Heading into the series with Rhode Island last weekend, the Penn State Icers knew that they needed at least one win over Rhode Island to remain in the playoff hunt. The Icers did slightly better than that by winning one game and losing the other in a shoot-out.

On Friday, Penn State beat Rhode Island 4-3 thanks to Andrew Duval’s first-ever goal in the third period. Dominic Morrone scored in the first period, and Nic Seravalli put the Icers up 2-0 three minutes into the second. Rhode Island stormed back, however, scoring three unanswered goals to take the lead. Mike Broccolo scored his second goal of the season to tie the score with six minutes remaining in the second period. Duval got the game-winner six minutes into the third to give the Icers the much-needed victory.

The two teams played another close and exciting game on Saturday. After a tense opening to the match, Rhode Island struck first with three minutes left in the first period. In the second, Rhode Island dominated the play, but a flurry of goals within a span of three minutes saw the scores level at 2-2. Mike McDonagh scored first for the Icers, Rhode Island scored 26 seconds later, and Paul Daley tied it again a minute after that.

Penn State was forced to come from behind twice more in the third period. Marek Polidor tied the game at three after a quick goal from Rhode Island. Then, after Rhode Island scored with six minutes left, Morrone leveled the contest at four apiece. The score remained the same through overtime, and the teams headed to a shoot-out–the Icers first of the season. Both goalies turned in quality performances in the shoot-out by stopping four tries each. Rhode Island finally scored in the fifth round to win 5-4.

The Icers are now 19-8-1 overall and 9-4-1 in conference play. They have two games remaining against Robert Morris (Pa.) before heading into the conference tournament. Rhode Island clinched the regular season title with the shoot-out win on Saturday. Winning two games over Robert Morris should be enough for the Icers to earn a national tournament bid.

Upcoming schedule:

Friday: vs. Robert Morris (Pa.), 9 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Robert Morris (Pa.), 3:30 p.m.