No. 12/11 Buckeyes Head to Penn State for B1G Series
1/27/2022 2:59:15 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
The Basics
- The No. 12/11 Ohio State men’s hockey team travels east for a two-game series at Penn State this weekend.
- The teams will meet at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa.
- Big Ten Plus will stream the games, with Ohio State Radio also on the call.
- Ohio State enters the series 18-7-1 overall with a Big Ten record of 10-5-1-0-1-1. Penn State is 14-12-0 on the year and 5-11-0-1-1-0 in the B1G.
- The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions met in Columbus Nov. 5-6, with Ohio State sweeping the two games (5-2, 4-1). The teams did not meet in State College last season. The last series there between the teams was Nov. 22-23, 2019, with a split (PSU 5-4, OSU 4-3).
- Ohio State is coming off a sweep at Michigan State, with 4-1 and 3-2 victories. Last week Penn State posted two wins over Wisconsin at home (4-1, 7-2).
- The Buckeyes rank in the Top 10 in the NCAA in scoring offense, scoring defense, scoring margin, faceoff winning percentage and team winning percentage.
- Ohio State is 7-3-1 on the road this year win and on a five-game road unbeaten streak (4-0-1). The squad is in the midst of a season-high four-game road swing.
- This year, 24 Buckeyes – including every skater with more than two games played – have posted at least one point. Nineteen have at least one goal and 24 have one or more assists. Eighteen have at least one multi-point outing. Thirteen have 10+ points through the first 26 games, with three at 20 or more. Twelve Buckeyes have notched a gamewinning goal and eight have scored on the power play. Of the Top 5 scorers, three are freshmen, with a senior and a fifth-year.
- The Buckeyes will be back in Columbus for their next two series, closing out the regular season home slate against Wisconsin Feb. 4-5 and Minnesota Feb. 11-12.
From the Stat Sheet
- Freshman forward Georgii Merkulov leads the Buckeyes with 14 goals and 27 points, while his classmate, defenseman Mason Lohrei, has a team-best 20 assists and is second with 22 points. Rookie Cam Thiesing is third with 21 points (7g, 14a).
- Thiesing, seniors Jake Wise and Gustaf Westlund and junior Tate Singleton are tied for second with seven goals each.
- Thiesing is second with 14 assists, followed by Merkulov with 13, Wise with 12 and fifth-year senior Grant Gabriele with 11.
- Thiesing is first with a +19 rating, with Merkulov second at +17 and Gabriele third with a +15.
- Gabriele has a team-high 36 shot blocks. Ryan O’Connell and Will Riedell are tied for second with 33 each.
- In goal, Jakub Dobeš is 17-6-1, with a 2.07 goals-against average and .932 save percentage.
- As a team (through games of Jan. 25), the Buckeyes are in the Top 10 in the NCAA in faceoff winning percentage (5th/.544), scoring margin (6th/1.46), winning percentage (7th/.712), scoring offense (8th/3.62), and scoring defense (9th/2.15).
Have a Series, Jakub
- Freshman goalie Jakub Dobeš was named Big Ten First Star of the Week Wednesday. It was the third conference weekly honor for Dobeš, a native of Ostrava, Czech Republic.
- In the Buckeyes’ road sweep of Michigan State last weekend, Dobeš stopped 71-of-74 shots for a 1.50 goals-against average and .959 save percentage while playing all 120 minutes. He also had an assist in Friday’s victory. Saturday, he had 40 saves in a 3-2 victory, the second-highest total in his career.
- He has 30+ saves in each of his last six games and has a 2.07 goals-against average and .932 save percentage on the year, ranking 14th and fifth in the NCAA, respectively. Dobeš, who is on the Mike Richter Award watch list, is 17-6-1 this season, ranking third nationally in wins and 10th in winning percentage. He leads true freshmen goalies in the nation in all four categories.
Buckeyes vs. Nittany Lions
- Ohio State leads the all-time series with Penn State, 19-13-3, including an 8-5-1 mark in State College.
- In Columbus Nov. 5-6, Ohio State posted a two-game sweep (5-2, 4-1). The last six games between the teams have been in Columbus.
- The teams did not meet in State College last season; the last series on PSU home ice was Nov. 22-23, 2019, with a 5-4 Penn State win and 4-3 Buckeye victory.
- Among current Buckeyes, Quinn Preston leads the way with 12 games played against Penn State, posting a 2-7-9 line. Gustaf Westlund has skated in 10 games vs. the Nittany Lions and leads current Buckeyes with six goals and 12 points. Grant Gabriele has a 1-5-6 line in 11 games vs. PSU and in four games vs. Penn State Mark Cheremeta has six points with three goals and three assists.
- Penn State is 14-12-0 this season and has a 5-11-0-1-1-0 record in B1G play. The squad is 11th nationally in scoring offense (3.54 goals per game) and is allowing 3.08 goals a night. The power play is 18-for-88 (.205) and the penalty kill is 70-for-94 (.745).
- Kevin Wall leads the Nittany Lions with 14 goals and 25 points, one of four players with 20-plus points. Connor MacEachern is second with 12 goals and 22 points. Ben Copeland is first with 16 assists, followed by Jimmy Dowd Jr. with 15. In net, Oskar Autio has 20 starts, with a 10-10-0 record, 2.92 goals-against average and .899 save percentage. Liam Souliere is 4-2-0 in six starts, with a 2.84 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.
In the B1G
- In the Big Ten this year, teams are awarded three points in the conference standings for a win in regulation. If the game is tied following regulation, both teams receive one point, with a second point awarded to the team that wins in either the 3-on-3 overtime period or the shootout. Records reflect W-L-T-OTW-OTL-SW.
- Ohio State (10-5-1-0-1-1) and Michigan (10-6-0-0-3-0) are tied for first with 33 points each. Minnesota (9-5-0-1-1-0/27 points) and Notre Dame (9-5-0-4-1-0, 24 points) are third and fourth, respectively, and each has two games in hand on the other teams.
- Wisconsin (5-10-1-1-1, 16 points), Penn State (5-11-0-1-1-0, 15 points) and Michigan State (5-11-0-1-0-0, 14) round out the standings.
- Ohio State has earned at least three points in each B1G series so far, with two sweeps, a five-point weekend (W/SOW), a four-point weekend (OTL/W) and four splits.
- The Buckeyes ended their regular season series earning seven of 12 points vs. the Irish and took nine of 12 points vs. Michigan State.
Up Next
- The team will return to Columbus for a four-game homestand, taking on Wisconsin Feb. 4-5 and Minnesota Feb. 11-12. Those games close out the regular season home slate. TICKET INFORMATION
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