The Ohio State University men's hockey team high-fives fourth-year forward Michael Gildon in celebration of his goal during a 3-2 overtime victory over the University of Wisconsin on Feb. 24 at Schottenstein Center. .photo editor
On Friday night, the Ohio State University men's ice hockey team's perfect chance to win a Big Ten championship came on a silver platter.
The Nittany Lions will be without their leading scorer, freshman forward Aiden Fink, who had a fit against the Buckeyes in their last matchup and scored three goals in State College, Pa., earlier this season.
Still, the end result was the same.
Ohio State (12-17-4, 4-17-2 Big Ten) defeated Penn State (14-16-3, 6-14-3 Big Ten), 5-2, at Value City Arena in Schottenstein. Since we lost, we were never able to take the lead. Center loses Game 1 of the final series of the regular season.
Ohio State senior defenseman Scooter Brickey started the scoring by burying a cross-crease pass from sophomore forward Stephen Halliday. However, after further review, the Buckeyes' lead disappeared when a major penalty and game misconduct was ruled against sophomore forward Jake Dunlap early in the play.
Head coach Steve Rohlik said the review changed the game.
“The whole impact started with the first penalty,” Roerik said. “You can tell from the review that he's 15 minutes in and the next thing you know, the goal is off and the five-minute major is starting.”
On the resulting power play, the Nittany Lions took advantage and took the lead with 12 minutes left in the first period.
The Buckeyes managed to fight back, scoring a short-handed goal just 31 seconds after the Nittany Lions took the lead. Senior forward Dalton Messina scored his sixth goal of the season.
“We did a decent job of earning it,” Roerik said. “It was big to be tied 1-1.”
The tied game didn't last long.
Penn State regained the lead with its third goal less than two minutes later. The Nittany Lions outscored the Buckeyes 11-4 in the opening frame and never let up.
Two Nittany Lions goals in the middle frame put the game out of reach for the Buckeyes and extended their lead to 4-1.
The Buckeyes were forced to go deeper into their depth chart up front. Senior forward Joe Dunlap and junior forward Cam Teesing missed the game due to injury. They also lost Jake Dunlap to an in-game misconduct during the game, and senior forward Matt Cassidy was also sidelined for a 10-minute misconduct.
Rohrik said he was disappointed with the penalty, which resulted in the loss of two more forwards throughout the game.
“[We] “I can't do anything about the injury, but I can manage it for about five minutes, I can manage it for about 10 minutes,” Roerich said. “That's not what we do. It's really unfortunate.”
Both teams scored late in the third period, but it wasn't enough for the Buckeyes as they fell just a few goals short.
Ohio State will be looking for revenge Saturday night as it honors its eight seniors before the game. Brickey said it will be emotional to play in his final home game with the Buckeyes.
“This is my home. Coming here was the best decision of my life,” Brickey said. “I’m a little emotional because the opportunity I got was amazing.”
He said the team needs to play together to beat Penn State on Senior Night.
“We have to play for the Brotherhood here,” Brickey said. “I couldn't do it tonight, so I'll have to do it tomorrow.”
The Buckeyes conclude the regular season Saturday at Value City Arena at 5 p.m. The game will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus.
