COLUMBUS, Ohio – Freshman Jimmy Dowd Jr. (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.) registered a career-high three points on one goal and pair of assists, but it was not enough as Penn State dropped a 6-3 decision to Ohio State in Big Ten Conference action on Friday evening at Value City Arena.
Penn State falls to 4-7-0 on the year and 2-7-0-0-0 in conference action while the Buckeyes improve to 4-6-1 overall and 4-5-1-0-1 in league play with the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Buckeyes jumped to an early lead as Layton Ahac fed Austin Pooley entering the offensive zone and the senior split a pair of Nittany Lion defenders skating in all alone firing from between the circles over the blocker of Penn State junior net-minder Oskar Autio (Espoo, Finland) for the 1-0 edge at 2:20 of the opening frame.
- Collin Peters then doubled the margin as he deflected an Ahac offering from the point that trickled past Autio for the 2-0 score at 8:39 of the first period.
- Penn State cut the deficit in half with a powerplay tally as Dowd laced a one-timer from the point off a feed from junior Aarne Talvitie (Espoo, Finland) for the 2-1 score at 12:36 of the stanza.
- The Buckeyes regained the two-goal lead early in the second period as Travis Treloar lifted a backhand shot off the bar and in over the glove of Autio just 90 seconds into the frame for the 3-1 score.
- The Nittany Lions once again cut the deficit in half late in the second period this time scoring right as a powerplay expired as it was Talvitie waiting in the slot before picking the left corner over the blocker of Buckeye goaltender Tommy Nappier for the 3-2 score at 17:52 of the stanza.
- Ohio State again wasted little time in the final frame to regain the two-goal lead as Quinn Preston generated a high turnover and raced the other way beating Autio under the glove for the 4-2 advantage just 80 ticks into the period.
- Treloar was then left all alone in the slot during the man-advantage and he laced a shot over the left shoulder of Autio for the 5-2 lead at 3:16 of the third period.
- Senior Evan Bell (Livonia, Mich.) then blasted a shot from the point through traffic that deflected off classmate Tim Doherty (Portsmouth, R.I.) and past Nappier, who never saw it, for the 5-3 deficit at 18:36.
- Pooley then hit the empty net at 19:40 for the final score.
GOALTENDING
Autio sees his personal-best three-game winning streak snapped as he falls to 3-4-0 after making 15 saves while Nappier improves to 4-6-1 after stopping 40-of-43 shots in the victory.
NOTES
- The Nittany Lions held the commanding 43-21 lead in shots including a 32-11 mark over the final two periods while going 1-for-5 on the powerplay, OSU went 1-for-1 with the man-advantage.
- Penn State has now scored at least one powerplay goal in five of the last six games going 8-for-19 over that stretch.
- Ohio State held the 34-of-57 edge in faceoffs while clogging up shot lanes all day with 28 blocked shots to just five for the Nittany Lions.
- With one goal and one assist, Talvitie secures his second multi-point game this season and the 11th of his career.
- With one goal and two assists Dowd Jr. set new career-highs for both points and assists while securing his second career multi-point game.
- Sophomore Kevin Wall had the secondary assist on both Dowd Jr. and Talvitie's goals tying his career-high for points and assists while securing his second multi-point game this season and just the third of his career.
NEXT UP
Both teams return to The Shott tomorrow to conclude the two-game series with another 5:30 p.m. puck drop. The game will be streamed on BTN+.
For more information on the 2020-21 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: the Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.