Press release provided by Ohio State University athletics:

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The No. 6/7-ranked Ohio State men’s hockey team fell to No. 13/13 Penn State, 5-2, Friday, ending its winning streak at six. The Buckeyes trailed 3-2 after two periods, with Mason Jobst scoring both Ohio State goals, but Penn State sealed the win with two late tallies in the third.

The Buckeyes, now 14-5-4 overall and 7-5-1-0 in Big Ten play, and Nittany Lions (13-7-3, 6-4-3-2 B1G) will close the weekend and regular season series at 7 p.m. Saturday. BTN will televise the game.

Penn State 5, Ohio State 2 - The Short Story
Penn State led 2-0 after the first. Buckeye captain Mason Jobst scored two power play goals in the second, sandwiched around a power play tally by Penn State, for a 3-2 game through two periods. Penn State took a two-goal lead with a power play goal with less than four minutes left and sealed the win with an empty net score. Ohio State outshot Penn State, 47-36, in the contest. Each team had two power play goals, the Buckeyes’ fourth straight game with a power play goal and the first time the Buckeyes allowed more than one power play goal in a game this season. Sophomore leading scorer Tanner Laczynski had two helpers for Ohio State, extending his point streak to seven and moving his point total to 31.

Quoting Coach Steve Rohlik

On trailing 2-0 in the first period
“Our guys didn’t waver, I thought we kept getting better. We kind of answered the bell there. Certainly it’s not the start you want.”

On the play of Penn State goalie Peyton Jones, who had 45 saves
“You just have to bear down and get traffic in front of a goalie when he’s in a zone like that. We had plenty of grade A chances and lots of traffic in front, he was just better tonight.”

In the First Period
Penn State scored 5:18 into the first period, when Denis Smirnov converted on a rebound off the back wall. Nate Sucese finished a 2-on-1 at 16:49 for a 2-0 advantage. The teams combined for 26 shots in the period, with Ohio State ahead, 15-11.

In the Second Period
At 3:19 of the second Mason Jobst opened the scoring for the Buckeyes, scoring on the rebound of a shot by Tanner Laczynski, with Matthew Weis also assisting on the power play tally. Penn State answered with a power play goal of its own at 7:46, when Evan Barratt was able to get to a loose puck in a scrum around the net. Jobst notched his second goal at 10:10 to again make it a one-goal game, putting a shot top corner from the high slot. Wyatt Ege and Laczynski assisted on the tally, Jobst’s team-best 11th of the year.

Ohio State doubled Penn State in shots in the period, 22-11.

In the Third Period
The game remained a one-goal contest until Andrew Sturtz scored on the power play that came after a Buckeye penalty on a partial Nittany Lion breakaway. Ohio State pulled its goalie late and Penn State sealed the win with an empty net goal from Evan Barratt at 18:42.

Penn State outshot Ohio State, 14-10, in the stanza.

Blocking the Puck
For the game, the Buckeyes outshot the Nittany Lions, 47-36. Buckeye goalie Sean Romeo had 31 saves in 59:03, allowing four goals. Peyton Jones made 45 saves in all 60 minutes for Penn State.

Sasha Larocque led the Buckeyes with two blocked shots.

Special Teams
The Buckeyes were 2-for-4 on the power play in the game, putting 10 shots on net with the man advantage. Ohio State has a power play goal in four straight games, converting 7-of-17 (.412) opportunities in the stretch. The squad is 18-for-93 (.194) this year.

Penn State was 2-for-3 with the man advantage, the first time this year Ohio State allowed more than one power play goal. The team is 80-for-89 (.899) on the season, ranking in the Top 3 nationally on the PK.

Noting the Buckeyes
·        Junior Mason Jobst had his seventh career two-goal game and fourth this season. He has a team-high 11 goals and is third with 23 points.
·        Tanner Laczynski leads the Buckeyes with 21 assists and 31 points this year, ranking second nationally in points and tied for second in assists. He is on a seven-game point streak with four goals, seven assists and 11 points in the stretch. He has a point in 13 of the last 14 games (7g, 15a, 22p).
·        The loss was just the second for the Buckeyes on the road this season and their first since the second game of the year. The squad is 9-2-1 on the road this season.
·        Matthew Weis extended his point streak to seven with an assist. He has a 3-8-11 line during his streak and ranks second on the team this year with 24 points, posting eight goals and 16 assists.