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Jan. 23, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 14 Penn State men's hockey was unable to find its comeback magic for a second straight night in a 5-1 loss to Ohio State on Saturday at Value City Arena. Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) scored Penn State's lone goal.
Penn State (16-5-3, 6-2-0-0 Big Ten) fell for just the third time in three months as Ohio State (7-13-2, 2-4-2-1 Big Ten) was opportunistic in its chances to build a 3-0 lead through two periods. Scheid brought the Lions within two early in the third and a five-minute major allowed Penn State the chance to cut into the deficit further.
Nevertheless, OSU killed that chance off, scored on a power-play of its own and added an empty-netter for the final score line to earn a series split.
While Penn State out-shot Ohio State 16-7 in the opening stanza, it was Ohio State who would get on the board first as Craig Dalrymple scored after only 3:30 of play. Brendan Kearney, who missed Friday's game due to suspension, took a stretch pass for a breakaway that Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.) saved, but the Buckeyes won the puck in the corner and Dalrymple connected from the right faceoff circle.
Penn State's best scoring chance came with 4:15 remaining in the period as Tommy Olczyk (Long Grove, Ill.) led a 2-on-1 down the left wing and dinged the right post and the ensuing follow up by Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) was stopped by a sprawling Christian Frey.
The Nittany Lions continued the momentum into the second period, creating multiple scoring chances and generally playing a better game. PSU's best chance came on first power play of the game as Dylan Richard's (Sherwood Park, Alberta) chance rung off the right post off a feed from Scheid with 9:40 remaining.
Just over a minute later, the tide of the period would turn as Nick Schilkey intercepted a pass in Penn State's zone and scored the short-handed effort to double Ohio State's lead. The deficit would grow five minutes later as Miguel Fidler put away a Tyler Lundey rebound for his first collegiate goal and a 3-0 advantage.
In the third period, Penn State used only 1:13 of game time to cut into the deficit. Scheid took a feed from Alec Marsh (Bridgewater, N.J.)and rifled PSU's third shot off the post, only this time it caromed off Frey's glove and into the net.
Twenty-seven seconds later, Penn State went on a five-minute power play as Josh Healey was assessed his fourth major penalty of the year for a contact to the head call. The Nittany Lions were unable to generate little offense as the Buckeyes mounted their own momentum from the penalty kill.
With 6:50 remaining, Mason Jobst went in alone on the power play and made it 4-1 with only 10 seconds remaining on the man-advantage. His goal was assisted by David Gust and Victor Bjorkung.
Penn State elected to pull McAdam for the extra skater with 5:45 to play, but Dakota Joshua collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and scored the empty-netter to seal the victory with 4:17 to go.
Penn State held a 34-30 edge in shots but went 0-for-2 on the power play. Ohio State scored on its only power-play chance and held a decisive 36-21 edge in draws.
NITTANY NOTES
• Penn State fell to 1-5-0 in Columbus and is now 4-8-0 all-time against the Buckeyes.
• Eric Scheid is on a three-game point streak.
• Penn State registered a lone goal for just the fourth time this season. PSU is 0-2-2 in such instances.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State returns to Hockey Valley to face No. 6 Michigan on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to #WearWhite for the game against the Wolverines.
The two-game series wraps up on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. inside Madison Square Garden in New York City for the nightcap of the Big Ten Super Saturday doubleheader with men's basketball. PSU and Michigan tip off at Noon. Tickets for both games are available on Ticketmaster.