No. 15 Penn State men’s hockey (5-2-0) fell to the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (4-4-0) 6-5 on Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena.

Penn State jumped out to an early lead, but the Seawolves quickly erased the deficit with three unanswered goals in the first period. The Nittany Lions tied the game one more time in the second period and nearly mounted a comeback late in the third period, but it was too little too late as Alaska Anchorage won 6-5.

How It Happened

After some back-and-forth hockey, Penn State got its first real chance of the game. A shot from Aiden Fink was deflected off Greg Ososz’s pad, but Jacques Bouquot scored off the rebound to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead with 18:37 left in the opening period.

Davis Goukler was called for hooking on the scoring play, which gave Penn State the game’s first power play. However, the Nittany Lions couldn’t find the back of the net.

Right after the power play, Alaska Anchorage evened the score. Maximillion Helgeson took the puck, and it flew past Liam Souliere with 15:59 on the clock.

From here, the Seawolves’ attack woke up, and the Nittany Lions struggled to clear the puck. A give-and-go was whiffed on, giving them a pivotal break.

Then, at 11:29 in the first period, Penn State struck back. This time, it was Danny Dzhaniyev who intercepted a pass and sent a slapshot into the net to put Penn State ahead 2-1.

However, the Nittany Lions’ struggles to clear the puck came back to haunt them. The Seawolves took chance after chance, and eventually, they succeeded. With 10 minutes left in the period, Adam Tisdale scored his first goal of the season to tie the game once again.

Alaska Anchorage continued to play with momentum. Penn State’s defensive struggles continued, and the team paid for it again. Just over 14 minutes into in the first period, Tisdale scored again to give the Seawolves a 3-2 lead.

The Seawolves weren’t done yet. With five seconds to go in the first period, Matt Allen scored to make the score 4-2. Alaska Anchorage was in firm control for the better part of the period and went into the intermission in the driver’s seat in every category.

Penn State came out swinging in the second period. Just 1:27 after the puck dropped, Christian Berger scored to cut Alaska Anchorage’s lead to 4-3.

Souliere, who remained in the game despite his first-period woes, made a spectacular glove save to deny the Seawolves in front of the net. However, Xander Lamppa was sent to the sin bin for slashing.

Penn State cleared the puck, then Souliere made another glove save and froze the puck shortly after. Then, the Nittany Lions turned the puck over. Reese Laubach and Christian Berger created a two-on-one attack as the Pegula crowd’s noise reached a crescendo, and Laubach sent a slapshot flying into the net for a short-handed goal to tie the game 4-4 four-and-a-half minutes through the second period.

The crowd was back in the game. The tension in the building was palpable, and Penn State looked to be in control by sending a barrage of shots in Ososz’s direction.

A few minutes later, Gunnar Vandamme was booked for a holding penalty after he brought down Carter Schade in front of the goal. Once Vandamme left the box, he immediately grabbed the puck and charged toward the net to create a one-on-one against Souliere. He ripped a shot, but Souliere deflected it with his pad and Penn State regained control.

Then, Alaska Anchorage broke the tie. Connor Marritt went top shelf on Souliere to take a 5-4 lead 14:14 through the second period.

The clock ticked on and subpar execution, including a two-on-one chance that was missed, continued to plague the Nittany Lions. With less than a minute left, Tanner Palocsik was assessed for a boarding minor penalty, which carried into the third period as the horn sounded.

Alaska Anchorage capitalized on the power play, as the Seawolves picked up a rebound and Aiden Westin scored at 1:14 in the third period to make it 6-4.

Then, Penn State went on the power play a minute later. The Seawolves’ penalty kill stifled the advantage by blocking shots and clearing the puck multiple times.

However, Penn State began controlling the puck more. It peppered the Seawolves with shots and wouldn’t allow the puck to be cleared. However, good goaltending combined with off-point execution continued to suffocate the Nittany Lions.

With five minutes to go in regulation, there was a break in the action over a possible penalty against the Seawolves, but the officials decided there was none after a lengthy review. Two minutes later, Westin was handed a five-minute major for head contact, setting Penn State up in prime position to try and tie the game.

The Nittany Lions won the face-off and immediately ripped a shot at Ososz. He froze the puck after three consecutive shots, but Penn State was threatening as the clock ticked away with Souliere now on the bench for the extra skater.

After minutes of shooting the puck and getting denied, Penn State broke through with 12 seconds left. Dylan Lugris scored, but it was too little too late, and Penn State lost 6-5.

Takeaways

• Sloppy defense led to most goals that were scored by Alaska Anchorage. By Penn State failing to clear the puck, the Seawolves capitalized on the opportunities numerous times.
• Poor offensive execution also doomed Penn State. Multiple chances weren’t finished or taken advantage of, despite having over 40 shots and a strong power play to end the game.
• The power play was a problem. The Nittany Lions had four power plays and only converted on one. By the time Penn State scored on its last attempt, it was too little too late.

What’s Next

Penn State opens Big Ten play against Notre Dame with a two-game series beginning on at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 4, at Pegula Ice Arena.