No. 5 Penn State men’s hockey (16-5) blew out No. 20 RIT 6-1 in its first game in over two weeks.

Ashton Calder and Kevin Wall scored two goals a piece to go along with a solid performance from goaltender Liam Souliere in Penn State’s series-opening victory.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions returned to the ice for the first time since December 10 to begin a series with the RIT Tigers, their final series of 2022. Guy Gadowsky elected to go with usual starter Liam Souliere in net while RIT gave the nod to sophomore Tommy Scarfone.

Any concerns about potential rust for Penn State following a 20-day layoff were alleviated very early on. Just 3:05 into the first period, New York native Kevin Wall banked the puck off a Tiger defender from a tough angle for his tenth goal of the season. Connor MacEachern got the lone assist on the goal.

An extended delay caused the first intermission to start earlier than anticipated. With 2:53 remaining in the first period, a big hit on Penn State defenseman Christian Berger near the RIT bench caused the latch on the door to the bench to break. Berger was not injured on the play.

Following a full intermission, the two teams would play the remaining 2:53 before taking a small intermission prior to playing the full twenty-minute period.

The brief break helped the Nittany Lions in a big way. Tyler Paquette and Ashton Calder both scored goals just 29 seconds apart to extend Penn State’s lead to 3-0. The goal was Calder’s first since November 10.

Despite committing the game’s first penalty, RIT ended Souliere’s shutout bid with a shorthanded goal by Tyler Mahan to cut Penn State’s lead to two. Penn State failed to score on the man advantage as the game returned to even strength with just over 17 minutes remaining in the second period.

The hometown kid Kevin Wall did it again, scoring his second of the game to give the Nittany Lions their three-goal lead back. Connor MacEachern was credited with the assist, his second of the game. Ryan Kirwan added the other helper.

Shortly after Wall’s second goal, Danny Dzhaniyev was sent to the box for tripping, sending the nation’s second-best power play unit out on the ice for the first time. Penn State got the kill to preserve its three-goal lead.

A hit on Carter Schade by Andrew Petrucci was reviewed and later confirmed to be a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding. Ashton Calder added his second goal of the game on a one-timer to put the Nittany Lions up 5-1. The power-play goal was assisted by Danny Dzhaniyev and Ture Linden.

The Nittany Lions added another early in the third as Connor MacEachern capped off his great night with a goal of his own, redirecting Wall’s shot past Scarfone for his third point of the game.

Penn State would get its second power play of the game as Gianfranco Cassaro was sent to the box for roughing. RIT killed the penalty with ease.

Neither team would score again in a mostly uneventful final period as the game ended with Penn State winning 6-1.

Takeaways

• Liam Souliere had another great game against RIT on Friday night. Despite only facing 29 shots, Souliere stopped them all except for one to pick up his fourteenth win of the season. Tigers goalie Tommy Scarfone struggled big time in the loss. The Quebec native allowed six goals on 47 shots.

• Ashton Calder and Kevin Wall were big offensively for Penn State in the win. The veterans scored two goals each to headline the Nittany Lions’ offensive outburst. Connor MacEachern and Ture Linden aided the effort with two assists each. MacEachern would add a goal in the third for his third point of the game. The Wall-MacEachern-McMenamin line was terrific for the Nittany Lions. The trio combined for six points.
• The 20-day break proved to be beneficial for Penn State. The Nittany Lions were dominant in all facets on Friday night and it showed on the scoreboard. Penn State cruised past RIT for its sixteenth win of the season. The combination of an offensive outburst and Liam Souliere being his usual dominant self led Penn State to a big win over a very good RIT team.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return home to try to complete the home-and-home sweep against the Tigers on Saturday, December 31 at 5:30 p.m.