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Breaking Down Men’s Hockey Forward Andrew Sturtz’s Program-Record 46 Goals

Penn State men’s hockey winger Andrew Sturtz broke Casey Bailey’s program record of 45 goals in the dying seconds of his team’s victory over Mercyhurst Saturday night.

In the final 30 seconds of a 6-5 game, the Buffalo native deposited the puck into an empty net to seal an important Nittany Lion victory. The goal was his team-leading sixth of the 2017-18 season.

Since Sturtz’s arrival in Hockey Valley prior to the 2015-16 season, Penn State has been one of the most dynamic, high-flying teams in all of college hockey. Last season’s squad scored 4.10 goals per game, a number that led the entire nation.

Having led the team in goals in each of the past two seasons, Sturtz is a massive part of the Nittany Lions’ strong offense. Since he just broke the record, we thought it’d be appropriate to break down all 46 of Andrew Sturtz’s goals in a Penn State uniform.

(Photo: Chris Sponagle | Onward State)

The first goal of Andrew Sturtz’s career came at the start of the 2015-16 season against American International. The goal was the sixth of eight the team would score on the night, but it sure was a beauty.

Sturtz shifted to his backhand to elude the AIC defenseman, getting around him to make a beautiful power move onto his forehand before tucking the puck into an open net.

The goal was one of two that he would score that evening en route to a resounding victory at Pegula Ice Arena. Defenseman Luke Juha picked up the lone assist on the milestone goal.

Since that fateful night in October of 2015, the Buffalo native has found the back of the net on 44 more occasions. Whether the goals have come as game-winners or shorthanded, Andy Valley has scored in a number of different ways throughout his career.

In his first two-plus years in Happy Valley, almost half of Andrew Sturtz’s goals have come on special teams. Eight of his goals were power-play goals, while another eight came in shorthanded situations. Interestingly, he has never recorded a hat trick for Penn State, but he has eight two-goal games to his name.

Additionally, the Buffalo native has come up big in clutch situations on multiple occasions. Six of his 45 goals have been game-winning goals, while he has opened the scoring eight times so far in his career. Perhaps the biggest of Sturtz’s game winners came against Notre Dame last season, when he buried a rebound to help his team upset the third-ranked Fighting Irish in South Bend.

During his record-breaking night on Saturday, Sturtz broke another Penn State hockey record for points in a game. He assisted on all three of captain James Robinson’s goals — as well as on junior Chase Berger’s goal — on top of the empty netter to set a Penn State record with five points in a single game.

With well over a full year left of eligibility, all of these impressive numbers will certainly continue to grow, as will the legend of Andy Valley.

Sturtz and the Nittany Lions are back in action this weekend when they take on No. 6 Notre Dame in South Bend. Friday night’s game will begin at 7:35 p.m., while puck drop on Saturday night is set for 7:05 p.m. Saturday’s game will be nationally televised on NBC Sports Network.

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About the Author

Mikey Mandarino

In the most upsetting turn of events, Mikey graduated from Penn State with a digital & print journalism degree in the spring of 2020. He covered Penn State football and served as an editor for Onward State from 2018 until his graduation. Mikey is from Bedminster, New Jersey, so naturally, he spends lots of time yelling about all the best things his home state has to offer. Mikey also loves to play golf, but he sucks at it because golf is really hard. If you, for some reason, feel compelled to see what Mikey has to say on the internet, follow him on Twitter @Mikey_Mandarino. You can also get in touch with Mikey via his big-boy email address: [email protected]

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