MARVELOUS
The Arizona Cardinals select Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
On Friday night Penn State snapped Ohio State’s winning streak. On Saturday the Buckeyes returned the favor, putting an end to the Nittany Lions’ 11 game unbeaten streak. The Bucks skated in front of a rookie netminder, without captain Mason Jobst. They lost defensive veteran Janik Moser along the way. But the team pulled together and delivered a 5-1 beat down on PSU’s ice.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6/7 Ohio State | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| No. 13 Penn State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Unlike last night’s contest, the Bucks hit the ice running. They went toe-to-toe with Penn State from the opening faceoff. Five minutes in they drew first blood.
Freddy Gerard flew down with his hair on fire and dished the puck to Tanner Laczynski. The Bucks' leading scorer had an easy empty net tap in for the goal. (It’s also possible Gerard lost the puck trying to reach around Peyton Jones, but let’s go with he totally meant to do that.)
Tanner Laczynski opened the scoring for the Buckeyes at Penn State, scoring off a pass from Freddy Gerard. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/YvgMKpLmYn
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 14, 2018
The Nittany Lions leveled the score midway through the first period. They kept the Buckeyes hemmed in the defensive zone for an ungodly amount of time. Nappier made several adventurous saves but eventually he surrendered a goal. PSU’s Nikita Pavlychev shook the OSU defense behind the net and knocked a rolling puck five hole to tie the game.
The action was fast and physical throughout the opening period. Both teams paid the price for it, though in different ways. Ohio State defenseman Sasha Larocque was badly stung by a shot block. Janik Moser and Andrew Sturtz exited the game on the same play. The Buckeye defenseman left on one leg, with assistance and in considerable pain. Penn State’s leading scorer hit the showers early at the discretion of the officials.
The major resulting from Sturtz’s kneeing penalty provided the red hot Buckeye power play a golden opportunity to regain the lead. Matt Weis and Ronnie Hein cycled in and out in front of the net, putting shots on Jones. The puck came out to Freddy Gerard. He popped in his seventh goal of the season.
Junior Freddy Gerard put the Buckeyes ahead with a power play goal, his sixth tally of the year. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/axnUcBvl4L
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 14, 2018
The game continued to have a rough, chippy tenor but Ohio State remained disciplined for the most part. Three of the next four calls went against Penn State and the Buckeye power play struck again. Dakota Joshua kicked an offensive zone draw back to the point. He then went to the net where he finished the play.
In the second period, Dakota Joshua converted on the power play to put the Buckeyes up 3-1. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/OYEtH04AZ9
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) January 14, 2018
The 3-1 score stood through the third period until Gerard sealed the deal with an empty net goal. The Nittany Lions put Jones back in net but that didn’t stop Austin Pooley from adding a fifth Buckeye tally with a few tenths of a second left on the clock. It was a satisfying a bit of revenge for the buzzer beater the Bucks allowed in the teams’ first meeting.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tanner Laczynski (Freddy Gerard, Matt Weis) | 1 | 5:08 |
| PP - Freddy Gerard (Ronnie Hein, Tanner Laczynski) | 1 | 15:49 |
| PP - Dakota Joshua (Gordi Myer, Kevin Miller) | 2 | 7:03 |
| EN - Freddy Gerard (Matt Weis, Tanner Laczynski) | 3 | 19:27 |
| Austin Pooley (unassisted) | 3 | 19:59 |
Nappier made 30 stops in the win, including thwarting a Penn State penalty shot. He picks up his third career victory in his third career start. This is also the first Big Ten win for the rookie netminder.
After a rough outing last night the Buckeye penalty kill returned to its usual impenetrable state. Larocque was especially notable on the PK unit. OSU’s defensive leader sacrificed his body repeatedly to help achieve a spotless 2-for-2 record.
The Bucks’ power play continued its hot streak. With a 2-for-5 mark tonight Ohio State is now 9 for its last 22 advantages. That’s an astounding 40.9%.
Tonight’s win brings the Buckeyes' record to 16-5-4 overall and 9-5-1-0 in the Big Ten. They retake second place in the conference from Penn State. Ohio State heads home for a bye week. The team then hosts a surging Michigan squad January 26-27.
- Ohio State outshot Penn State 42-31 in the contest. Tanner Laczynski led all Buckeye shooters with eight shots on net.
- Laczynski (1-2--3) and Matt Weis (0-2--2) each recorded multiple point nights and extended their personal point streaks to eight games each.
- In other Big Ten results: One week after knocking off the No. 1 team in the nation, the ninth ranked Gophers were swept by the Wolverines. Wisconsin rallied to split its series against Michigan State.
- The updated B1G standings are as follows: Notre Dame 36 points, Ohio State 25, Penn State 23, Michigan 18, Wisconsin 17, Michigan State 14, Minnesota 14.
