Ohio State
22-13-2
Penn State (B1G Tournament Quarterfinals, Game 3) **
17-19-1
No. 12 Buckeyes Drop Game Three to PSU, 2-1
3/6/2022 11:52:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 12 Ohio State men's hockey team dropped decisive game three of its Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal series to Penn State, 2-1, Sunday in Value City Arena in The Schottenstein Center. The teams were tied at one entering the third period. The Nittany Lions netted the only goal of the third with less than seven minutes remaining and it stood as the gamewinner.
Penn State, the No. 5 seed, advances to take on No. 1 Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals next Saturday. Ohio State, the No. 4 seed, is now 22-13-2 on the year, with Penn State 17-19-1. All three games in the series were one-goal contests. Ohio State won game one, 4-3, before 3-2 and 2-1 PSU victories.
The Short Story
The teams were scoreless in the first period, combining for just 12 shots on goal – eight for Penn State and four for Ohio State. The Buckeyes killed an early power play chance for PSU.
Penn State opened the scoring at 13:30 of the second on a goal from Ryan Kirwan on the rush. Buckeye junior Tate Singleton, playing in his 100th career game, tied the contest with his 10th goal of the year. Jake Wise took a pass from James Marooney, spun near the left wall and found Singleton in the far faceoff circle and he scored at 18:52. Wise has 18 assists on the year to rank second on the team, while Marooney now has eight. Shots were 13-8 in favor of Penn State in the second and neither team had a power play chance.
Dylan Lugris broke the deadlock at 13:07 of the third, scoring from the faceoff circle. The teams combined for 26 shots in the third, with PSU ahead 14-12. Each team had two power play chances in the final period when the game was tied, but neither was able to convert. Ohio State skated with the net empty for the final 1:57, but was unable to find the equalizer.
Ohio State was outshot, 35-24, in the game. Jakub Dobeš made 33 saves in 58:03 for the Buckeyes. He now has 1,086 saves on the year, ranking second in program history for a single season behind only Mike Bales, who had 1,227 in 1990-91. Dobeš is among the NCAA leaders with a .934 save percentage this season. Ohio State had 15 shot blocks, led by Will Riedell with three.
The Buckeyes were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, with Penn State 2-for-2.
Quoting head coach Steve Rohlik
On the game and series
"When you lose a game like that in a playoff series, it's disappointing. I take things personal as far as my job. I felt we were ready. We just weren't quite good enough. They got a couple one-goal wins when they needed them. We just didn't have enough firepower to get it done."
On what this year's team has accomplished
"Sometimes you get so caught up in the moment and today, and what's tomorrow and what's the next day. You don't have time to think about what these guys have accomplished and some of things they've done. No one gave us a chance. It was pretty evident by where all the coaches in the league put us – dead last, no chance. I think we proved we're a pretty good hockey team. These guys have banded together to say Ohio State – we're going to show up, we're going to compete. We won a lot of games. This group just won 22 games. That's a pretty good season."
Up Next
Ohio State awaits a possible bid to the 16-team NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be announced at 6:30 p.m. March 20.
Coach Rohlik spoke after the Big Ten Tournament game three loss to Penn State. pic.twitter.com/BP6Sp7p1Ut
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) March 7, 2022
