Penn State Slides Past Michigan State in Series Sweep
In its first Big Ten series of the season, Penn State Men’s ice hockey (9-2-3, 1-0-0) swept Michigan State (4-9-2, 0-2-0), easily claiming victories both this past Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the puck dropped at 7 p.m. to a mostly full Pegula Ice Arena. At first, Penn State had trouble gaining momentum. Their passes were inaccurate, and touches on the puck were rough. Michigan State even seemed to be controlling the game at times.
“I thought that the Roar Zone was just tremendous right from the start,” said head coach Guy Gadowsky.
When the first period ended, it did not seem to be going well for the Nittany Lions. However, the second period sang a different song.
Within ten seconds of the second period puck drop, Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) ripped a shot into the Spartan’s net for an unassisted goal. This was the catalyst needed to unleash the insane goal scoring ability of the Lions.
Right before the 12 minute mark, David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.) scored thanks to passes from Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Luke Juha (Mississauga, Ontario), bringing the score up to a comfortable 2-0.
Penn State did not stop there. Less than three minutes later Andrew Sturtz his second goal of the game, a fantastic backhand-forehand play, which was assisted by David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta). Michigan State was clearly losing steam at this point.
To solidify the lead, Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) cinched Penn State’s final goal of the game off of a combo from Alec Marsh (Bridgewater, N.J.) and Sturtz. The Nittany Lions ended the second period with a clear air of domination and crisp play.
The third period continued to demonstrate the Lions’ ability to shut down the Spartans’ feeble attempts to notch a goal of their own. However, slip-ups at the 14 minute mark at just before the 20 minute mark allowed Thomas Ebbing (Troy, Mich.) and Ryan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.) of MSU to snag two goals to make the final score 4-2.
Goalie Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) made 31 saves for the day, and Penn State won 43 faceoffs, as opposed to MSU’s 32.
Saturday’s victory solidified the sweep of the series against Michigan State as the Lions rallied yet again for a 6-1 victory.
Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) stole the show by opening the game with two goals in one minute during the first period. Scheid’s first goal of the night was when Scheid took the puck from behind the goal and snuck it past MSU’s Ed Minney (Wind Gap, Pa.) at the right of the faceoff circle. Just a minute later, Erik Autio (Espoo, Finland) hit Scheid with a pass that Scheid converted into the second point of the game.
With just about two minutes remaining in the first period, Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) notched the third point of the game, ending the first period with the Lions in total control.
Michigan State got their only point of the game in the opening minute of the second period.
However, David Glen quickly reestablished the Lions’ dominance with a goal, bringing the score to 4-1. With five minutes remaining, Kenny Brooks sank a shot to wrap up the second period with a 5-1 lead.
After controlling the third period with ease, Vince Pedrie gave the Lions’ their last goal of the night after a rocket of a shot from the right during a two-man advantage.
Junior goalie Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.) made 28 saves, and the Lions bested the Spartans in faceoffs, 43-38.
The Nittany Lions are currently undefeated in the Big Ten for the first time. Get ready to bring your roar to the roar zone as Penn State takes on Princeton next Friday at 7 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena.
On Friday, the puck dropped at 7 p.m. to a mostly full Pegula Ice Arena. At first, Penn State had trouble gaining momentum. Their passes were inaccurate, and touches on the puck were rough. Michigan State even seemed to be controlling the game at times.
“I thought that the Roar Zone was just tremendous right from the start,” said head coach Guy Gadowsky.
When the first period ended, it did not seem to be going well for the Nittany Lions. However, the second period sang a different song.
Within ten seconds of the second period puck drop, Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) ripped a shot into the Spartan’s net for an unassisted goal. This was the catalyst needed to unleash the insane goal scoring ability of the Lions.
Right before the 12 minute mark, David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.) scored thanks to passes from Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Luke Juha (Mississauga, Ontario), bringing the score up to a comfortable 2-0.
Penn State did not stop there. Less than three minutes later Andrew Sturtz his second goal of the game, a fantastic backhand-forehand play, which was assisted by David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta). Michigan State was clearly losing steam at this point.
To solidify the lead, Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) cinched Penn State’s final goal of the game off of a combo from Alec Marsh (Bridgewater, N.J.) and Sturtz. The Nittany Lions ended the second period with a clear air of domination and crisp play.
The third period continued to demonstrate the Lions’ ability to shut down the Spartans’ feeble attempts to notch a goal of their own. However, slip-ups at the 14 minute mark at just before the 20 minute mark allowed Thomas Ebbing (Troy, Mich.) and Ryan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.) of MSU to snag two goals to make the final score 4-2.
Goalie Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) made 31 saves for the day, and Penn State won 43 faceoffs, as opposed to MSU’s 32.
Saturday’s victory solidified the sweep of the series against Michigan State as the Lions rallied yet again for a 6-1 victory.
Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) stole the show by opening the game with two goals in one minute during the first period. Scheid’s first goal of the night was when Scheid took the puck from behind the goal and snuck it past MSU’s Ed Minney (Wind Gap, Pa.) at the right of the faceoff circle. Just a minute later, Erik Autio (Espoo, Finland) hit Scheid with a pass that Scheid converted into the second point of the game.
With just about two minutes remaining in the first period, Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) notched the third point of the game, ending the first period with the Lions in total control.
Michigan State got their only point of the game in the opening minute of the second period.
However, David Glen quickly reestablished the Lions’ dominance with a goal, bringing the score to 4-1. With five minutes remaining, Kenny Brooks sank a shot to wrap up the second period with a 5-1 lead.
After controlling the third period with ease, Vince Pedrie gave the Lions’ their last goal of the night after a rocket of a shot from the right during a two-man advantage.
Junior goalie Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.) made 28 saves, and the Lions bested the Spartans in faceoffs, 43-38.
The Nittany Lions are currently undefeated in the Big Ten for the first time. Get ready to bring your roar to the roar zone as Penn State takes on Princeton next Friday at 7 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena.
