Penn State hockey rallies for comeback win in season opener

The puck dropped on the 2023-2024 Penn State hockey season on Saturday. The No. 16-ranked Nittany Lions traveled east on I-80 on to New York City to face the Long Island University Sharks. This is just the second meeting between these two programs, the last coming in 2021 at Pegula Ice Arena. That series was an easy sweep for the Nittany Lions. It wasn’t the prettiest of starts the year, but ultimately Penn State hockey started the season 1-0 with a 3-2 win on Saturday evening. 

This is a season where there are a lot of question marks for the Nittany Lions. A game against a team of LIU’s caliber won’t answer many of those questions, but it is a game the team cannot afford to lose for the sake of its postseason hopes. 

Penn State starts off slow

As one would expect for teams lacing up the skates for the first time in months, the game got off to a sluggish start. Penn State had an early opportunity on the power play, a chance to show improvement from last year’s much maligned special teams, but didn’t come close to capitalizing. 

The Nittany Lions had a chance to show off their penalty kill later in the period, which stifled LIU, showing improvement from last season.

With Penn State losing a lot of its scoring production in the offseason, some new faces are going to have to step up. Near the end of the period, that is exactly what happened. Defenseman Tanner Palocsik, a transfer from Dartmouth, flung a puck towards the net after an aggressive forecheck. Highly-touted freshman forward Matthew DiMarsico got his stick on the puck and tipped into the net for his first collegiate goal. 

The Nittany Lions took a 1-0 lead into the intermission, while uncharacteristically being outshot by LIU 9-5.

Nittany Lions struggle in the second

The Sharks wasted little time answering. Just under three minutes into the period, Preston Brodziak fired one over goaltender Liam Souliere’s glove to tie up the game. 

That goal gave LIU momentum and a broken play resulted in an odd man rush for the Sharks. Riley Wallack scored for LIU by poking the puck through Souliere’s legs, giving LIU its first lead of the night just two minutes after tying it.

Penn State hockey took a sloppy bench minor for too many players on the ice, which gave LIU a chance to extend its lead to two, but another solid penalty kill kept the Lions within striking distance.

The “last chance” Lions struck again in the last minute of the period. The hometown kid, junior forward Danny Dzhaniyev, from nearby Brooklyn, NY. flipped a puck to the center that junior forward Ryan Kirwan one-timed home to tie the game. Freshman forward Aiden Fink, whose name you might remember hearing at this summer’s NHL Draft, picked up his first collegiate point with the secondary assist on the goal. 

Penn State started to flex its muscle a bit in that period, outshooting the Sharks 16-6. It felt as if the Lions should have left the period with the lead, but strong goalie play from LIU kept Penn State off the board for almost the entire of the period.

“Last chance” Lions strike again

After a slow start, Penn State hockey started the third period buzzing. The Lions had numerous chances with LIU pinned in their own zone for the first few minutes of the period. They even had a shot that rang off the pipe behind the Shark’s goaltender.

While it didn’t score during this sustained pressure, Penn State was able to force LIU into taking a penalty. Despite numerous chances on the ensuing power play, the Lions came up empty. 

Penn State would get another chance to pot its first power play goal of the season just a few moments later. The call, elbowing, was reviewed for a potential major penalty. The length review determined there was contact to head, giving Penn State five minutes on the man advantage. 

The Nittany Lions yet again waited till the final seconds, this time of the power play, for junior forward Dylan Lugris to slide the puck into the net and restore the lead for Penn State. The goal was reviewed, but it was determined to be a good goal. Kirwan and Dzhaniyev picked up assists, making it a multi-point night for them. 

Penn State would take an ill-advised penalty, setting up a crucial penalty kill with just over four minutes remaining. Just as the power play rose the occasion moments before, the penalty kill did as well. 

The Sharks would pull their goalie shortly after the penalty expired, but Penn State couldn’t add another tally, opening the season with a less than comfortable 3-2 win.

Penn State dominated the third period, outshooting Long Island 12-3 in the frame.

Up next for Penn State hockey

Penn State hockey stays in the state of New York for a swing through the North Country to take on Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The puck drops at 7:00pm on both Friday and Saturday for those games next weekend. 

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