RECAP: Penn State hockey picks up two wins against Lindenwood

After last week’s historic win at Michigan, the Nittany Lions returned home to a sleepier-than-usual Pegula Ice Arena. With the series against Division I newcomer Lindenwood over a holiday weekend, there was no raucous student section that Penn State has grown accustomed to. It wouldn’t be much of a problem for the Penn State hockey team who handled Lindenwood with ease.

Penn State Hockey dominated on Friday night

First Period

Things got off to a fast start on Friday afternoon. Just over six minutes into the game, forward Aiden Fink recorded his eighth goal of his freshman season. Later in the period, junior forward Ryan Kirwan added another one to double the lead.

It became pretty clear early on that Lindenwood would struggle to match Penn State in any regard. Still transitioning to Division I, there isn’t much talent available for the Lions of Lindenwood. There isn’t a much better stat to represent that than the fact that they were outshot 27-10 in the first period of this one. 

Second Period

Penn State would add two quick goals 38 seconds apart to open up a 4-0 lead. Freshman forward Reese Laubach scored the first one and then Ryan Kirwan potted the second one on the powerplay. 

The contest got chippy and both sides started to take penalties. Lindenwood was able to solve senior goaltender Liam Souliere for the first time on the power play midway through the period. Penn State would get that one right back with a power play goal of their own, with graduate transfer Jacques Boquot getting the goal. 

The teams would trade goals again before the end of the period, with freshman forward Matt DiMarsico picking up the tally for the Nittany Lions. Penn State would take a 6-2 lead into the locker room.

Third Period

Even though the game was in hand, the Penn State hockey team was quite done scoring yet. Freshman forward Dane Dowiak picked up his second career goal. Jacques Boquot would score twice more in the third, for a hat trick. 

This is the second straight game with a Nittany Lion recording a hat trick, as Aiden Fink had one last week against Michigan. The game ended with a final score of 9-3, the first time the Nittany Lions have scored nine goals since 2020.

It was a thoroughly dominating performance, with the Nittany Lions putting up 60 shots in the contest.

Penn State completed the sweep Saturday night

First Period

Game two of the series didn’t start nearly as fast as Friday night. It took nearly the full period for either team to find the back of the net. Senior forward Tyler Paquette broke the ice and gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead.

Unlike Friday, Lindenwood had an answer. Just over a minute later, the Lions tied the game at one. It looked as if they would take some momentum into the locker room, but they got booked for a hit from behind, giving Penn State a five-minute power play.

Second Period

With the man advantage carrying over into the second, Penn State was able to open the game up. Just over a minute into the period, Ryan Kirwan struck again to give Penn State a 2-1 lead. Just 30 seconds later, Jacques Bouquot continued his hot streak adding another goal. 

Midway through the period, Aiden Fink scored an incredible goal on a wrister that would have had NHL goalies fooled. Fink is mounting quite the freshman campaign. He leads the team in goals, assists, and points with nine, 12 and 21 respectively. That is second best among all freshmen nationally, only behind Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini, who is widely considered to be the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. If he keeps his current pace, there are plenty of freshman records for the Penn State program that could be shattered. 

Junior Danny Dzhaniyev, back after missing last weekend with injury, tallied another goal at the end of the period to send Penn State back to the locker with a comfortable 5-1 lead.

Third Period

Penn State added two more goals in the third. Sophomore defenseman Dylan Gratton netted his first of the year. With 3 seconds left in the game, the vaunted freshman line struck again with a forward Matt DiMarsico goal to end up with a final score of 7-1.

The results this weekend, along with other scores around the country, vaulted Penn State back into the top 16 of the Pairwise rankings for the first time since the upset loss to American International. 

Next Up

Penn State will have a chance to firmly re-enter the national picture when Minnesota comes to Pegula Ice Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. The game on Saturday will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.

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