Jan. 6, 2017
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| Final | ||||
| #2 Penn State | 16 | 13 | 17 | 46 | |
| #11 Ohio State | 8 | 10 | 3 | 21 |
| Final | ||||
| #2 Penn State | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-4 | |
| #11 Ohio State | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 |
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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 2 Penn State men's ice hockey team dropped a 3-0 decision to the 11th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes this evening in Big Ten Conference action from Value City Arena.
The Nittany Lions see their 13-game unbeaten streak and 11-game winning streak snapped as they fall to 13-2-1 on the season and 2-1-0-0 in the Big Ten while the Buckeyes improve to 10-3-4 overall and 2-1-0-0 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- At 14:00 of the first period, senior Dylan Richard (Sherwood Park, Alberta) looked to have given Penn State the 1-0 lead on a power play goal, but the play was reviewed and overturned as it was determined he kicked the puck in with his skate.
- Ohio State then got on the board first at 17:45 of the opening period as senior Drew Brevig fired a harmless wrister on net that snuck through traffic out front and beat freshman goalie Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) high-glove for the 1-0 lead.
- The Buckeyes extended their lead late in the second period as junior Luke Stork ripped a wrist shot off an offensive zone draw for the 2-0 lead at 19:33 of the period.
- Following the final media timeout, Penn State had some great offensive zone chances as sophomore Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) used some good stick work to feed the puck through the crease, but senior David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.) couldn't corral it in his skates with an empty side of the net in front of him.
- Then freshman Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia) has a great bid all alone out front coming from the left side of the net, but his backhand bid was smothered by OSU senior net-minder Christian Frey to preserve the shutout.
- OSU sophomore John Wiitala would hit the empty net at 18:16 of the third period for the final score.
GOALTENDING
- Frey improves to 4-1-1 with the victory after collecting 46 saves while Jones is dealt the loss for the first time this season falling to 11-1-1 after an 18 save performance.
NOTES
- The scoreless first period for Penn State was just the first time they have been shutout during the opening 20 minutes dating back to their second game of the season against St. Lawrence on October 7, 2016.
- This was just the fifth time that Penn State had not scored first in a game and only the second time this season they have trailed after 20 minutes of play.
- Penn State entered the game with only three periods of scoreless play on the season, but were held without a goal for in all three this evening.
- Richard and sophomore Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) each saw their career-best four-game point streaks snapped while senior Zach Saar (Richland, Mich.) saw his career-high three-game point-streak halted as well.
- Smirnov was also held off the scoresheet for just the second time this season. Worth noting, he would have had the secondary assist on the Richard goal if it were not waived off.
- The Nittany Lions fall to 1-4-0 all-time in their first game back after the winter break.
- Penn State falls to 5-10 all-time against Ohio State including just 1-6 at Value City Arena.
- This marked the first time Penn State has been shutout since a 5-0 loss to Minnesota on March 13, 2015.
- Penn State outshot the hosts 46-21, but went 0-for-4 with the man-advantage while the Buckeyes were 0-for-1 on the power-play.
NEXT UP
Both teams return tomorrow evening to conclude the series with an 8 p.m. puck drop from Value City Arena.