No. 4 Penn State (15-2-1, 4-1-0 Big Ten) exploded for a 5-2 victory over Michigan State Friday night in Pegula. The Nittany Lions are 5-0 in their last five meetings with the Spartans.

How It Happened

Zach Osburn gave Michigan State (4-14-1, 0-5-0 Big Ten) an early jolt less than two minutes into the first period. The sophomore defenseman rifled a shot over Peyton Jones’ left shoulder to make it 1-0, but Guy Gadowsky’s bunch responded in no time. Chase Berger dialed up a perfect deflection for his eighth goal of the season, poking the puck out of the air and past Ed Minney to tie things at 1-1.

Vince Pedrie cued the siren again with three minutes and change left in the opening period. The Rochester, Minn., native made it 2-1 Penn State thanks to a left-wing wrister from way downtown — just in front of the blue line. In his Penn State debut, freshman forward Brett Murray tallied his first collegiate point on an assist to classmate Liam Folkes, who gave the Nittany Lions a 3-1 lead on a spectacular shot of his own with 16:30 to play in the second frame. Murray elected to skip the second half of his season with the USHL Youngstown Phantoms and enrolled in classes this week.

Spartan right winger Joe Cox cut Penn State’s advantage to 3-2 as he deked out Jones for a shorted breakaway goal with 10 minutes left in the second period. That score would hold heading into the final intermission. Just when fans were getting anxious for another goal, Andrew Sturtz delivered with his 14th of the season. His cushion was upheld by the officials following a brief review that showed the puck definitively crossing the line. Senior captain David Goodwin joined the fun to close out the scoring, 5-2. In true Penn State fashion, the blue and white dominated in the shots department 46-26.

Player Of The Game

Vince Pedrie | Sophomore | Defenseman

Pedrie’s ridiculous goal proved to be the eventual game-winner. The Nittany Lions were +3 with No. 24 on the ice.

What’s Next?

Penn State will wrap up its home stand against head coach Tom Anastos’ Spartans on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The all-time series between these two programs is now tied 6-6-3.