No. 4 Men's Hockey Begins B1G Play at No. 17 Ohio State

THIS WEEK’S MATCHUP

• This week marks the 57th and 58th meetings all-time between the two programs with Ohio State holding the 28-23-5 edge including a 17-13-2 record in Columbus. The Buckeyes are Penn State’s second most common opponent behind Wisconsin.
• This marks the first matchups between the two teams since last season’s B1G Semifinal, also held at Value City Arena, with the Buckeyes securing the 4-3 victory in overtime. PSU and OSU have now met in three of the past four B1G postseasons.
• Excluding empty net goals, 17 of the last 20 meetings between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes have been one goal contests with Penn State holding the slim 10-9-1 edge in those 20 games.
• This has been and extremely tight series overall with the longest winning streak for either side being four games for the Nittany Lions when they swept the season series during the 2023-24 campaign.
• The Nittany Lions rank second in the Big Ten and third in the nation averaging 4.25 goals per game while their 34 goals scored are the second-most nationally behind the 46 of Michigan. OSU ranks sixth in the Big Ten and tied for 29th nationally averaging 3.00 goals per game while the 18 goals scored by the Buckeyes are last in the conference and tied for 29th nationally.
• Penn State is the 13th youngest team in the nation this season with an average age of 21 years and eight months while Ohio State sits in the middle of the pack nationally with an average age of 22 years and three months.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

• Ohio State finished last season 24-14-2 losing 4-3 in double overtime to Michigan State in the B1G Championship game before being bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Boston University, 8-3.
• The Buckeyes are without the services of five of their top-eight scorers from a season ago including leading scorer Gunnarwolfe Fontaine who registered 17 goals with 23 assists for 40 points including the OT winner against Penn State in the B1G Semifinals.
• OSU does return Riley Thompson who was tied with Fontaine for the team lead in goals with 17 and second on the team with 33 points alongside Davis Burnside who also returns after putting up 14 goals last season. Max Montes who finished the 2024-25 season with 14 goals also returns.
• Ohio State is paced on offense so far this season by RPI transfer Felix Caron with three goals and three assists for six points while Thompson and Montes have each added three goals through six games as well.
• Kristoffer Eberly returns between the pipes for the Buckeyes after splitting time with Logan Terness last season. Eberly went 12-4-1 in 17 starts a season ago posting a .915 save percentage and a 2.28 goals-against average. Eberly was 2-0-1 in three starts against the Nittany Lions last season with a .911 save percentage and a 2.59 goals-against average with one shutout. For his career, Eberly has faced the Nittany Lions six times with a 2-3-1 overall record.
• The Buckeyes are currently middle of the pack with the man-advantage converting 19 percent (4-for-21) of their chances to rank sixth in the Big Ten and 29th nationally, however, their PK has fared better ranking third in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation at 90.9 percent (20-for-22).

SHINING BRIGHT

• For the fourth-straight week a Nittany Lion has been represented in the Big Ten Stars of the Week as freshman Gavin McKenna was named Third Star on Tuesday morning joining Charlie Cerrato (October 7), JJ Wiebusch (October 14) and Matt DiMarsico (October 21) who were named the First Stars of the Week each of the first three weeks of the season.
• McKenna collected back-to-back multi-point games, his third and fourth of the season, with one goal and one assist in each to lead Penn State to a series sweep against Stonehill. He scored the game-tying goal in the third period Friday night before dishing out the primary assist on the game-winner with just 22.5 seconds remaining in a 3-2 victory over the Skyhawks. The rookie then added a powerplay goal before setting up Shea Van Olm’s insurance marker in a 4-2 win to complete the sweep on Saturday.
• McKenna ranks tied for sixth in the Big Ten and 12th in the nation with 10 points (3G, 7A) through the first eight games of his collegiate career.

THE B-T-B BOYS

• Junior Matt DiMarsico and sophomore classmates JJ Wiebusch and Charlie Cerrato form the highest scoring trio in the nation. The three have combined for 45 points on 20 goals and 25 assists through the opening eight games this season averaging 2.50 goals and 5.63 points per game.
• Dating back to the end of last season, the trio has been held off the score sheet just once over the last 17 games.
• Cerrato currently leads the nation with 17 points and 13 assists while Wiebusch’s nine goals pace all skaters and his 15 points are good for second nationally. DiMarsico is tied for third in the nation with seven goals while his 13 points are good for sixth.
• Going all the way back to January that trio has skated in 32 games together registering 52 goals and 66 assists for 118 points, an average of 3.70 points per game.