Penn State men’s hockey (2-0) defeated Alaska-Fairbanks (0-2) 5-0 to secure the sweep in its opening series.

Aiden Fink was outstanding as the sophomore built off a strong freshman campaign with a four-point night. Reese Laubauch added two goals of his own while Arsenii Sergeev recorded his first shutout with the Nittany Lions, making 32 saves in the process.

How It Happened

Penn State maintained pressure on the Nanooks during the opening minutes of play, firing multiple shots toward the net, but each sailed wide or was blocked away before reaching Lassi Lehti. The Nanooks immediately responded with pressure of their own, forcing Sergeev to make two saves.

Alaska Fairbanks was awarded the first power play of the evening at 6:21 of the period after Jarod Crespo was sent to the penalty for two minutes for hitting from behind. The Nanooks peppered Sergeev with shots, but the goaltender saved all five thrown his way, and Penn State successfully killed the penalty.

The Nittany Lions were awarded a power play of their own after Carson Reed entered the penalty box for tripping at 9:14. Penn State had three shot attempts with the man advantage but did not record a shot on goal during the two-minute advantage.

Jimmy Dowd Jr. was sent to the penalty box at 13:04 for slashing, which gave the Nanooks their second power play of the period. This power play was far less eventful for the Nanooks, as they amassed just one shot attempt before Dowd exited the penalty box.

Penn State and Alaska-Fairbanks traded shot attempts in the waning minutes of the period, but neither team could score and the teams went into the first intermission as they began, tied at zero.

Matt DiMarsico put Penn State ahead 1-0 just 44 seconds into the second period as he beat Lehti off a feed from Fink. Simon Mack recorded the secondary assist.

With the momentum, the Nittany Lions went on the power play for the second time with Braden Birnie sent to the penalty box for high sticking at 2:17. Just 24 seconds into the power play, Laubauch doubled the Nittany Lions lead. Danny Dzhaniyev and Fink had the assists on the power play goal.

The minutes following the goal were filled with back-and-forth hockey from both teams. The two sides had their share of shot attempts and time in the offensive end of the ice.

Laubauch struck again for Penn State at 9:45 of the period to extend its lead to three. Fink and Dzhaniyev recorded their second assists of the evening on the goal.

Searching for a goal to get back into the game, Alaska Fairbanks was awarded its third power play of the game at 10:06, with Carter Shade going to the box for charging. Like its second power play, the Nanooks couldn’t solve a stout Penn State penalty kill unit.

The Nanooks got a fourth opportunity on the power play after Alex Servagno was sent to the box for interference. Penn State again killed the penalty, with Sergeev making four huge saves.

Penn State’s offensive onslaught continued after successfully killing the Servagno penalty, as Fink scored to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to 4-0. Laubauch and Dowd were credited with the assists on the goal.

The third period began with Penn State peppering Lehti with four shots as the Nittany Lions tried to officially put the game out of reach.

Alaska Fairbanks was sent to the power play for the fifth time in the game after Cade Christenson was sent to the box for holding at 2:15. Even when short-handed, Penn State found a way to score as Dane Dowiak scored to put the Nittany Lions ahead 5-0. Penn State killed the remainder of the Christenson penalty after the goal and returned to full strength.

The Nanooks were again on the power play with Tyler Paquette sent to the box for high sticking at 7:07 of the period. Like each penalty kill opportunity before, Penn State successfully killed the penalty to Paquette and returned to even strength.

Charlie Cerrato was sent to the box for tripping at 13:03, giving the Nanooks their seventh power play of the evening. Once again, Penn State killed it off.

After a delay to sort out a scrum and the ensuing penalties, three players on both sides saw their nights end with just over three minutes remaining in the contest. Shortly after, Dowiak was sent to the box for hitting from behind and Penn State would have to kill yet another penalty.

The Nittany Lions killed off the penalty and secured the sweep of Alaska Fairbanks as the final horn sounded.

Takeaways

• Penn State got production from its top guys today, with Fink, Laubauch, and Dzhaniyev all recording multi-point games. The Nittany Lions will need more games like this one from this group to be successful.
• Sergeev was fantastic in his second game with the Nittany Lions, recording 32 saves in the win. The UConn transfer now has two wins in as many starts with Penn State.
• Special teams were a strong point for the Nittany Lions tonight. With one power-play goal and one short-handed goal, as well as a penalty kill that was a perfect 8-for-8, Penn State now has something to build on in that department.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will travel to Connecticut for a matchup with the 2023 national championship winner Quinnipiac. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 12.