Hockey Preview: Penn State vs. Ohio State

Audio/Story posted January 21, 2016 in CommRadio, Sports by Sports Staff

PODCAST:

ComRadio's own, John Petrolias, Mike D'Avella and Ryan Berti break down this week's matchup between the Buckeyes and Penn State. 

 

After completing the weekend sweep against conference foe Wisconsin and moving up in the AP poll to No. 14 in the nation, the Penn State Nittany Lions (15-4-3, 5-1-0 B1G) will head back out on the road for the first time since November 21st to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (6-12-2, 1-3-2 B1G) in Columbus this weekend.

While the Buckeyes have just six wins this season, their recent success has proven how explosive they can be. They ended up coming away victorious in the Florida College Classic after taking down No. 4 Boston College and then No. 10 Cornell by a score of 8-0 in the championship game.

Ohio State will definitely have their hands full with a Penn State offense that ranks third in scoring offense with an average of 4.14 goals per game. The penalties will have to be kept to a minimum as Penn State is ranked No. 7 in power-play percentage at .219. Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the Nittany Lions offense is their ability to put shots on net. They lead the nation in shots on goal by a hefty margin.

Despite the Lions recent success of their own, winning four of their last five games, Ohio State has had the Lions number of recent, winning three of the last four head-to-head matchups.

This weekend’s series will highlight two of the three Big Ten stars of the week. The Nittany Lions junior net-minder Eamon McAdam has been dominant this season for Penn State. After improving his season record to 9-2 and his conference leading save percentage to .961 with a win against Wisconsin on Saturday, McAdam locked up the conference’s second star of the week.

The second best save percentage in the Big Ten behind McAdam is Ohio State junior goalie Christian Frey, who owns a .917 save percentage.

The third star of the week went to freshman forward Mason Jobst after he recorded two goals and five assists in two games against conference leader Michigan this past weekend. Jobst ranks second among Big Ten rookies in points with 19 points (five of which are goals).

A scrappy history between these two programs will prove to be an interesting story line this weekend, especially after the weekend Ohio State experienced in Ann Arbor.

Following an 8-6 loss to Michigan on Sunday, Ohio State freshman Brendan Kearney was sucker punched by Michigan sophomore Cutler Martin after exchanging words after the game had concluded.

Penn State also endured a physical weekend against Wisconsin this past series. Keep an eye out for hard nosed hockey this weekend as this series offers plenty of conference implications and bragging rights for both teams.

Mike D’Avella is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mfd156@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

Mike D'Avella's photo

Mike D'Avella

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

Mike D’Avella is a senior from West Chester, Pa., majoring in broadcast journalism with a minor in business. He is a sports director, producer, play-by-play voice, talk show personality and beat writer on the sports side of CommRadio. Mike is also a member of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. He has completed internships with the Philadelphia Phillies in the summers of 2014 and 2015, MLB.com Advanced Media in the spring of 2016, the State College Spikes Minor League baseball production department in the summer of 2016 and Interscope Records in Santa Monica, California. He is also the drummer in a State College based Alternative Rock band called “The New Feel” who has performed at venues such as the Bryce Jordan Center. Mike plans to pursue a career in sports media or the entertainment industry in the hopes of becoming a producer or radio personality for a sports or music station. You can reach him via email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and follow him on Twitter @_mikedavella.

John Petrolias's photo

John Petrolias

Junior / Broadcast Journalism

John Petrolias is a member of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, and is a play-by-play broadcaster and producer for men’s hockey content, as well as the host/founder of Pittsburgh Sound—Happy Valley’s only Pittsburgh sports talk show. Petrolias has previously covered the men’s hockey team for The Daily Collegian, covers Penn State football for PennLive.com and has interned at the Pittsburgh Penguins, Penn State Athletics/BTN Live Student U production, as well as the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s PR department in Pittsburgh. John aspires to be an on-air journalist or play-by-play broadcaster for a news/sports outlet and plans to go to law school to become a media and First Amendment attorney. 

You can reach Petrolias by emailing him: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or following him on Twitter @jpetrolias.

Ryan Berti's photo

Ryan Berti

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

Ryan Berti is from Erie, Pa. He aspires to one day become a producer, beat writer or reporter for a national network in the field of sports media. Follow him on twitter @RBirdman7.