Penn State hockey sweeps critical weekend road trip

Penn State hockey had its season-opening three-game road trip continued this weekend with games in New York at Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 3-2 victory over Long Island last week, a nailbiter that saw Penn State score the winning goal late in the third period. This weekend, the Nittany Lions were able to notch wins against more impressive opponents before heading home to Pegula for next week’s home opener.

Penn State hockey holds on in nail-biter

First Period

Coach Guy Gadowsky said earlier in the week that he wanted his team to be ready to compete from the start. He got his wish as the Nittany Lions came out buzzing.

The entire first period was played almost exclusively in the Penn State offensive zone. The Nittany Lions were able to use their speed advantage over Clarkson to break out in the multiple odd-man rushes.

After a few great stops by the Clarkson goaltender, Penn State hockey was able to break through in the latter half of the period. Junior forward Ryan Kirwan fired a shot that deflected off the Clarkson netminder, into junior defenseman Simon Mack’s skate, and into the back of the net. The pinball goal was Mack’s first of the year. 

Penn State hockey didn’t add on any further and took its one goal into the locker room. The Nittany Lions dominated play the entire period, outshooting the Knights 17-5.

Second Period

Clarkson, frustrated by its own slow start in the first, was able to pin Penn State hockey in the defensive zone for a while. Clarkson had some scoring chances turned aside by senior goaltender Liam Souilere. The Golden Knights were aided with an early power play due to a Penn State holding call. 

On one of Penn State’s first zone exits of the period, senior forward Christian Sarlo sped past the Clarkson defense and ripped a wrister past the glove of the Clarkson goalie to extend the Nittany Lion lead to two. The goal was unassisted.

Shortly after the goal, Penn State hockey regained its legs and was able to apply some sustained pressure. This pressure led to a Clarkson penalty. Kirwan, known for his sniper-like accuracy, shot one from above the face-off circle and into the net for his second goal of the season. 

Despite having all the momentum in its favor, Penn State took a penalty to set up another power play. Clarkson was able to find the back of the net this time and cut the deficit back to two. 

Clarkson took a penalty late in the period, but a faceoff loss for Penn State set up a breakaway for the Knights and forced the Lions to take a penalty. During the ensuing four-on-four, Penn State took another penalty to send Clarkson to the power play. Clarkson was able to get some very good pressure, but Liam Souliere made two highlight reel saves to send the Lions to the locker room up by two. 

This was a much more back-and-forth period, with the shots 11-10 favoring Penn State. 

Third Period

Clarkson entered the third period with 58 seconds of carryover power play time, 12 of which would be a five-on-three for the Knights. Penn State hockey was able to kill it off, yet again on the back of Liam Souliere making some incredible saves.

Right after the kill, junior forward Danny Dzhaniyev took a huge hit that was called a penalty. It was reviewed for head contact, but it was determined to be a standard two-minute minor. Penn State wasn’t able to score on the man advantage, but it was able to tilt the momentum back in its favor. 

After a while of pressure with no results for Penn State, Clarkson was able to use an odd-man rush to find the net on a shot that went five hole on Souliere, cutting the lead down to one.

Clarkson smelled blood in the water after that, peppering Souliere in an attempt to tie the game. Then, the Knights took an ill-advised penalty that gave the Nittany Lions a chance to pot the dagger. Penn State failed to find twine, which gave Clarkson nearly four minutes to find the equalizing goal. 

Clarkson called its timeout with just over two minutes remaining in the third. At the same time, the Knights pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. After two icings, Penn State took its timeout to give the players stuck on the ice a breather. After some tense moments with Clarkson holding the puck in the zone, senior forward Chase McLane put one into the empty net to ice the game.

While tense in the second and third periods, this win went a long way in answering questions that came in last week’s close win over LIU. This was a more quintessential Penn State score line, outshooting Clarkson 43-23 in the 4-2 win. It was also encouraging to see the power play strike for the second straight game after its well documented struggles a year ago. This is a win that could hold some weight come March. 

Nittany Lions overcome early struggles for massive win

First Period

If Penn State hockey gave Coach Gadowsky what he had hoped for in terms of a quick start on Friday, it certainly did not on Saturday. St. Lawrence had most of the possession through the first part of the opening frame, save from a power play set up by a rare kneeing call on the Saints. 

Over halfway through the period, the Saints were able to capitalize when a lazy shot thrown at the net took a weird bounce past Souliere and into the goal. 

The Nittany Lions were able to stem the tide a bit in the latter half of the period but weren’t able to find the tying goal. The Nittany Lions were able to draw another penalty in the waning minutes of the period but to no avail. Shots in the period ended even at 13 a side, but the Nittany Lions held an impressive 16-6 advantage in faceoff wins.

Second Period

There was just about a minute of carryover man-advantage time, but Penn State hockey was not able to capitalize. Immediately after, the Nittany Lions were given another power play on a boarding call. While it would have been a golden opportunity to tie the game, the Lions took an offensive zone penalty to set up a lengthy four-on-four and negate the advantage. St. Lawrence had an abbreviated power play, which Penn State had no problem killing off.

Back at even strength, junior forward Carson Dyck and senior forward Jacques Bouquot found themselves in a two-on-one. Dyck sauced one to Bouquot, a transfer from Vermont. Bouquot ripped one to the top shelf to tie the game at one. This was his first in the Blue and White. 

The Saints continued to play undisciplined hockey and took another penalty to give Penn State its fourth power play of the night. Yet again, Penn State could not connect on the power play. 

Intent on giving the Nittany Lions plenty of chances to work on their power play, St. Lawrence took its fifth penalty of the night immediately after its fourth expired. The Nittany Lions finally made them pay this time. Sophomore defenseman Jared Crespo fired home a one-time shot from senior forward Xander Lamppa to give Penn State hockey its first lead of the night. 

Penn State played smothering defense for most of the period, giving St. Lawrence little chance to tie the game. Near the end of the period, the Saints were able to get pressure. A large hit prompted an official review for head contact, which would have awarded St. Lawrence a five-minute power play. There was no penalty called on the ice, and the review concluded there was nothing worth a major penalty. Penn State hockey was able to get back to the locker room with the lead. This was a much better period for Penn State, outshooting the Saints 11-4.

Third Period

Less than a minute into the third, Penn State would take a slashing penalty which would give the Saints their second man advantage of the night. Penn State’s penalty kill, another area that was a concern last year, was up to the task yet again. The Lions have only allowed one power-play goal through the first three games. 

The third period was not an eventful one, with Penn State content to clog the neutral zone to prevent St. Lawrence from having any chance of tying the game. With just over five minutes left, Penn State was able to generate an odd-man rush in which Ryan Kirwan scored on a one-timer. Kirwan has scored in every game for the Nittany Lions so far, and his three goals are tied for second-most among all skaters in the national.

St. Lawrence would pull the goaltender in an effort to generate offense. For the second straight night, Penn State found the empty net. Sophomore forward Alex Servagno collected the empty net goal. 

That would be all and Penn State would leave Appleton Arena with a 4-1 win and Upstate New York with an impressive sweep. Goaltender Liam Souliere shined in this one, stopping all but one of the 25 shots he faced. This was another quintessential Penn State hockey win, nearly doubling St. Lawrence’s shot total en route to a high-powered offensive performance. 

Penn State hockey comes home

Penn State heads to the friendly confines of Pegula Ice Arena for the first time in the 2023-2024 season to take on the American International College Yellow Jackets. The Nittany Lions will put their undefeated record on the line in a two-game series that will take place Friday and Saturday.

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