Penn State Sweeps Arizona State Sun Devils
Men’s hockey (7-7-0, 2-4-0) traveled across the country to a warmer destination this past weekend to take on the Arizona Sun Devils. Penn State has always been successful against Arizona, and this series was no exception.
On Saturday, the Lions defeated the Sun Devils in a royal fashion, with a 7-0 shutout as the final score, despite no goals in the first period.
Nine minutes into the second period, however, freshman Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) got things going as he capitalized on a rebound from teammate Trevor Hamilton’s (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) initial shot.
Barratt was on a roll and also scored the second goal of the night with help from Hamilton, who split Arizona’s defenders with a perfectly threaded pass to Barratt.
The third period turned out to be one of the most successful for the Lions yet this season with the Blue and White knocking in five goals.
In a night that saw many freshmen take the ice, Saturday evening also saw Sam Sternschein (Syosset, N.Y.) knock in his first career goal as a Nittany Lion. Sternschein was in the right place at the right time, and placed the puck swiftly behind the Sun Devil’s goalie.
The sophomores took to the ice as well and dished out some impressive goals.
Brandon Biro (Sherwood Park, Alberta) locked in the fourth goal of the evening with help from classmate Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.), who fed Biro a great pass in front of the net.
Nikita Pavlychev (Yaroslavl, Russia) and senior Erik Autio (Espoo, Finland) both utilized rebounds in the final minutes of the game to increase the Lions’ lead to 6-0.
Sucese rounded out the night with a goal of his own with just 40 seconds left to give Penn State a 7-0 win.
Goalie Chris Funkey (Orland Park, Ill.) recorded 15 saves for the lions, who had 51 shots on the Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils turned up the heat on Sunday, but Penn State still came away with a 4-2 victory and series sweep.
Arizona came out hungry for some success and notched the first goal of the game in under two minutes.
Biro quickly got the Lions back on track with a goal of his own at the 6:30 mark thanks to a feeder pass from Sternschein.
Less than a minute later Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) intercepted an Arizona pass and bested the Sun Devil keeper to give Penn State a 2-1 lead.
A quiet rest of the first period and much of the second period finally saw Derian Hamilton (Port McNeill, B.C.) notch his first collegiate goal thanks to a feeder from Biro in front of the goal.
Heading into the third period up 3-1, Penn State conceded one more goal before Brett Murray (Bolton, Ont.) clinched an empty net goal with just over a minute left to grant Penn State the 4-2 win and series sweep.
Goalie Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) recorded 23 saves for the Blue and White while Penn State notched 49 shots.
The team will host Michigan State this weekend at 7 p.m. on Friday and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Come out to support your Lions or stream the action live from Go PSU Sports!
On Saturday, the Lions defeated the Sun Devils in a royal fashion, with a 7-0 shutout as the final score, despite no goals in the first period.
Nine minutes into the second period, however, freshman Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) got things going as he capitalized on a rebound from teammate Trevor Hamilton’s (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) initial shot.
Barratt was on a roll and also scored the second goal of the night with help from Hamilton, who split Arizona’s defenders with a perfectly threaded pass to Barratt.
The third period turned out to be one of the most successful for the Lions yet this season with the Blue and White knocking in five goals.
In a night that saw many freshmen take the ice, Saturday evening also saw Sam Sternschein (Syosset, N.Y.) knock in his first career goal as a Nittany Lion. Sternschein was in the right place at the right time, and placed the puck swiftly behind the Sun Devil’s goalie.
The sophomores took to the ice as well and dished out some impressive goals.
Brandon Biro (Sherwood Park, Alberta) locked in the fourth goal of the evening with help from classmate Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.), who fed Biro a great pass in front of the net.
Nikita Pavlychev (Yaroslavl, Russia) and senior Erik Autio (Espoo, Finland) both utilized rebounds in the final minutes of the game to increase the Lions’ lead to 6-0.
Sucese rounded out the night with a goal of his own with just 40 seconds left to give Penn State a 7-0 win.
Goalie Chris Funkey (Orland Park, Ill.) recorded 15 saves for the lions, who had 51 shots on the Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils turned up the heat on Sunday, but Penn State still came away with a 4-2 victory and series sweep.
Arizona came out hungry for some success and notched the first goal of the game in under two minutes.
Biro quickly got the Lions back on track with a goal of his own at the 6:30 mark thanks to a feeder pass from Sternschein.
Less than a minute later Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) intercepted an Arizona pass and bested the Sun Devil keeper to give Penn State a 2-1 lead.
A quiet rest of the first period and much of the second period finally saw Derian Hamilton (Port McNeill, B.C.) notch his first collegiate goal thanks to a feeder from Biro in front of the goal.
Heading into the third period up 3-1, Penn State conceded one more goal before Brett Murray (Bolton, Ont.) clinched an empty net goal with just over a minute left to grant Penn State the 4-2 win and series sweep.
Goalie Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) recorded 23 saves for the Blue and White while Penn State notched 49 shots.
The team will host Michigan State this weekend at 7 p.m. on Friday and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Come out to support your Lions or stream the action live from Go PSU Sports!
