UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 16th-ranked Penn State men's ice hockey team begins Big Ten Conference play on the road for the second-consecutive year with a trip to Columbus to battle the Buckeyes on Friday and Saturday evening.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, November 5 | Saturday, November 6
Place: Value City Arena | Columbus, Ohio
Time: Fri: 7:00 p.m. | Sat: 5:00 p.m.
Streaming Video - B1G+ ($): Friday | Saturday
Listen: Friday | Saturday
Live Statistics: Friday | Saturday
Game Notes: Penn State | Ohio State
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
- This weekend marks the 34th and 35th meetings all-time with Ohio State holding the 17-13-3 edge including an 8-7-2 mark at Value City Arena.
- Last season the series was split 1-1 with the final two contests being canceled due to Penn State's COVID-19 pause late in the season. Penn State won the season series in 2019-20 with a record of 2-1-1 taking seven of the possible 12 points en route to its first Big Ten regular season championship. The Nittany Lions are 5-2-2 against the Buckeyes over the past four seasons in Columbus including a decisive 5-1 victory in the 2019 Big Ten semifinals.
- Junior Kevin Wall leads all current Nittany Lions with four points in six career games against the Buckeyes with two goals and two assists as only three current Penn State players have registered goals against OSU with junior Connor McMenamin and sophomore Jimmy Dowd Jr. each adding one. Only six current Nittany Lions have points against the Buckeyes.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
- The Buckeyes return nine of their top-10 scorers from a season ago including all five leading scorers led by Travis Treloar who finished the 2020-21 season with 12 goals and 20 points. Quinn Preston, Tate Singleton and Gustaf Westlund are each back after tying for second on the team a season ago with six goals.
- OSU finished last season 7-19-1 dropping a 4-0 decision to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Ohio State has opened the 2021-22 season 4-2-0 through six games including a series split to open Big Ten play last weekend against Michigan State dropping a 2-1 decision before a 5-1 win in the series finale.
- Singleton is currently leading Ohio State with three goals and five points through the first six games of the season. Five other Buckeyes have each found the net twice in the early going.
- The Buckeyes begin the 2021-22 season with a new face between the pipes as Tommy Nappier graduated in the spring after backstopping OSU for the past three seasons as one of the top goaltenders in the Big Ten.
- Freshman Jakub Dobes has appeared in five of the first six games for Ohio State posting a 4-1-0 record with a .964 save percentage and a 0.86 goals-against average to rank first in the Big Ten and third in the nation for both categories.
- Ohio State's defense has been top tier so far in 2021-22. It currently leads the Big Ten in goals allowed per game (1.50).
- Ohio State has dominated in the faceoff dot so far this season, leading the Big Ten winning 59.3 percent of draws. Centers Patrick Guzzo and Georgii Merkulov lead the way, winning 67 percent of their draws.
- Freshman forward Cam Thiesing and freshman defenseman Mason Lohrei are two newcomers that have stood out for the Buckeyes. The duo both have four points on the season, with Thiesing being second on the team in shots with 22.
PHILLY SPECIAL
- Senior Clayton Phillips scored twice while adding an assist to tie his career-high with three points during a 6-4 victory over No. 6 North Dakota on Saturday night and was named Big Ten First Star of the Week for his efforts marking his first career weekly award.
- The two goals marked the first time in his career with multiple scores in a game as he is now third on the team with six points on three goals and three assists. His six points are good for third in the Big Ten among defensemen and rank 20th nationally while his three goals lead all Big Ten blue-liners and are tied for second nationally among d-men.
NITTANY LION SPECIAL
- Penn State went 3-for-5 with the man-advantage in its win over North Dakota last Saturday. It was the first time the Nittany Lions had three or more powerplay tallies since December 3, 2020, when they went 4-for-6 against Michigan.
- With the strong performance last weekend, PSU's powerplay is up to third in the Big Ten and 12th in the nation at 26.9 percent (7-for-26).
- The Nittany Lions entered last weekend with the second-best penalty kill in the conference and the fourth best in the nation, however, North Dakota went 3-for-6 with the man-advantage in the game snapping a streak of 25-straight kills for Penn State in the process. With the Ivies starting last week as well and the minor slip up, the Nittany Lions are now third in the Big Ten and 18th in the nation at 88.2 percent (30-for-34).
ALL THE WAY TUNED UP
- Senior goaltender Oskar Autio earned his fourth career shutout against Niagara two weeks ago tying Peyton Jones '20 for the all-time program record.
- Autio is 4-1-0 so far this season and is currently tied for third in the Big Ten with a 2.00 goals-against average, good for 19th in the nation, while his .922 save percentage is good for sixth in the Big Ten and 24th in the nation.
'COPE'ING WITH CHANGE
- Colorado College transfer Ben Copeland is beginning to hit his stride with the Nittany Lions as he is currently riding a three-game point-streak (1-4-5) with two multi-point games in his last three games. The senior's career-best point-streak is five games dating back to his freshman season in 2018-19.
- Copeland registered his first Nittany Lion goal last Saturday as he hit the empty net to secure Penn State's 6-4 victory against then-No. 6 North Dakota.
KECKS GON' GIVE IT TO YA
- Junior Connor MacEachern has registered three multi-point games in his last four including a pair of multi-goal games over that span marking the first two of his career. MacEachern tallied two goals against North Dakota on Saturday including the eventual game-winner giving him four on the season which is already a new career-best in just seven games.
- MacEachern's seven points on the year are tied for ninth in the Big Ten while his four goals are tied for fourth in the conference. The Junior was named Big Ten Third Star of the week on Tuesday marking the first time in his career he has earned a weekly award.
200 FOOT GAME
- Penn State is currently performing well at both ends of the ice leading the Big Ten and ranking fourth in the nation in scoring offense averaging 4.29 goals per game.
- On the defensive side, the Nittany Lions are tied for second in the Big Ten and 14th nationally allowing just 2.14 goals per game, a far cry from the 3.68 goals per game surrendering during the 2020-21 season.
IF YOU AIN'T FIRST, YOU'RE LAST
- Penn State has scored the opening goal of the game in six out of seven games so far this season with a record of 6-0-0 when doing so. Over the past five seasons, the Nittany Lions are now 73-17-9 when scoring first.
- Penn State has also held the lead when entering the third period in all six of those games improving to 133-12-10 all-time when leading after 40 minutes.
- Penn State is outscoring its opponents 10-3 in the first period this season having scored at least one first period goal in six of seven games with multiple first period tallies in four of those games
NEXT UP
- Penn State returns home to Pegula Ice Arena as Big Ten play rolls along with a two-game series against No. 3 Michigan.
For more information on the 2021-22 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.