COLUMBUS, Ohio – Freshman Ryan Kirwan (DeWitt, N.Y.) potted the game-winning goal with just under three minutes remaining in the contest to give Penn State the, 3-2, victory over No. 12 Ohio State in game two of the B1G quarterfinal best-of-three series on Saturday evening inside Value City Arena.
Penn State improves to 16-19-1 this season with the victory while Ohio State drops to 22-12-2 overall with the setback. Both teams will be back for a winner-take-all game three tomorrow night at 8 p.m. with the winner going on to face either Minnesota or Michigan in the Big Ten semifinals next Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State controlled play for most of the opening period and were rewarded for it late in the frame as freshman Dylan Lugris (Buffalo, N.Y.) laced a one-timer from the slot over the glove of Buckeye net-minder Jakub Dobes for the 1-0 edge with just 29.8 seconds remaining in the first period.
- Ohio State responded with the equalizer on the powerplay as Michael Gildon slotted home a rebound after Travis Treloar's initial bid hit the post for the 1-1 score at 13:55 of the second period.
- The Nittany Lions regained the lead as junior Kevin Wall (Penfield, N.Y.) finished into a yawning net after a pass from Kirwan at 17:12 of the second period.
- The Buckeyes tied it again midway through the third period as Cole McWard fired a shot from the point through traffic for the 2-2 score at the 9:33 mark.
- Penn State then regained the lead for good late in the third period as Kiwan was the beneficiary of strong offensive move to the net by sophomore Christian Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) as the rookie slapped the rebound into a yawning net for the 3-2 score at the 17:19 mark.
GOALTENDING
Sophomore Liam Souliere (Brampton, Ontario) improves to 6-6-1 on the year after making 33 saves on the night to secure his first career playoff victory while Dobes drops to 21-11-2 after stopping 43-of-46 shots he faced.
NOTES
- Penn State held the commanding 43-33 edge in shots on goal, but went 0-for-2 with man-advantage while Ohio State was 1-for-3 on the powerplay.
- Penn State controlled the dot again winning 45-of-83 faceoffs (54.2 percent).
- With a first period assist, junior Connor McMenamin (Collegeville, Pa.) has tied his longest point streak of the season of three games and is just one shy of his career-best four gamer from last season. The junior now has points in four of his last five games after having just one point in his previous six games.
- With the primary assist on Wall's second period tally, Kirwan now has 13 assists on the season to tie for the 10th most in a single-season by a freshman in program history. His 12th career goal later in the game was his third game-winner of the season and breaks a tie with Evan Barratt for the seventh-most by a freshman in a single season in Penn State history. Kirwan's 25 points are now tied with David Glen for the seventh-most by a freshman in a single-season.
- Kirwan collected his sixth multi-point effort of the season while Berger and freshman Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio) each added a pair of assists to tie their career-bests and secure the third and sixth multi-point efforts of this season and of their careers, respectively.
- With his 16th goal of the season Wall is now tied with a trio of Nittany Lions for the ninth-most in a single-season in Penn State history.
- With Big Ten Tournament win No. 12 Penn State once again separates itself from Ohio State for the most wins in tournament history improving to 12-8-0 all-time.
- In the previous three years of this three-weekend style tournament, there have only been two game three's during the quarterfinals while this weekend two series alone will head to a game three as Wisconsin and Notre Dame will also battle it out in a winner-take-all game tomorrow night.
- The Nittany Lions improve to 15-4-1 when scoring first and 14-4-0 when leading entering the third period. The victory was also just the second of the season for Penn State in one goal games.
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.