COLUMBUS, Ohio — Fourth-ranked Penn State men’s hockey traveled to Columbus to play No.17 Ohio State on Thursday and Friday night to start off Big Ten play where the Nittany Lions picked up two wins and swept the Buckeyes. This was the third sweep for Penn State over Ohio State all-time.
Thursday night was not a great start for the Nittany Lions as they found themselves down 2-0 less than five minutes into the game. It wasn’t until the 5:47 mark in the second period for Penn State to find the back of the net, where JJ Wiebusch got the scoring going for the Nittany Lions. The goal was assisted by Gavin McKenna and Mac Gadowsky.
Halfway through the third period Penn State tied it up from a goal by Dane Dowiak that was assisted by Nicholas Chin-DeGraves and Jarod Crespo. The Nittany Lions scored a goal to put them ahead just 97 seconds later when Luke Misa made his first collegiate goal, which would end up being the winning goal. Penn State won Thursday’s night game with a final score of 3-2.
Penn State carried that momentum into Friday’s game, scoring two early goals in the first period when Jackson Smith and JJ Wiebusch found the back of the net. Ohio State came back and scored two unanswered goals in the first period, making the score 2-2 at the end of the first period.
The Nittany Lions regained the lead late in the second period when the national leading scorer, JJ Wiebusch, scored his 11th goal of the season, giving Penn State a 3-2 lead. McKenna and Matt DiMarsico assisted on this goal.
Penn State extended the lead with a goal scored by Dane Dowiak with just 57.6 seconds remaining in the second period, making the score 4-2 going into the third period.
Ohio State scored an empty net goal with just 14 seconds left, making the final score 4-3.
Penn State is now 9-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The Nittany Lions are now on a seven-game winning streak, making them the No. 3 team in the country.
No. 3 Penn State will travel to East Lansing to take on No. 1 Michigan State on Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8.
