Buckeye Hockey Notebook – Penn State Week
11/19/2019 8:44:49 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Buckeye Hockey This Week
The No. 11 Ohio State men’s hockey team, after a bye weekend, returns to action Friday and Saturday with a two-game series at No. 6/5 Penn State. The teams will meet at 7 p.m. in game one and 6 p.m. in game two. Both games will be streamed through BTN Plus and on Ohio State radio 1460 AM. Gameday Links
Ohio State is 6-3-1 through its first 10 games and has a 2-2-0-0 Big Ten ledger. Penn State, coming off a sweep at Minnesota, is 9-2-0 overall and in first place in the Big Ten with a 5-1-0-0 record.
In the Rankings
For the second week in a row, Ohio State is No. 11 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
Big Ten teams joining the Buckeyes in the USCHO poll include No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 6 Penn State and No. 16 Wisconsin.
Conference schools in the USA Today Top 15 are No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 5 Penn State, with Wisconsin and Michigan receiving votes.
Buckeyes vs. Nittany Lions
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Penn State, 15-10-2, with a 7-4-1 mark in State College.
Last season, the teams met five times. In the regular season, Ohio State was 3-1 against Penn State. The squad split a series in Columbus Nov. 23-24, with a 4-3 PSU win and 5-2 Buckeye victory. Ohio State won both games on Nittany Lion home ice Jan. 18-19, notching 4-1 and 6-4 victories. The Nittany Lions won the Big Ten Tournament semifinal matchup, posting a 5-1 win March 17 in Columbus.
Gordi Myer leads the current Buckeyes with 13 career games played vs. Penn State. Junior Tanner Laczynski has a team-best 11 assists and 14 points vs. the Nittany Lions (in nine games). Laczynski and Gustaf Westlund (in five games) each have three goals vs. PSU to lead the Buckeyes.
Just the Stats
The Buckeyes are scoring 2.7 goals a game this season, while allowing 1.8 a night to rank fifth nationally in team defense. The power play is ninth in the nation, converting 26 percent (13-for-50) and Ohio State is also ninth nationally on the penalty kill, allowing four goals on 39 chances (89.7 percent).
Senior Tanner Laczynski has a team-best eight assists and 10 points and Gustaf Westlund is first with five goals, ranking second with nine points. Wyatt Ege, Carson Meyer and Tate Singleton are tied for second with three goals each. Westlund, Ege and Ronnie Hein are tied for second with four assists each. Gordi Myer leads the squad with 20 blocked shots, followed by Grant Gabriele with 17. Hein has 13 to rank third and lead the Buckeye forwards. In goal, Tommy Nappier is seventh nationally with a 1.72 goals-against average and 10th with a .935 save percentage.
Penn State enters the weekend third nationally in scoring offense, averaging 4.73 goals a game, and is giving up 2.27 a night. The power play is also third in the NCAA, scoring 15 goals on 46 chances (.326). Penn State’s penalty kill is 38-for-44 (.864).
Nate Sucese leads Penn State with six goals, 12 assists and 18 points and ranks sixth nationally with 1.64 points a game. In all, seven Nittany Lions have 10+ points through the team’s first 11 games. Peyton Jones has a 2.01 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.
?#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/LZInf8eLt3
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) November 15, 2019
New Buckeyes Alert!
Be on the lookout for new Buckeyes. The window for future student-athletes to sign National Letters of Intent is now open. The future Buckeyes will be introduced on the team’s social media accounts first. The announcements started Monday night with Dominic Vidoli of Strongsville, Ohio.
New Buckeye Alert
? Welcome Strongsville, Ohio, native Dominic Vidoli to the Buckeye hockey family! #GoBucks @dominicvido63 pic.twitter.com/SsYxnOzmgO
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) November 19, 2019
The Schedule Ahead
After the trip to Penn State, the Buckeyes close out the first half of the season with back-to-back home series. Michigan State comes to Columbus Thanksgiving weekend, with the teams meeting at 5 p.m Saturday Nov. 30 and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday Dec. 1. The Buckeyes host Minnesota at 8 p.m. Dec. 6 and 7.
For the Michigan State series, family packs are available for the Nov. 30 game (purchase here). The Dec. 1 contest includes chuck-a-puck and a postgame skate for fans.
When the Buckeyes host the Gophers, fans will have the chance to take holiday pictures on the concourse.
Ticket Talk
Single game, miniplan, group and half and quarter season tickets for the Buckeyes’ 2019-20 season are all on sale now. They can be purchased online (HERE) or by contacting a ticket sales representative by calling 1-800-GO-BUCKS (select option 2) or emailing AthleticSales@osu.edu.
