Penn State vs. Ohio State Series Recap

Story posted November 7, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Evan Popalis

After playing an almost flawless non-conference schedule, Penn State started its Big Ten play last weekend against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Game One

The Nittany Lions arrived in Columbus and continued to build upon their successful play as of late. A first-period goal from junior forward Kevin Wall gave Penn State the early jump.

Senior forward Ben Copeland chipped in with the primary assist on Wall’s tally, as sophomore Jimmy Dowd Jr. contributed the secondary.

The Nittany Lions remained in the lead until the late stages of the middle period. With less than four minutes remaining in the period, junior forward Kamil Sadlocha knotted the game at 1-1.

In the waning seconds of the second, Sadlocha added another goal, giving the Buckeyes their first lead of the night.

In the third, Penn State was unsuccessful at mounting a comeback, as Ohio State forced home three goals in a 2:02 time frame.

Senior Jake Wise, junior Jaedon Leslie and senior Gustaf Westlund were the beneficiaries of the tallies for the home squad.

Down four goals on the road, Penn State found the back of the net one last time on the power play from junior forward Connor MacEachern. Dowd Jr. and sophomore Chase McLane were credited with the assists.

Ohio State claimed a 5-2 victory to hand Penn State its second loss of the season and first in conference play.

Jakub Dobes was victorious in goal, making 32 saves on 34 shots, while Liam Souliere allowed five goals on 27 shots by the Buckeyes.

Game Two

The Nittany Lions searched for retaliation in the series finale and started fast again. MacEachern scored at the 3:48 mark of the first period with an assist from senior defender Clayton Phillips.

Penn State held the Buckeyes in check for the opening two periods; however, the third period proved to be the achilles heel for the blue and white.

Freshman defenseman Mason Lohrei tied the game in the beginning stages of the final frame, and less than a minute later, junior defender Dominic Vidoli gave Ohio State the advantage.

Once again, the Buckeyes didn’t look back, as they buried the puck in the back of the net four times in the final 20 minutes of play.

Sophomore forward Joe Dunlap extended the lead to 3-1 in the second half of the third, with Wise and Lohrei pitching in assists on the lamplighter.

Junior forward Mark Cheremeta added the final goal of the night and series. Cheremeta’s linemate, senior Quinn Preston, attributed the lone assist.

The game-two, 4-1 loss for the Nittany Lions was the first game this season they lost after taking a lead into the third period.

Next on the docket, the Nittany Lions play host to Michigan at Pegula Ice Arena. The two-game series will get underway Thursday with an 8:30 p.m. puck drop. Friday’s contest is set to begin at 7 p.m.

 

Evan Popalis is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email epopalis83@gmail.com.

About the Contributors

Evan Popalis's photo

Evan Popalis

Junior /

Evan Popalis is a third-year from Lititz, Pennsylvania, majoring in broadcast journalism. He is a writer, analyst, and play-by-play commentator for the CommRadio sports department. His writings include weekly NHL betting previews along with power rankings for the NHL and NFL. He appears weekly on the NHL Podcast as a host and analyst reviewing the previous week’s action. If you would like to contact him, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).