Penn State Hockey Recap: Buckeyes Storm Back For The Win

No.15 Penn State (19-8-4) came out flat on senior day, the final home game of the season. The first period saw Ohio State score three goals on the first seven shots on goal. The Lions were down three goals before they could muster up their second shot of the game.

Late in the first period, PSU showed signs of life when Chase Berger scored to cut the lead to 3-1. Andrew Sturtz and David Goodwin followed with goals to tie the game after two periods. Early in the final period Kevin Kerr gave PSU the lead with a hard wrist shot past OSU goalie Matt Tomkins.

The Buckeyes stormed back, scoring four unanswered goals to close out the game 7-4.

The loss keeps Penn State in third place in the Big Ten standings, trailing Michigan by three points and Minnesota by four points. The Lions have the next week off and will travel to Wisconsin in thirteen days for a pair of games in the Kohl Center.

Game Synopsis

Twenty-six seconds into the game the Lions were called for a penalty. A minute later the Buckeyes made it hurt when David Gust made a great move and finish for the first goal of the game. Nick Schilkey made a great pass to Gust and goalie Matt Skoff could not react in time to make the save.

The Lions had a power play shortly after but were unable to get a shot on goal with the man advantage. A couple minutes later Ohio State added to its lead when Tommy Parran beat Skoff on the short-side with a quick wrist shot. The shot hit the inside of the goalpost as it went in, threading the needle perfectly. John Wiitala assisted on the play.

The barrage continued as Freddy Gerard scored a third goal for the Buckeyes. Nick Schilkey assisted on the play. The third tally came just nine minutes into the game. At the time the Lions had managed only one shot on goal.

Chase Berger got PSU on the board with 2:14 remaining in the first period. Tommy Olczyk and Eric Scheid assisted on the play. Following the goal the atmosphere inside Pegula Ice Arena came alive and the fans got involved. The three early, unanswered OSU goals had hushed the crowd, taking away the home ice advantage momentarily.

The second period was evenly played from one end of the ice to the other for the first ten minutes. Finally Andrew Sturtz scored to get the Lions back to within one goal, 2-1. Matt Skoff made a save, Sturtz took the puck and skated the length of the ice, around several Buckeyes, and finished with a nifty shot past Matt Tomkins.

With seven minutes remaining in the period the teams got into a scuffle after the whistle behind the OSU net. Both sides were penalized and they skated 4 on 4. The Buckeyes were called for another penalty and the Lions had a 4 on 3 power play for just under a minute of play. It didn't take long for it to pay off. David Goodwin scored to tie the game at three apiece with five minutes left in the second period. David Glen and Luke Juha assisted on the play. The only other Lion on the ice at the time of the goal, Andrew Sturtz, was in front of the goalie and provided a key screen, blocking Tomkins' view of the shot.

The power play score broke up an amazing streak for the Buckeyes, who had killed the previous 21 penalties they faced.

Shortly into the third period, the Lions took the lead when Kevin Kerr beat Tompkins with a hard wrist shot. David Goodwin and Vince Pedrie assisted on the play.

To Ohio State's credit, they did not fold after giving up four consecutive goals and losing a one-time three goal lead. Matthew Weis and John Wiitala scored two quick goals to regain the lead for the Buckeyes, 5-4, with fifteen minutes left to play in the contest.

Ten minutes later OSU extended the lead to 6-4 when Matthew Weis scored his second goal of the game. With less than a minute to play they added an empty net goal for the final score of the day.

Stars of the Game

Nick Schilkey, Ohio State. Four assists.

Matthew Weis, Ohio State. Two goals and one assist.

David Goodwin, Penn State. One goal and one assist.