UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio) potted the equalizer in the third period and converted in the shootout to give Penn State the extra point in the Big Ten standings following a 2-2 tie against No. 12 Ohio State on Friday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
The Nittany Lions move to 14-12-1 on the year and 5-11-1-1-1-1 in Big Ten play while Ohio State runs its record to 18-7-2 overall and 10-5-2-0-1-2 in conference action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State opened the scoring as Schoen sent a no-look, behind-the-back feed from the near halfwall connecting with freshman Danny Dzhaniyev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who finished with a backhand out front for the 1-0 lead at the 4:51 mark of the first period.
- The Buckeyes answered the goal as Cam Theising redirected a pass from James Marooney out front for the 1-1 score at the 8:05 mark.
- Ohio State then took the lead late in the second period as it was Joe Dunlap finishing off a feed from Jake Wise toward the far post for the 2-1 edge at 15:48 of the middle frame.
- The Nittany Lions found the equalizer early in the third period as it was Schoen finishing a pass from sophomore Jimmy Dowd Jr. (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.) into a yawning net at the top of the crease after Buckeye netminder Jakub Dobes was caught out of position at 5:52 of the final stanza.
- The teams traded chances in the overtime session, however, the game remained tied and went to a shootout.
- Neither team converted on its first two chances before Eric Cooley of Ohio State and junior Connor MacEachern (Brooklin, Ontario) each lit the lamp in the third round setting the stage for Schoen who sent a backhanded shot over the right pad of Dobes for the shootout winner.
GOALTENDING
Sophomore Liam Souliere (Brampton, Onatario) stopped 28 shots in the game including 3-of-4 in the shootout to move to 4-2-1 on the year while Dobes runs his record to 17-6-2 after a 46-save performance.
GADOWSKY POSTGAME
Opening Statement
I got to tell you. I thought it was an excellent hockey game in a lot of areas. Both goalies were great and had to be. I really liked the way both teams played. They created a lot. It was physical, but clean and I thought it was an excellent hockey game. Obviously, thrilled to get the result but win or lose on that one I think you have to be pretty happy with how we played. I don't want to speak for them but win or lose I was very happy with how the team played.
Q: Danny Dzhaniyev and Ben Schoen are two freshmen who have really stepped up recently, talk about them a little bit.
Yeah, they are two guys that I think started out both really fast and then maybe the transition [to Big Ten play] caught up to them. That's when they really had to work, and they both did. Both, in terms of physically but also mentally. Both have had to really focus on a couple areas of their game and that isn't easy, but they've done it. They did it for the team and you know, like I said many times, often when guys play for the team good things seem to follow and that's what's going on with both of them.
Q: It felt that the crowd was particularly involved tonight, especially the Roar Zone, they were very adamant about being loud just talk about how they were tonight.
Yeah, I think they've been pretty consistent. They are the best student section in college hockey. I think they bring it every night. It's not just once in a while. They are unbelievable. Obviously last weekend with the whiteout they were incredible and tonight it was huge for our performance. They kept us in there. They were positive. They were great. They were energetic. We rode their wave. They're the best in college hockey. I give them so much credit for the atmosphere of this building and for the success of our program.
Q: Liam [Souliere] has had two pretty solid performances in back-to-back starts. He also looks like a guy who's grown up a little bit as the years go on. How do you feel having those back-to-back performances?
I'm really happy for him because he actually has had some really good performances with a not great start. I think he's also committed to making sure that he's doing the best to make sure that doesn't happen. He's been excellent in both starts. He was excellent tonight. He faced an excellent goaltender, but he came out on top. I'm really happy for him. He's a hard worker in a very, very positive fun way. He's really great to have on the team, I'm very happy for him.
Q: Where do you guys feel you guys are offensively now serving two solid performances against Wisconsin and then tonight you put up 48 shots on goal?
We're certainly starting to play back to what we're used to. We're getting back to our identity, which is really nice, and it's fun. And I think the team is enjoying it as well. So along with the growth of our freshmen we talked about, so is the growth of our identity and that's what you see happening and it sure feels good on the bench. I'll tell you that.
Q: The Schoen, Dzhaniyev and Lugris line, specifically, what kind of impact did they have?
I thought the best shift of the game was with Lugris in the second period. Lugris alone should have had I mean, he could have easily had a goal and two assists in I would say 20 seconds. It was a great shift, and we gained a lot of momentum from it. I thought that whole line, even when they switched off with [Xander] Lamppa, had some excellent shifts as well. I really thought that that whole line, whoever was out there with them, I thought they were excellent. They created a lot.
NOTES
- The Nittany Lions are now 13-3-1 on the year when scoring first and move to just 0-5-1 when trailing entering the third period.
- Penn State held the commanding 48-30 edge in shots on goal while each team went 0-for-2 with the man-advantage.
- The shootout victory is the first for Penn State since November 30, 2018 at Wisconsin as Alex Limoges '21 scored the winner back then. Tonight was also the first time Penn State went to a shootout since February 7, 2020 also against Ohio State with the Buckeyes taking the extra point that night.
- With his first period goal, Dzhaniyev has now scored a goal in back-to-back games for the first time this season while extending his career-long point streak to four games. Dzhaniyev also collected his fourth multi-point game of the season after adding a third period assist.
- With his first period assist, Kirwan extends his point streak to a career-best seven games and has now registered at least one point in 13 of his last 15 games played.
- With one goal and one assist, Schoen has now scored in back-to-back games for the first time in his Nittany Lion career while collecting his fourth multi-point game of the season, his second-straight.
- With the 29th point of his career, Dowd Jr. has moved into a tie with Nate Jensen for 10th all-time at Penn State for defenseman scoring while his 24 career assists are now good for ninth all-time. His 19 points this season are now just one shy of Cole Hults for the ninth most among Penn State defensemen while his 16 assists are tied for eighth with Luke Juha.
- Even though he lit the lamp in ther shootout, MacEachern sees his career-best six-game point streak come to a close.
- Penn State is now 12-1-1 this season when a freshman scores.
NEXT UP
Both teams return to Pegula Ice Arena tomorrow evening to conclude the season series with a 7 p.m. puck drop.
For more information on the 2021-22 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: 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.