways

• Penn State wore its white uniforms in each of its first eight games, but finally got to break out the blues in Columbus on Thursday night.
• It was a bizarre scene on the second-period review of Weiss’s shorthanded breakaway chance. I don’t understand why they only reviewed one aspect of the play on the initial review and forced Guy Gadowsky to challenge the same play.
• The power play has now scored in all nine games this season, despite looking choppy at times the last week and change. Tonight, after struggling mightily early, the power play looked like a well-oiled machine by the end.
• Kevin Reidler was strong in net, making 28 saves in a row to end the game after the first two shots trickled past him. Both goals were deflected, including one off his own teammate.
• Penn State is now 4-0 when it faces a 2-0 deficit. It truly is the worst lead in sports.
• The broadcast noted that Aiden Fink was absent for much of the third period. We’ll see what his status is for the series finale on Friday.

Up Next

The men’s hockey team wraps up its first series in Big Ten play in Columbus against No. 17 Ohio State at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, October 31st. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.