Penn State throttles top-seeded Maine to advance to NCAA Regional Final

Almost two years ago to the day, Penn State hockey suffered the most heartbreaking loss in program history at the PPL Center. But Friday night, the Nittany Lions were thrilled to be back on the ice in Allentown. 

“It’s the best feeling in the world to be back here in Allentown,” senior Jimmy Dowd Jr. said.  

And the result on the ice left the Blue and White with a very different feeling than it had following that overtime loss to Michigan.

Special teams help propel Penn State hockey to the NCAA Regional Final

Penn State was the clear underdog heading into the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 4 seed in the region, the Nittany Lions were matched up with top-seeded Maine, a program riding high and ranked No. 3 in the country. 

At first, the tall task appeared to phase the Nittany Lions. About four minutes into the game, an odd fluttering puck found its way into the net. Penn State goaltender Arsenii Sergeev never saw it go over his head to give Maine a 1-0 lead. 

But like it has done many times on this magical run, Penn State hockey had an answer. JJ Wiebusch continued his hot postseason with a power play tic-tac-toe goal set up by Charlie Cerrato and Aiden Fink. The surgical strike came just 1:04 after Maine broke the ice and just eight seconds into the Nittany Lions’ powerplay opportunity. 

The first period turned into a penalty fest, with multiple boarding calls going both ways. Once both sides were back to even strength consistently, Penn State took advantage with its transition game. Matt DiMarsico sniped one home on the rush to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead with around five minutes remaining in the period. 

Penn State got another powerplay opportunity late in the frame, which gave it a chance to take control of the game. Danny Dzhaniyev sent a net-front pass that was redirected by Dane Dowiak into the goal to extend the advantage to 3-1. Penn State’s special teams produced two goals in the first period, continuing its recent success after an up-and-down season.

“We sat down and talked – what do we need to change to be a little bit better?” DiMarsico said about the Nittany Lions’ powerplay strategy. “Because we knew we had more.”

The second period was a much lower event period, both in terms of penalties and goals. There was only one goal in the period, and it belonged to the Nittany Lions. DiMarsico struck again with a one-timer set up by a beautiful Charlie Cerrato pass. 

The final frame was more about keeping Maine off the board. The Black Bears became undisciplined as their desperation grew. Maine pulled its goaltender in the final four minutes of the period, allowing Dane Dowiak to ice the game with an empty-net dagger, his second goal of the night. 

Nittany Lions are on the verge of program history

Now, the attention will shift to UConn, with Penn State hockey just one win away from the program’s first Frozen Four appearance. This is UConn’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. The Huskies took down Quinnipiac 4-1 to advance to the Regional Final.

Puck drop is set for 4:30pm on Sunday. The game will be televised on ESPN 2.

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