Penn State Men’s Hockey Sweeps Canisius With 3-2 Win

Penn State men’s hockey (10-10-2, 1-9-2 Big Ten) defeated Canisius (7-13-2, 7-5-2 AHA) on Senior Night in game two of its weekend series to complete the sweep.
Thanks to a dominant first period that saw the Nittany Lions score three goals while outshooting Canisius 24-6, Penn State cruised to a victory in its final game of non-conference play this season. Keaton Peters, Ben Schoen, and Matt DiMarsico all found the back of the net, while Arsenii Sergeev made 28 saves en route to the win.
How It Happened
With it being senior night in Hockey Valley, Penn State started the contest with a line consisting of seniors Schoen, Tyler Paquette, and Dylan Lugris.
Charlie Cerrato generated the game’s first scoring chance after he rushed past a Canisius defender who slipped, allowing the forward to rush to the net unopposed. Cerrato opted for a forehand shot that never left the ice, and Petter Wickström Stumer made the sliding pad save.
After the Cerrato scoring chance, Penn State and the Schoen line pinned Canisius in its own zone, where it was eventually awarded a power play as Matteo Giampa sat for slashing. The Nittany Lions had a few looks with the man advantage, but Canisius held to kill the penalty.
Shortly after its failed power play, Penn State opened the scoring. Wickström Stumer attempted to clear the puck from behind the net, but the puck found the stick of Nicholas DeGraves. The forward then dished a pass to Peters, who fired a wrist shot into the back of the net, giving Penn State a 1-0 lead six minutes in.
Almost three minutes later, the Nittany Lions headed back to the man advantage after Cole Kodsi took a high-sticking penalty. Once again, Penn State had a few scoring chances, but this time they converted. Cerrato dished a pass to JJ Wiebusch at the front of the net, who sent the puck to Schoen at the far post, where the forward beat Wickström Stumer to double Penn State’s lead.
Penn State’s scorching start to the game continued as DiMarsico joined the goal-scoring party with just over six minutes left in the opening period. Carter Schade, DiMarsico, and Wiebusch rushed up the ice and played a good old-fashioned game of tic-tac-toe, and DiMarsico finished the job to put the Nittany Lions ahead by three.
Two minutes after the DiMarsico goal, Cerrato sat for tripping, and Penn State headed to the penalty kill for the first time. Canisius never held the zone, and the Nittany Lions secured the easy kill. Shortly after, the final horn of the period sounded.
Penn State won the opening face-off of the middle period of regulation and immediately went back on the offensive. The Nittany Lions spent much of the opening minutes in the offensive zone and continued to wear the Golden Griffins down.
Schade sat for holding seven minutes in, and Penn State headed to its second penalty kill of the night. This edition of the penalty kill was a bit more hectic for the Nittany Lions, but thanks to a few strong saves from Sergeev, Schade exited the box with Penn State still ahead by three goals.
Shortly after the successful penalty kill by Penn State, the Golden Griffins solved Sergeev. Hunter Andrew fired a shot from the right circle into the back of the net to cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to two goals.
Penn State continued to dominate play as the second period concluded, as it more than doubled Canisius’ shot total through two periods.
After the Golden Griffins won the opening draw of the final period of regulation, they created a few quick scoring chances against the Penn State defense. However, Sergeev shut down each shot attempt, as he made a handful of solid saves with his glove and pads to keep the Nittany Lions ahead by a pair of goals.
Outside of the initial pressure from Canisius and a late spurt from the Nittany Lions, much of the opening half of the period was spent between the blue lines as neither team could establish the offensive zone and the defenses denied most zone entry attempts.
Penn State headed back to the penalty kill with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation after Jason Gallucci was booked for interference. Canisius managed to generate plenty of zone time and some good looks with the man advantage, but timely blocks by the Nittany Lions defenders kept the Golden Griffins off the board.
After its failed power play, Canisius cut Penn State’s lead to one. Alec Cicero tapped in a loose puck near Sergeev on his goal with three minutes left in regulation. After the goal, the Golden Griffins opted for an extra skater and promptly pulled Wickström Stumer.
Penn State tried for the empty net goal, but key blocks from Canisius defenders kept the lead at one goal. With 30 seconds remaining, a last-ditch offensive effort by the Golden Griffins failed, and Penn State secured the victory.
Takeaways
- To put it lightly, Penn State dominated Canisius in the opening period and never looked back. In addition to scoring three goals, the Nittany Lions outshot their opponent 24-6 and skated circles around the Golden Griffins defenders. At the final whistle, Penn State opened up its shot advantage to a whopping 46-30.
- With tonight’s win, the Nittany Lions concluded non-conference play with an excellent 9-1 record, with the only loss coming on the road to an excellent Quinnipiac Bobcats team. Penn State will look to improve upon its record in Big Ten play, but taking care of business outside of your conference is always encouraging.
- Penn State’s star freshman Cerrato exited the game early in the second period after a collision with a Canisius defender. He did not return to the contest.
What’s Next?
Penn State men’s hockey returns to Pegula Ice Arena for a matchup with Ohio State. Game one is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, January 24.
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