Penn State Men’s Hockey Bests St. Lawrence 3-1
Penn State men’s hockey (4-1) defeated St. Lawrence (4-4) 3-1 in the final game of a two-game set.
Charlie Cerrato scored his first collegiate goal in the third period, with Jarod Crespo and Aiden Fink adding goals on special teams to power the Nittany Lions past the Saints to complete the series sweep.
How It Happened
Penn State controlled the pace of play for the opening five minutes of the first period with a couple of good opportunities to open the scoring. Perhaps the best chance came off the stick of JJ Wiebusch, who got in close on Mason Kucenski and forced the goalie to make a tough save.
The Nittany Lions were awarded the game’s first power play after Evan Orloff was sent to the box for hooking at 6:29. St. Lawrence put forth a strong effort to keep Penn State off the board, allowing just one shot during the power play.
After suffocating the Saints with more offensive zone pressure, Penn State returned to the man advantage as Isaac Tremblay was sent to the box for hooking. The Nittany Lions fared better on their second power play of the period but could not get any of their three shots past Kucenski.
Reese Laubach was called for roughing at 17:24, and the Penn State penalty kill was tested for the first time. After a takeaway by Cerrato and a partial breakaway from Tyler Paquette, Crespo took a pass from Paquette. He fired a one-timer from between the faceoff circles past Kucenski to put the Nittany Lions ahead 1-0 with just over one minute remaining in the period.
Penn State killed off the remaining penalty to Laubach after Crespo notched the shorthanded goal and the period ended with the Nittany Lions leading.
St. Lawrence tied the game with just under four minutes elapsed in the second period. Felikss Gavars threw a puck at the net from the middle of the ice that snuck past Arsenii Sergeev’s glove and into the back of the net.
The Nittany Lions nearly answered back when Danny Dzhaniyev and Charlie Cerrato were sprung on a two-on-one, but Kucenski made a strong save on Dzhaniyev’s shot from the left circle to keep the game tied.
Much of the middle minutes of the second period consisted of back-and-forth hockey between the two teams, with neither able to control possession for extended periods.
The Saints were awarded their second power play at 12:35 when Ben Schoen was sent to the box for interference. It was another strong kill for Penn State, as it kept St. Lawrence off the scoreboard and did not allow a shot on goal.
Immediately after killing off the Schoen penalty, Penn State returned to the power play thanks to Gavars being sent to the box for hooking. Just 10 seconds into the power play, an official review was triggered to review a potential penalty on St. Lawrence, but the referees determined no further action was necessary and play remained five-on-four.
The Nittany Lions capitalized on the penalty to Gavars and took the lead after Fink snuck a puck past Kucenski from below the red line. Schoen and Simon Mack added the assists on the power play goal.
Sergeev made a huge save on Jacob Bernadet with under three minutes remaining to keep Penn State ahead by a goal, and the Nittany Lions would once again head to the locker room with a lead as the horn sounded to signal the end of the second period.
Penn State dominated the opening minutes of the final period with constant pressure in the offensive zone, leading to St. Lawrence taking a penalty to send the Nittany Lions back to the power play. Philippe Chapleau was sent to the box for tripping.
St. Lawrence killed off the penalty with little trouble, as it held the Nittany Lions without a shot during the two-minute penalty.
This time it was Penn State who was tasked with killing off a penalty as Schoen was once again sent to the penalty box, this time for holding at 5:57 of the period. The Saints spent nearly the entire power play with the puck but couldn’t solve Sergeev, who made two fantastic saves to keep Penn State ahead by one.
Schoen was back in the penalty box as soon as he exited, returning for cross-checking at 8:51. It was yet another strong kill for the Nittany Lions, as they allowed just one shot on goal and kept the lead intact.
Penn State nearly got a much-needed insurance goal courtesy of Wiebusch, who was in alone on Kucenski. However, the St. Lawrence netminder made an impressive sprawling save to keep the Saints deficit at one goal.
Mere minutes after the Wiebusch chance, Penn State got its insurance goal off the stick of Cerrato. After his initial shot went off the post and was loose in the crease, the freshman buried the follow-up shot to put Penn State ahead 3-1.
St. Lawrence pulled Kucenski for an extra attacker with just under four minutes remaining in the game. With Sergeev making more strong saves, Penn State held its lead as the final horn sounded to complete the series sweep.
Takeaways
- Starting fast has been a point of emphasis for head coach Guy Gadowsky and the Nittany Lions, and today was a step in the right direction. After giving up the opening goal against Quinnipiac and in the opening game of this series, Penn State struck first and dominated much of the first period.
- Special teams have been a strong point for this Penn State team to start the season, and Saturday was no different. The penalty kill was again perfect and added a short-handed goal in the first period. Additionally, Fink scored a power-play goal during the second period.
- Sergeev played what was arguably his best game in a Penn State uniform, making multiple huge saves on the penalty kill. The goalie stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced en route to his fourth win of the year.
What’s Next?
Penn State will travel to Minneapolis for a two-game series against Minnesota. Puck drop of game one is set for 8 p.m. on Friday, November 1.
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