No. 4 Penn State Men’s Hockey Sweeps No. 17 Ohio State With 4-3 Victory
No. 4 Penn State men’s hockey (9-1-0, 2-0-0 Big Ten) took down No. 17 Ohio State (4-4-0, 0-2-0 Big Ten) on Friday night in Columbus, pulling off its fourth sweep of the young season.
Penn State started the game with two quick goals, similar to Ohio State the night before, but got overwhelmed in the back half of the first period, seeing the Buckeyes tie the score. JJ Wiebusch and Dane Dowiak found the back of the net in the second period to restore the two-goal lead, ultimately being enough to finish off a Big Ten sweep.
How It Happened
Josh Fleming got the start in net for the Nittany Lions, his fourth start of the season. The game started with the two teams exchanging possession in the opening three minutes until the first shot came when Shea Van Olm jostled for the puck on a partial breakaway and delivered a great pass to Luke Misa at 2:36, but it was stopped by Ohio State goaltender Samuel Hillebrandt.
Not long after, the Nittany Lions got their first power play of the day when Misa got tripped by Sam McGinley at 2:57. The first minute of the power play saw nothing come about, as Ohio State’s aggressive penalty kill frustrated the Nittany Lions until a Gavin McKenna one-timer got on net with about 30 seconds left.
In the dying seconds, Jackson Smith fired a booming shot from the right faceoff circle that hit off the crossbar. The Nittany Lions on the ice thought it went in, but play continued for the next minute until a stoppage a minute later for an icing prompted a review from the officials.
It turned out that Smith’s shot had, in fact, crossed the goal line for a power play goal, his second of the season. McKenna and Reese Laubach picked up the assists, and the goal officially came at 4:32 to make it 1-0 Penn State.
A Smitty BOMB!!
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 31, 2025#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/9rXTxD64Wk
The pressure continued for the next minute, with the Buckeyes still looking for their first shot on goal. It culminated in a slashing penalty on Ethan Straky at 5:23 to send Penn State back on the power play.
The first minute of the man-advantage was slow-moving, but a methodical Penn State power play picked the Ohio State PK apart, leading to a tic-tac-toe sequence between Charlie Cerrato, JJ Wiebusch, and Matt DiMarsico for a power play goal at 6:20. It was DiMarsico’s eighth of the season, as the Behind-the-Back Boys struck again to make it 2-0 Nittany Lions.
Ohio State still looked for its first shot on goal and finally got it when Thomas Weis got one through at the halfway point of the first period. Penn State had briefly averted danger until Adam Eisele deflected an outlet pass from Smith and turned it into a 2-on-0, where he got the pass from Felix Caron to get one back for the Buckeyes at 10:29 in the first period.
Now a one-goal game, Ohio State pressed hard and tilted the ice for the next several minutes, putting pressure on Fleming that had not been there through ten minutes. After zero shots on net for nearly ten minutes, Ohio State got seven on goal in the next three.
The usual suspects were at it again the next time Penn State was able to get pressure, as a nice feed from DiMarsico set up Wiebusch in the crease at the 15-minute mark, but Hillebrandt got enough of it to send it wide of the net.
Penn State took its first penalty at 15:48 when Lev Katzin went off for slashing. While the first minute looked like the usual, stout Nittany Lions penalty kill, it fell apart when they were caught out of position on a battle on the boards, and when the puck emerged, Davis Burnside swung it to Caron for the game-tying goal at 16:36 for Ohio State.
When you feel like the back half of the period couldn’t get any worse, Mac Gadowsky took a hooking penalty at 16:53 to again put the Nittany Lions on the penalty kill. Fortunately, this kill was significantly better, as the Buckeyes managed just one shot attempt in two messy minutes as the period ended tied at two.
The two teams began the second period by trading icings before Penn State got a couple of chances, including a Dane Dowiak shot in the crease about two minutes in. About four minutes in, Ben Schoen trampled Hillebrandt in the crease trying to gain positioning to deflect in a long shot from McKenna, and got a penalty for it at 3:56.
The Buckeyes started the power play with consistent pressure and possession, but Penn State was able to clear and even get a shorthanded chance on a shot by McKenna. After an offside midway through, Laubach and Burnside took dueling roughings at 5:10, but Ohio State would remain on the man-advantage.
Penn State killed it off and got several chances in the offensive zone from Wiebusch and Cerrato, but Hillebrandt had settled in. Caron would take a tripping penalty for Ohio State at 8:04 to put the Nittany Lions back on the power play. This power play was less productive, as aside from a one-timer by McKenna that went wide and a Cerrato shot on net, Ohio State did well in killing it off.
Penn State would control the next few minutes and fire many shots towards the nets, but the Buckeyes blocked shot after shot to keep Penn State from creating a scramble in front of the net. With under seven minutes to go in the period, Misa and Katzin got three shots on net in quick succession, generating a juicy rebound that nobody was able to get to.
Penn State got a fourth power play at 14:53 when Chris Romaine interfered with Nic Chin-DeGraves. The first 90 seconds saw the Buckeyes keep the Nittany Lions to the perimeter and without a shot attempt.
That changed when McKenna weaved a pass through traffic to DiMarsico, who fed Wiebusch in the slot for a tap-in goal at 16:29. It’s Wiebusch’s 11th of the season, sixth on the power play, and his fifth consecutive game with a goal as Penn State takes a 3-2 lead.
Penn State nearly doubled its lead immediately after when Shea Van Olm had a close shot go between the legs of Hillebrandt, but wide of the net. A minute later, Fleming had to stop a shot in tight by Jake Karabela.
In the final minute of the period, Max Montes turned it over at center ice, and Penn State took advantage, as Mac Gadowsky fed Dowiak, who picked the puck up after an initial blocked shot and fired it into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season and his second goal of the series, making it 4-2 Penn State at 19:03.
The period ended with no new theatrics, with the Nittany Lions leading by a pair and outshooting the Buckeyes 16-7.
Ohio State got a high-danger chance in the first minute of the third, but good stick work by the defense kept it away from Fleming. Penn State got the first three shots on net of the period, but none seriously threatened the back of the net.
The Nittany Lions took a bad penalty at 5:05 when Cerrato went off for tripping, giving the Buckeyes a critical power play. Ohio State did a great job with puck possession throughout the power play and hit a post early, but Penn State did a fantastic job blocking shots and getting in passing lanes to kill it off.
Ohio State continued to pressure after the power play had expired, and that pressure resulted in another Penn State penalty, as Carter Schade went off for hooking at 9:55 after a prolonged delayed penalty. That power play would do pretty much nothing for the first 77 seconds until a cross-check on Riley Thompson at 11:12 ended the power play.
Penn State did get over a minute of power play time after Schade came out of the box, but it similarly got nothing going. Neither team was generating good looks for several minutes in the midst of the penalties.
As the game entered the final five minutes, Ohio State began to pepper Fleming in the net, prompting head coach Steve Rohlik to pull the goaltender with 3:14 to go. Fleming made multiple saves in tight, and for the second straight night, the Buckeyes committed a bad penalty with an empty net on the blue line.
Eisele caught Chin-DeGraves with a high stick at 17:00, but it would result in a 4-on-4 due to Chin-DeGraves going off for embellishment. Rohlik emptied his net once again off the faceoff in desperation, but Fleming was stout.
Great defense kept the crease clean over the next minute. McKenna was able to emerge from the defensive zone and backhand a shot towards the empty net, but it went wide. The dueling penalties expired, and DiMarsico missed the empty net from the blue line.
The Buckeyes would finally score after over two minutes with an extra attacker, as William Smith beat Fleming with 14.7 seconds to go to make it 4-3. In the final seconds, Ohio State got one last shot off, but failed to find the back of the net as the Nittany Lions prevailed.
Takeaways
- The first period can be divided into two halves. Penn State led 2-0, had two power plays, and a 7-0 shot advantage in the first ten minutes, but Ohio State dominated the last ten, scoring two goals, getting two power plays, and outshooting the Nittany Lions a staggering 13-2.
- Ohio State goaltender Sam Hillebrandt got his first start of his collegiate career on Friday night after playing three seasons with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. In November 2024, Luke Misa scored a game-winning goal on him while he was a member of the Brampton Steelheads. Small world, huh?
- Jackson Smith was selected No. 14 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets and got to play in the city that he’ll call home soon enough in the NHL in this series. Hopefully, his goal tonight is the first of many in this city.
- Despite the absence of Aiden Fink due to injury, the power play had its best game of the season, potting a trio of goals in a dominant performance.
- Your daily Behind-the-Back Boys update: two goals, three assists.
- No matter what happens in the Shoe on Saturday, Penn State wins the weekend. Can’t overcome a 2-0 lead with one game to go!
Up Next
The men’s hockey team remains on the road for their next series, and it’s a big one. They head to East Lansing to face No. 1 Michigan State at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 7. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
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