No. 5 Penn State men’s hockey defeated No. 20 RIT 3-1 at Pegula Ice Arena Saturday evening, completing its sixth series sweep of the season.

Chase McLane got the scoring started for the Nittany Lions in the first period, and Alex Servagno scored his first career goal en route to a Penn State victory.

How It Happened

Guy Gadowsky went with Liam Souliere in goal once again, but he surprised many by scratching defenseman Jimmy Dowd Jr. ahead of the game.

#WeAre just 9️⃣0️⃣ minutes away from tonight’s NYE non-conference series finale against No. 20 RIT!!

Here’s how each side will line up when the teams hit the ice in #HockeyValley!!#SweepRIT pic.twitter.com/LcetAZRzjR

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) December 31, 2022

The game started in Penn State’s favor, as the Nittany Lions got the first power play of the night when RIT was called for slashing at 4:42 of the first period. That power play didn’t last long, though. Xander Lamppa negated the final 18 seconds of the man advantage with a penalty of his own.

Penn State killed the penalty, and Chase McLane later scored on a tip from Simon Mack at 13:10 of the period to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.

Pucks on net, get to the front, tip a shot past the goaltender!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/D67a0FwgOd

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) December 31, 2022

The Nittany Lions started the second period throwing everything at the net but couldn’t find any luck from there. After much patience, Alex Servagno scored his first career goal to give Penn State a 2-0 lead at 11:44 of the second period.

First of his collegiate career from @alex_servagno!!#WeAre #HockeyValley@GamblersHockey | @USHL pic.twitter.com/SV2Kxr5zH2

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) December 31, 2022

As Penn State started to take control of the game, Christian Sarlo was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind at 16:56 of the second period.

Heading into the third period shorthanded, Penn State successfully killed the penalty. The Nittany Lions then even drew a penalty, as RIT got called for tripping at 2:11 of the third period. But, the Tigers got the kill.

Penn State then got another power play at 14:54 of the third period, but a shorthanded goal by Tyler Mahan cut RIT’s deficit to 2-1 at with 3:45 left in the third.

That goal wasn’t enough for RIT, as Connor McMenamin scored an empty-net goal to ice the 3-1 win for the Nittany Lions.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s power play was not great tonight, and that’s been a theme all season. The Nittany Lions went 0-for-3 and couldn’t generate much, as the man advantage will be what the team focuses on in the future.
• Liam Souliere is him, folks. Time and time again, the junior goaltender makes timely saves when the team needs it most. He helped Penn State preserve its lead late in the game and was critical in the team’s victory.

What’s Next

Penn State resumes Big Ten play with a two-game slate against Michigan State in East Lansing. Puck drop for the first game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, January 13.