Ohio State (16-13-5 overall, 6-9-5-4
Big Ten), in what was their first ever trip to Pegula Ice Arena, took
the first game of the series from Penn State (7-25-2 overall, 3-16-1
Big Ten) on Friday night by a 4-2 score. The scoreboard was a mirror
image the next afternoon, as the Nittany Lions took game two, winning
4-2.
Friday, March 14
A sold out crowd was on hand once again
in Hockey Valley. Ohio State was in town for the first time ever and
Penn State fans brought an electric atmosphere as they had all
season.
In the first tilt of the weekend,
junior Ryan Dzingel was once again the spark plug for the Buckeye
offense. The Big Ten's leading scorer gave Ohio State a 2-0 lead
after goals midway through the first period and early in the second.
The goals were Dzingel's team leading 19th and 20th
this season. Assisting on Dzingel's first goal were juniors Max
McCormick and Tanner Fritz. Fritz's assist was his team leading 21st
this season. The two Nicks (Oddo and Schilkey) provided helpers on
Dzingel's second goal. Freshman defenseman Mike Williamson energized
the home crowd, cutting the deficit in half with his second tally of
the year on the power play 5:14 into the second frame.
The Scarlet and Gray quickly stymied
any momentum created by Williamson's goal, as junior Nick Oddo lit
the lamp for the eighth time on the campaign 1:36 after Penn State
got on the board with assists from Schilkey and senior captain Curtis
Gedig. The standout freshman Schilkey put home his 12th
goal just 35 seconds after Oddo's marker. Dzingel and fellow freshman
Josh Healey had the helpers.With the goal, Schilkey achieved the
first three-point night of his Ohio State career.
Penn State battled hard, peppering
freshman goalie Christian Frey with 42 shots on the evening, but Frey
turned in another spectacular performance, making 40 saves. On the
opposite end of the ice for the Nittany Lions, junior PJ Musico made
26 saves on 30 shots.
The Nittany Lions found the net one
more time, scoring with the extra man on the ice with 1:55 left in
regulation. Sophomore Jonathan Miley found the back of the net for
the first time this year with help in the form of freshmen David
Thompson and David Goodwin.
Saturday, March 15
Penn State was looking to reward their loyal fans with a win on
Saturday in the finale for both the inaugural seasons of Pegula Ice
Arena and the Big Ten Conference.
Reward them they did.
Both Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik and Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky
changed their starting goaltenders from the previous night, as
freshman Matt Tomkins started for the Scarlet and Gray and sophomore
Matthew Skoff got the nod from his coach.
The Nittany Lions got off to a quick start by taking a 2-0 lead 6:59
into the game on the strength of a power play goal by redshirt-junior
defenseman Nate Jensen and a goal from sophomore Curtis Loik.
Freshman Dylan Richard provided the helper on Jensen's goal while
Loik's goal was unassisted. Senior Captain Curtis Gedig cut the Penn
State lead to one with a power play goal of his own 2:45 after the
Loik tally to make it a 2-1 game. Junior Tanner Fritz dished out his
team leading 22nd assist this season while Max McCormick
assisted on the goal as well. The opposing captain, junior Tommy
Olczyk, gave his team a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission
with his fifth goal this season at the 18:43 mark. Jensen and Richard
were credited with the assists.
Just 3:25 the second period, sophomore Anthony Greco pumped home his
fourth goal of the year from assists off the sticks of McCormick and
classmate Sam Jardine.
A Nick Schilkey high sticking penalty would prove to be costly, as
Penn State capitalized 6:55 into the final 20 minutes of play.
Redshirt-junior Taylor Holstrom redirected a shot from the point off
the stick of Jensen to give Penn State their fourth and final goal on
the afternoon. Jensen recorded his first three-point game of his
career in the 4-2 win.
Tomkins recorded 28 saves on 32 shots while Skoff stopped 27 of 29
attempts on goal.
Number six seeded Penn State will face third seeded Michigan in the
first of two contests Thursday, March 20, at 3 p.m. at Xcel Energy
Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, for the inaugural Big Ten Conference
tournament.
Ohio State, seeded fourth, will play the number five seed in Michigan
State in the second game on Thursday at 8 p.m.
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