The Buckeyes opened the scoring in the first period when Gunnarwolfe Fontaine got a goal. The senior from Rhode Island and transfer from Northeastern got his 15th of the season for the Buckeyes. The Ohio State leader in goals and points struck first for the Scarlet and Gray.
Penn State scored two goals in the second period and led the game 2-1 entering the third period. In the third, the Buckeyes would answer Penn State’s second-period salvo. First, Nathan Lewis, the freshman from Illinois, would get his second goal of the year to tie the game.
Nathan Lewis with the game-tying goal⬇️ pic.twitter.com/gBBIFSeMJK
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) March 16, 2025
Senior co-captain Patrick Guzzo would then score his ninth goal of the season, giving the Buckeyes a 3-2 lead. It would only last a few minutes as Penn State evened the score and the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions would go to overtime.
Then, in an overtime that was taking years off my life, to send Ohio State to the Big Ten Championship, Gunnarwolfe got a goal again! Fontaine’s 16th goal of the season won the game 4-3 and sent the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Championship Game! The win is likely to send the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament regardless of the outcome of the Big Ten Championship Game.
Ohio State will battle the regular season champions, the Michigan State Spartans, for the Big Ten crown in East Lansing next Saturday! The Bucks and the Spartans played four times this year, and Michigan State won three of them against Ohio State.
The Spartans have been a top-four team the entire season and are currently #2. MSU is the favorite and big challenge for Ohio State, but the Buckeyes have a puncher’s chance, and that’s all that they ask for.