The men’s hockey team has fallen on hard times after an emotional 4-1 win over Army in the Pegula Arena opener. In a weekend series at Air Force, the Nittany Lions lost Friday night 5-2 and again Saturday night 3-1 to bring their record to 1-2-0 to start the season.

The Nittany Lions fell behind early in game one as Air Force was able to notch two goals within the first six minutes. However, Penn State responded quickly as forward Eric Sheid was able put one past Air Force goaltender Jason Torf later in the first period to make the score 2-1.

In the second period Air Force was able to score two more, handing the Nittany Lions a deficit that was too large to ovecome. Defensemen Luke Juha added a goal with 3:38 left in the game to make the score 5-2, which ended up being the final. Freshman goaltender Eamon McAdams stopped 27 shots in his Penn State debut, but his five goals allowed put him at a mediocre .843 save percentage.

The second game provided much less offense, as both teams were scoreless in the first and second period. However, the floodgates burst open for Air Force in the third period as they were able to score three goals while Torf kept the Nittany Lion offense quiet.

Penn State forward Ricky DeRosa scored a goal with 2:46 left in the game, the first in the freshman’s career, but that was all the offense the Nittany Lions could muster in a 3-1 defeat. Penn State goaltender Matthew Skoff was solid in net, allowing three goals on 35 shots for a .914 save percentage.

Penn State will look to rebound this Friday at home when an 0-3-1 RIT team takes on the Nittany Lions. The puck drops at 7:05 at the Pegula Ice Arena.