Men’s Ice Hockey: No. 17 Buckeyes defeat Nittany Lions 4-2 to complete series sweep

Thomas Beebe
Sat, 07 Dec 2024 20:47:04 +0000
Ice Hockey, Instagram Page, Men's hockey, News, Sports, Aiden Hansen-Bukata, Brent Johnson, Buckeyes, Caden Brown, Carter Krier, Chris Able, Christopher Romaine, Damien Carfagna, Davis Burnside, Dylan Godbout, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, hockey, Jake Dunlap, Jake Rozzi, James Hong, Jason Rule, JB Bittner, Joe Dunlap, John Larkin, Kristoffer Eberly, Layne LeBel, Logan Terness, Max Montes, men's hockey, Men's ice hockey, Nathan Lewis, Nathan McBrayer [and 16 more]

Graduate forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (13) takes control of the puck during the No. 17 Buckeyes 4-2 victory over Penn State Friday at the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Danielle Hershenson | Lantern Photographer

Two late goals fueled the Buckeyes to victory Friday.

No.17 Ohio State (11-4-1, 4-2-0 Big Ten) secured a 4-2 win against Penn State (6-9, 0-8 Big Ten) behind 27 saves by Buckeye goaltender Kristoffer Eberly at the Schottenstein Center.?

Eberly credited his teammates in front of him for their success on the defensive end that led to the victory.

“I think just my team in front of me, they played really well,” Eberly said. “I felt like I didn’t see any grade “A’ shots. I think they’re pushing guys outside and making those easy saves from the boards.”

Despite a power play chance for the Buckeyes early in the first period, Ohio State couldn’t capitalize.

Just over halfway through the first, the Buckeyes found the back of the net with a goal by defenseman Damien Carfagna, assisted by defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata on yet another power play chance.

Just moments later, the Nittany Lions were penalized again, giving the Buckeyes a 5-3 man advantage. Forward Riley Thompson put one through moments later, assisted by forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine to give Ohio State a 2-0 advantage.

With five minutes left in the opening frame, the Nittany Lions responded with a power play goal of their own, thanks to forward Dylan Lugris to cut their deficit to 2-1.

The second period didn’t see a goal scored and Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik believes it was missed opportunities and strong goalie play by Penn State that led to a scoreless frame.

“I thought we had some chances. I think we had two breakaways and their goalie played very well,” Rohlik said. “Usually, the games between us are pretty tight no matter what, and we expected that again, so we just had to buy our time.”

Going into the third, it was the Nittany Lions that came out firing with a goal by forward Tyler Paquette, assisted by forward Aiden Fink to tie the game at 2-2, just two minutes into the final period.

With just under seven minutes remaining in the game, the Buckeyes answered back and reclaimed the lead with a goal by freshman forward Jake Rossi, assisted by forward Joe Dunlap.

As time ticked down, the Buckeyes found the back of the goal on an empty-net goal by forward Max Montes to secure the 4-2 victory.

Ohio State will be back in the Schottenstein Center Friday and Sunday at 7 p.m. for a two-game home stint against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.