Penn State Ties Ohio State 2-2

Ben Schoen picked up the puck at center ice and methodically glided over the blue line. As he reached the hash marks between the two faceoff circles, he made a few quick moves to send Ohio State goalie Jakub Dobes’ mind spinning.

With an extra point in the Big Ten standings on the line, Schoen lifted a backhand shot over the scorpioned pad of the Buckeyes’ netminder, and kept Penn State’s momentum rolling.

Though the winning streak has technically come to end with the game ending in a 2-2 tie after overtime, Schoen’s tally lifted the Nittany Lions out of the basement of the Big Ten.

Entering the weekend, the Nittany Lions (14-12-1, 5-11-1 Big Ten) sat in last place in the conference standings — one point behind Michigan State and two behind Wisconsin — while the Buckeyes (18-7-2, 10-5-2) were tied on points with Michigan for top spot.

After getting some help elsewhere, the Nittany Lions took care of their own business in dramatic fashion.

Schoen’s tally not only served as an emphatic ending to an entertaining contest, but punctuated what was a fantastic performance for he and his linemates.

After Danny Dzhaniyev opened the scoring early in the first period, Schoen netted the goal that forced overtime early in the third period. Both registered a goal and an assist in the contest and combined for 14 of the Nittany Lions’ 52 shots in the game, drawing at least some comparisons to the most fabled line in Penn State history.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions opened the scoring early in the first period. After Ryan Kirwan won a puck battle near the Buckeyes blue line, he worked it to Ben Schoen, who in turn swung a pass to Danny Dzhaniyev as he was speeding toward the net. Dzhaniyev caught Jakub Dobes sliding and slipped a shot past the Ohio State goalie.

The Buckeyes responded just a few minutes later. As they moved the puck around the offensive zone, James Maroony sent a pass to the front of the net, where Cam Thiesing was waiting to deflect the pass by Liam Souliere.

Late in the second period, the Buckeyes took their first lead of the game. After working the puck behind the goal line, Jake Wise found Joe Dunlap right in front of Souliere, with the latter one timing a shot over Souliere’s glove.

The Nittany Lions brought the game back even early in the third period. Dzhaniyev whipped a cross-ice feed to Jimmy Dowd Jr, whose shot was stopped but not controlled by Dobes as he came far out of his crease. With the net all but vacated, Dowd Jr worked the puck back in front, where Schoen knocked it home.