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Oct 10, 2025; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions forward Gavin McKenna (72) skates against the Clarkson Golden Knights in the first period of a game at Pegula Ice Arena. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
Gavin McKenna’s overtime goal lifted No. 5 Penn State to a 5-4 overtime win over Ohio State on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions swept the regular season series from the Buckeyes after trailing 4-1 late in the second period. Penn State won with only 17 skaters and secured a valuable two points in the conference standings to get some separation from Wisconsin.
First Period
Sam Deckhut put Ohio State on the board first when the puck bounced off the boards to him and he lulled Kevin Reidler out of the crease. Deckhut slipped the puck past Reidler to give the Buckeyes an early 1-0 lead.
Penn State went to the power play when Chris Able was called for interference on Lev Katzin. The Buckeyes killed it off but took a hooking penalty shortly afterward. Penn State generated six shots and several high-danger chances in front of Kristoffer Eberly but could not crack him just yet.
Davis Burnside took a five-minute major and game misconduct for cross-checking Nic Chin-DeGraves in the neck near the boards. The power play again looked disjointed, and the Buckeyes ended up getting a few good looks while shorthanded. In the dying seconds of the power play, Luke Misa and Reese Laubach made two great passes to set up Shea Van Olm for his third goal of the weekend to tie the game at 1:
Van Olm’s goal gave the Nittany Lions some momentum, and the game went to the intermission tied at 1.
Second Period
Gavin McKenna took a hooking penalty early in the second period, and Ohio State immediately went to work pressuring Kevin Reidler. Felix Caron scored his third goal of the weekend on the power play to give Ohio State a 2-1 lead.
Broten Sabo extended the lead to 3-1 with Penn State’s defense out of sorts. A key faceoff win by the Buckeyes set up Sabo for a one-timer near the blue line that snuck past Reidler.
Luke Misa drew a tripping penalty midway through the period to send the Lions back to the power play, but Max Montes scored shorthanded to run the Ohio State lead up to 4-1.
JJ Wiebusch tried to will Penn State back into the game with a slick wrist shot that brought the Lions back to within two. Lev Katzin set it up with good possession through traffic as he gained the zone:
Wiebusch’s goal injected some life back into the building, and the top two lines sustained offensive zone pressure in the final minutes. Ohio State took a 4-2 lead into the final period.
Third Period
Lev Katzin drew another penalty early in the third to give Penn State a golden chance to close the gap. JJ Wiebusch tallied his second of the night on a great cross-ice pass from Gavin McKenna, and Penn State closed to within a goal:
Moments later, Matt DiMarsico did just enough to win a puck battle in transition through two Buckeyes, leaving Jarod Crespo an alley to put home the game-tying goal:
Penn State’s momentum came to a halt when Luke Misa took a charging penalty, sending the Nittany Lions to a crucial penalty kill. Riley Thompson nearly had a grade-A chance in front, but the puck rolled off his stick as he turned to shoot it. Penn State killed off the penalty, but JJ Wiebusch got called for diving shortly afterward to reopen the door for Ohio State. A couple of big saves by Kevin Reidler and a timely clear by Cade Christenson allowed Penn State to kill off the penalty.
Ohio State tilted the ice late in the period. Casey Aman got called for high-sticking to give Ohio State a chance to win the game in regulation. Penn State held down the fort until the end of regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 4.
Overtime
Penn State killed off the penalty and took control of possession. The combination of Aiden Fink, Gavin McKenna, and Jackson Smith tired out Ohio State’s skaters. McKenna made a filthy finesse move to get some separation around the Ohio State defense, and he wristed home the game-winning goal to secure an overtime win for Penn State:
Scoring Summary
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final | |
| Ohio State | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Penn State | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
First Period
- OSU: Sam Deckhut (1)- Sam McGinley (5), Thomas Weis (4)- 5v5- 5:24
- PSU: Shea Van Olm (6)- Reese Laubach (14), Luke Misa (10)- PP- 19:05
Second Period
- OSU: Felix Caron (11)- Ryan Gordon (14), Riley Thompson (11)- PP- 3:52
- OSU: Broten Sabo (2)- Niall Crocker (4), Max Montes (11)- 5v5- 5:56
- OSU: Max Montes (12)- James Hong (8)- SH- 12:08
- PSU: JJ Wiebusch (15)- Lev Katzin (2), Jackson Smith (12)- 5v5- 14:36
Third Period
- PSU: JJ Wiebusch (16)- Gavin McKenna (30), Aiden Fink (22)- PP- 2:10
- PSU: Jarod Crespo (5)- Matt DiMarsico (22)- 5v5- 2:47
Overtime
- PSU: Gavin McKenna (13)- Jackson Smith (13), Aiden Fink (23)- 3v3- 2:40
Shots By Period
- OSU: 6-19-11-1-37
- PSU: 14-9-6-1-30
Takeaways
- Injuries- Penn State has been snakebitten with injuries this season, with now six skaters sidelined. This isn’t the NHL where they can just call up players to fill roster spots. If they only have 17 healthy skaters, that is all they have. Hopefully some of these skaters return to the lineup soon.
- Adversity- Penn State is 6-6 when trailing after two periods this season. In a game that they never led at any point in regulation, the Nittany Lions never quit. I like this team’s resolve as they head toward March.
- Gavin McKenna- With two top six forwards out, more of the spotlight has been on McKenna. He has risen to the challenge and scored a clutch goal in overtime with his skill and great skating.
- Jarod Crespo- Crespo came up with two huge plays in the third period. He scored to tie the game and broke up an Ohio State odd-man rush that denied the Buckeyes a dangerous scoring chance. Crespo’s game has found another gear this season.
- 20 Wins- Penn State has won 20 games for the seventh time in the last 11 seasons. Guy Gadowsky has been one of the more consistent coaches in the sport, and I do not take that for granted.
Standings & Such
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Penn State can secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the conference tournament with a win in any fashion over Notre Dame on Friday. The Lions are not locked into third place yet, but it feels unlikely that they will finish anywhere else in the standings.
At the time of posting, Penn State is No. 5 in the NPI. The probability matrix has not updated yet, but I would think this weekend’s sweep has officially sealed up an NCAA Tournament berth for the second straight season.
What’s Next
Penn State will play its final road series of the regular season against Notre Dame next Friday (7pm) and Saturday (6pm). Both games will be broadcast on Peacock.
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