Penn State completes series sweep over Ohio State
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The Penn State men’s hockey program completed the sweep over Ohio State after a 4-3 win Saturday night in its annual “Wear White” game.
Penn State moved to 12-11-3, and 4-9-3 in Big Ten play with its win Saturday night. That was Penn State’s first sweep of a Big Ten opponent since October 28th and 29th of the 2022-23 season, sweeping Wisconsin on the road.
Hot start
The Nittany Lions jumped out to a hot start in this contest, controlling the pace of play, and limiting the opportunities for Ohio State. It took until just under a minute remaining in the first period for Penn State to score, when Jacques Bouquot buried a second chance score on the power play, to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead headed into the first intermission.
Aiden Fink scored the team’s second power-play goal of the game, and his third of the weekend, just over the halfway mark in the second period, giving Penn State a 2-0 lead. Jarod Crespo added to the Nittany Lion momentum as his persistence in front of the net paid off as he was able to put a puck past Kristoffer Eberly to extend the Nittany Lion lead to 3-0 with just less than 30 minutes remaining in the game.
Three unanswered
It seemed as if the Nittany Lions held all of the momentum in this contest, but for the second straight night, Ohio State made it interesting.
William Smith tallied the first of three straight scores for the Buckeyes, and the first of two second-period goals in the span of just over a minute, with Patrick Guzzo netting the other. Stephan Halliday knotted the game up at three early into the third period, and all of a sudden, all of the momentum Penn State had built was gone.
The score
Both teams traded chances, with one side trying to gain the edge over the other, with nothing doing for either team. With just over six minutes remaining, Guzzo is sent to the penalty box for elbowing, and the Nittany Lions had the man advantage with the game on the line.
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Ohio State had dominated the penalty kill and had seemed to have killed the penalty off with one last clear. Tyler Paquette was able to gather the puck and make one last rush before the penalty expired, when he fired a shot from the left side that found the back of the net, giving Penn State the lead with just under a second remaining on the power play.
The Nittany Lions would hold on to the one-score lead, and win the game 4-3.
Takeaways
For the second straight, Liam Souliere came up clutch for the Nittany Lions on multiple occasions, saving the game for them. Souliere was a dominating presence yet again while the Buckeyes had the extra attacker. Souliere maintained his own while Ohio State had a five-minute major penalty stemming from a Reese Laubach game misconduct, not allowing a score. The penalty kill unit played a huge role in the win as well.
Souliere made a nifty glove save to stop a breakaway early in the second period, and a scorpion save to stop Ohio State from taking the lead in the third.
Matt DiMarsico tallied an assist on the first three goals for Penn State Saturday night, making that yet another three-point game for the talented freshman forward.
What’s next for Penn State
The Nittany Lions have the week off, before traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., on Feb. 9th when they take on the Golden Gophers. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
