Penn State men’s hockey (10-7-1, 5-4-2) traveled to Pittsburgh to take on AHC opponent Robert Morris (5-10-1) on Friday night. In the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Nittany Lions really turned it on in the second period behind goals from Sucese, Sternschein, and Gobetz.

How It Happened

Robert Morris came out applying some serious pressure on the attack. Peyton Jones was immediately called into action, coming up with a number of saves to keep the Colonials off the scoreboard. The opening period had a lot of action in terms of shots and power play chances, but the defenses generally held up strong.

Robert Morris’ Louria came up with the only goal of the first period, firing one into the top shelf past Jones 13:11 into play. RMU went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead over Penn State.

Nate Sucese tied it up at 1-1 in the second period 4:52 into the period. Biro and Gobetz tallied assists on the goal as the Nittany Lions finally broke through.

Momentum seemed to really turn Penn State’s way early on in the second period following that goal. Just minutes later, the Nittany put on an absolute clinic on the penalty kill. Although they couldn’t notch another goal, Sturtz nearly scored and Penn State even had a 3-on-1 opportunity.

It didn’t simply feel like Penn State had momentum either. Sternschein gave the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead with 10:44 remaining in the second period. The freshman deflected in a shot from the point to sneak it past Marotte in net for RMU.

The scoring didn’t end there as James Gobetz scooped up a rebound from an effort at goal from Sturtz and made it count. His goal gave Penn State a 3-1 lead with 1:28 remaining in the period, which the Nittany Lions held on to into the intermission.

Smirnov wasted no time extending the Penn State lead in the third period. The Russian scored on the power play just 4 seconds into the penalty and 34 seconds into the period. Robert Morris got one back through Ferguson with 7:38 remaining in the game. Berger put the game to sleep with another goal with 3:00 remaining, capping off a strong performance with a 5-2 win.

Player of the Game

James Gobetz | Sophomore | Defender

James Gobetz had a great game stepping in for an injured Kevin Kerr. The defensemen came up with an assist on Penn State’s first goal of the game before scoring a goal of his own in a massive second period.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will finish up the home-and-home series with Robert Morris on Saturday, December 9 at 7 p.m.