Penn State hockey picked up a key road win in Big Ten play as the No. 6 ranked Nittany Lions won 4-3 over No. 5 Ohio State on Friday night in Columbus.
It was the Buckeyes scoring first with just under four minutes to go in the opening period as Mason Jobst slotted a shot above Peyton Jones’ glove, flipping Jones’ water bottle off the net in the process. The hosts managed 13 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of play and controlled the early stages of the game.
Evan Barratt didn’t wait long to improve his point total on the year though as the sophomore tied the game at 1-1 just four minutes into he second period. Barratt now leads the nation with 21 total points as he picked up a goal and assists by the end of the night.
Brandon Biro would give Penn State the lead not long thereafter on the power play to make it 2-1. The one-goal margin did not last as a shorthanded rush by Ohio State would tie the game nearly two minutes after Biro’s own tally.
The chaos didn’t stop there as Cole Hults slipped home a shot less than a minute later to give Penn State an eventual 3-2 lead heading into the final period of play. The Nittany Lions outshot Ohio State 19-9 in the middle frame and controlled much of the run of play in the period.
The comforts of leading didn’t last long as just 2:32 into the third it was John Waitala tied the game a 3-3 with plenty of time left on the clock.
And it was Denis Smirnov finding the power play winner with a powerful wrist shot and 8:36 gone by to give the Nittany Lions the decisive goal and a 4-3 margin.
Peyton Jones would make 41 saves as he picked up his second Big Ten win of the season in as many starts.
Penn State was 2-for-4 on the man advantage while Ohio State converted on just one of its four chances Friday evening.
The Nittany Lions are now 9-2 on the year, 2-0 on the road and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Friday night’s trip was the first outside the state of Pennsylvania this season for the Nittany Lions after opening much of the 2018-19 campaign at home.
Both teams will hit the ice again tomorrow night at 8:05 EST to close out the second series of the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten slate.
