Penn State (3-1-0) took down Canisius (1-1-0) by a score of 5-2 in the final game of a two-game series.

How It Happened

After last night’s loss, Guy Gadowsky decided to shake things up and give sophomore goaltender Liam Souliere the start.

Starting lineup for the Nittany Lions:

LW: Christian Sarlo
C: Connor MacEachern
RW: Ben Schoen
D: Christian Berger
D: Simon Mack

G: Liam Souliere

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 9, 2021

The first period got off to a fast start for the Nittany Lions. After Penn State killed a Canisius power play, freshman forward, Danny Dzhaniyev netted a highlight-reel goal at 2:31 to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.

You can slip and slide around the ice when you score a goal!@PennStateMHKY leads Canisius 1-0 after this goal from @DDzhaniyev pic.twitter.com/boJeShiFsH

— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) October 9, 2021

Penn State’s penalty kill was spectacular in the first period, safely making it through all three Canisius power plays.

Apart from the one goal, it was an uneventful first period. The penalty kill was alive and well as Souliere played high-level hockey with 12 saves for the Nittany Lions.

However, right off the bat at 0:30 in the second period, junior forward Connor MacEachern sniped a goal with an assist coming from freshman forward Ben Schoen and sophomore defenseman Christian Berger.

Count it and for blue!@PennStateMHKY leads 2-0 after the second period! pic.twitter.com/PMWHsvT6bw

— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) October 9, 2021

Penn State’s penalty kill stayed strong in the second period after junior forward Connor McMenamin got in the way and blocked two Canisius power play shots. The Golden Griffins went 0-2 on the power play in the second period.

Despite the high shot total and Penn State goal, the second period was still quite uneventful. However, the defensive effort on power play kills by Penn State had the fans at Pegula roaring maybe louder than when it scored its two goals.

The Nittany Lions then extended their lead to 3-0 when sophomore forward Christian Sarlo scored at 3:06 in the third period. Schoen was credited with his second assist on the day and sophomore defenseman Jimmy Dowd Jr also assisted the goal.

Souliere was on the brink of recording a shutout, but Canisius junior Keaton Mastrodonato scored while shorthanded at 10:38. The goal was assisted by junior defenseman and Philadelphia native David Melaragni. The Golden Griffin’s momentum didn’t last long as it shifted when junior forward Tyler Gratton scored on the power play for Nittany Lions at 11:19 in the third period. Dzhaniyev and sophomore forward Chase McLane assisted the goal.

Once the Nittnay Lions began to put the game in the bag, sophomore forward Max Kouznetsov scored an unassisted goal for Canisius, making it a 4-2 game at 15:18. To cap off a great offensive night for Penn State, MacEachern then scored an empty net goal at 19:07 giving the Nittany Lions a five goal night. The goal was assisted by McMenamin and Berger.

Takeaways

• The penalty kill was at a high level the whole game. Canisius had six power plays and didn’t capitalize on any of them. Credit should go to the Nittany Lions as their effort against the power play deserves high praise.
• Souliere was somewhat a surprising start for Penn State, but a good surprise. Tallying up 12 saves in both the first and second periods, he was fun to watch. While he gave up two goals in the third period, he still had 36 saves in the game. There were several scoring chances for the Golden Griffins that Souliere was able to get a glove on and be an important factor in the win.
• After a non-win-worthy performance last night, the offense got a wake-up call today and shined. MacEachern netted two goals, and Dzhaniyev played at a high level tonight and started off the game with its first goal in an exciting fashion.

What’s Next

Penn State will take the ice again on Thursday, October 21 at 7 p.m. in its first of a two-game series against Niagara.