Penn State 2, Ohio State 2: A Tough Draw In Game One

Penn State (17-9-3) scored two goals in the first period and then held on for a tie. Ohio State has not lost a game at home over the past 11 games so it is not a bad result.

Evan Barratt scored another highlight reel goal and Cole Hults scored on a power play to get Penn State enough for Peyton Jones to defend. Jones played a great game, especially during the second period, when Ohio State could have scored several times were it not for his acrobatics in the net.

For PairWise Ranking purposes both teams get a tie. By winning the shootout, the Buckeyes got 2 points and the Lions got 1 in Big Ten competition.

The teams will play game two of the series on Saturday at 5 p.m.

How It Happened

The game got off to a quick start. The teams were moving briskly from end to end. It only took 1:44 and 3 shots for Penn State to get on the board. Liam Folkes skated in for a backhand on a partial breakaway try but the puck went up in the air off goalie Tommy Napier’s stick. It floated down toward Evan Barratt’s stick, which was later ruled to be lower than the crossbar, and Barratt swatted it into the net.

Alex Stevens was called for elbowing a couple of minutes later and the Lions found themselves with a penalty kill against the No. 7 power play in the country. Thankfully Penn State has the No. 7 penalty kill and they were able to withstand the disadvantage. Peyton Jones faced just one shot.

Brandon Biro was taken to the ice with 8:28 to go before the first intermission and Tanner Laczyski went to the penalty box for Ohio State. Off the faceoff, just a matter of seconds and two Cole Hults shots later, the Lions were up 2-0.

At that point the Buckeyes held an 8-7 advantage in shots on goal but trailed by 2. Ohio State brought serious energy and effort to try to cut into the lead. Peyton Jones faced a couple of shots that had they gone in, no one would have blamed the goalie. Thankfully the puck avoided the back of the net.

Jaeden Leslie scored to bring the Buckeyes within one goal just a couple of minutes into the second period. Midway through the game, Penn State went on the penalty kill for the second time, again killing it off with ease.

Peyton Jones made a kick save on a point-blank shot with three minutes to go before the second intermission to keep his team in the lead. Jones faced 25 shots through two periods, stopping all but one.

With two minutes off the clock in the final period Ohio State tied it up on a shot that got through a few players and past Jones.

Jones made a pair of saves with 11 minutes to play that kept the teams tied.

With 8:18 to play Nikita Pavlychev got into a scuffle after a whistle and he and the Ohio State player were sent to the penalty box, the teams skated 4 on 4. Few shots and no goals came during the penalty time.

With a draw in the Ohio State zone and 1:45 to play, the Buckeyes called timeout to talk things over. With 51 seconds left a faceoff in front of Peyton Jones gave Ohio State their last good chance in regulation. Neither side could cash in and they went to overtime.

Paul DeNaples stepped in for a close shot in the first minute of overtime but Tommy Napier was able to stop it. Sam Sternschein got another good look halfway through the extra frame. With 50 seconds to go Nikita Pavlychev was handed a 5-minute major for grabbing the facemask of a player. Ohio State was given a penalty as well so the teams skated 4 on 4 for the rest of overtime.

They skated 3 on 3 after the 5 minute official overtime ended to settle the extra point for Big Ten purposes. During that time Ohio State added an extra skater, gaining a 4 on 3 advantage due to Pavlychev’s major penalty. It didn’t make a difference as the teams failed to score and went to a shootout.

Ohio State won the shootout and will get 2 Big Ten points, Penn State will get 1 for their effort.