No. 12 Buckeyes Down Penn State 4-3 in B1G Quarterfinal Opener

by | Mar 5, 2022 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

MHKY: No. 12 Buckeyes Down Penn State 4-3 in B1G Quarterfinal Opener

Ohio State takes 1-0 lead in quarterfinal series

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With two goals from freshman Georgii Merkulov and 49 saves from rookie Jakub Dobeš, the No. 12 Ohio State men’s hockey team opened its Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal series against Penn State with a 4-3 victory Friday in Value City Arena in The Schottenstein Center.

The Buckeyes, the No. 4 seed, and No. 5 seed Nittany Lions will meet in game two at 7 p.m. Saturday in Columbus. If necessary, game three will be at 8 p.m. Sunday.

Ohio State improves to 22-11-2 on the year with the victory, with Penn State now 15-19-1.

The Short Story

After a scoreless first period, Buckeye freshman Georgii Merkulov converted a breakaway late in the second and 1:13 later graduate student Eric Cooley scored to push the advantage to 2-0. Ohio State extended the lead to 3-0 early in the third on a Quinn Preston breakaway tally. The Nittany Lions made it a one-goal game with two goals in a 2:03 span, at 7:53 and 9:56. Merkulov notched his second of the night at 16:52 for a 4-2 Buckeye lead but Penn State answered just 18 seconds later to again cut the lead to one. The Nittany Lions pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with 2:17 remaining but Ohio State closed out the victory.

The Buckeyes were outshot, 52-31, with Jakub Dobeš making 49 saves for the Buckeyes. Ohio State blocked 19 Penn State shots attempts, led by James Marooney and Ryan O’Connell with three each.

Merkulov now has 20 goals on the year, ranking sixth nationally and first in the Big Ten and among the nation’s rookies. He has an NCAA-best seven gamewinning goals this year.

Quoting head coach Steve Rohlik

“A win’s a win; we’ll take it. Playoff hockey. You have to play bell-to-bell. That’s a good hockey team and they’re never out of it. I give our guys credit. They played a pretty good game tonight. Kind of did our job and hung on there at the end.”

How it Happened

  • The teams were scoreless in the first period, with Penn State outshooting the Buckeyes, 15-8.
  • In the second, Georgii Merkulov opened the scoring at 16:00, as CJ Regula’s pass from the Buckeye zone found Merkulov behind the Nittany Lion defense and he converted.
  • Just 1:13 later from right in front of the net Eric Cooley tipped a Patrick Guzzo pass past the PSU goalie. Cole McWard also assisted on the goal, which came at 17:13.
  • Penn State had the shot advantage, 17-14, in the second.
  • Cam Thiesing sent Quinn Preston on a breakaway early in the third and he converted for his seventh goal of the year, putting the Buckeyes up 3-0 at 2:19.
  • Penn State cut the lead to one with the next two goals, as Tyler Paquette tallied at 7:53 and Connor McMenamin followed at 9:56.
  • Merkulov picked up a loose puck after a Penn State turnover near the Ohio State blueline and raced in alone on the PSU goalie, scoring his 20th of the year at 16:52.
  • Just 18 seconds later Penn State answered, as Kenny Johnson’s goal again made it a one-goal game.
  • Ohio State was able to shut out Penn State the rest of the way, despite PSU skating with its net empty for the final 2:17. The Nittany Lions had the shot advantage in the third, 20-9.
  • For the game, Ohio State was outshot, 52-31. Dobeš had 49 saves in all 60 minutes and Penn State’s Liam Souliere had 27 stops in 57:43.
  • Led by three blocks from James Marooney and Ryan O’Connell, Ohio State had 19 shot blocks as a team.
  • Neither team was able to score on the power play, with Ohio State 0-for-2 and Penn State 0-for-3.

Buckeye This and That

  • Merkulov’s 20 goals are tied for the sixth-most in program history by a rookie and the most since Brian Loney had 21 in 1992.
  • He leads the Buckeyes with 34 points this season and now has four two-goal outings and nine multiple-point games.
  • Dobeš’ 21 wins are tied for fifth in program history in a single season, with current goalie coach Dustin Carlson (2009) and John Dougan (1983). His 1,010 saves this year are sixth all-time, four behind Carlson (2009).
  • Thiesing is tied for second on the team with 17 assists and is fourth with 25 points.
  • The Buckeyes are now 11-7 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament, with a 6-1 record at home and 9-1 mark in the quarterfinals.