No. 6 Penn State Men’s Hockey Outlasts LIU 5-4 In Overtime
No. 6 Penn State men’s hockey (4-1-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten) rallied back from another multi-goal deficit to take down LIU (1-3-0) in overtime, 5-4, at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday night.
Matt DiMarsico got his second hat trick of the season and the Nittany Lions rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in the second period, winning the game in overtime on Aiden Fink’s deflection goal.
How It Happened
Kevin Reidler got the start in net for the Nittany Lions, returning after sitting out the series finale against Clarkson.
LIU took the opening faceoff, but quickly turned it over. Just 14 seconds into the game, Blake Dangos rocked Reese Laubach on the boards and took the game’s first penalty. The power play got a quick one-timer from Charlie Cerrato, but that would be their best chance.
Luke Misa would nearly squeak one through the five-hole at the 3:30 mark in a chaotic play, but LIU goaltender Daniel Duris kept it out. After Reidler made a great save on a puck that deflected out of play, LIU won the ensuing faceoff and had a shot by Garrett Valk from the point get past Reidler to give the Sharks an early 1-0 lead at 4:45.
The early game saw a lot of active sticks, blocking shots and passes on both ends of the ice. Penn State got a great chance to tie the game at 12:32 when Gavin McKenna delivered a tremendous pass to Ben Schoen in the slot that was stopped by Duris. Over the next several minutes, the Nittany Lions continued to pressure the net, but nothing came of it.
A scrum at 17:40 led to Laubach and Daniel Baldassarra getting dueling minors for roughing, sending us to a 4-on-4. Shortly before both skaters returned, McKenna committed a bad interference penalty in the offensive zone at 19:36 to briefly go to 4-on-3, but the period ended with no further action.
LIU started the second period with 1:36 of power play time, but wouldn’t need all of it to put one past Reidler, as Nick Bernardo scored just the second power play goal against the Nittany Lions this season at 0:54 to make it 2-0 LIU.
Needing to respond to wake up a lifeless Pegula, Penn State’s most productive line went back to work, as Nick Fascia fired a shot from the point that deflected off a defenseman onto the stick of Matt DiMarsico, who buried his fourth goal of the season at 2:26 in the second period to make it 2-1.
LIU’s Anthony Lucarelli entered the penalty box for interference at 3:42 to give Penn State its second power play, but some strong work in the Penn State zone sprung J.R. Perdion on a clean breakaway, where he buried his third goal of the year shorthanded at 4:32 to make it 3-1 Sharks.
Despite the multi-goal deficit, Penn Stat kept pushing to get back in it, with a nice snapshot by Jackson Smith getting snared by Duris at 8:35. LIU got consistent pressure after, coming close on a pair of deflections.
After a missed backpass nearly led to a disastrous own-goal, Penn State went the other way and DiMarsico struck again, potting his second goal of the game on a feed from Cerrato at 11:12 to make it 3-2.
LIU took another penalty shortly after a DiMarsico goal, as Valk went off for high-sticking just 43 seconds later. Given a second opportunity to take advantage of an immediate power play after a goal, Smith fired a shot from the point that got all the way through to tie the game at three at 12:43. Cerrato and Aiden Fink picked up the assists.
Almost immediately, LIU threatened to go back in front when a turnover in the open ice led to Heath Armstrong springing free for a breakaway, only for Reidler to stop him dead in his tracks. Casey Aman went off on a slashing call at 13:20.
The Sharks came incredibly close to retaking the lead, but several massive saves by Reidler, including an absolute beauty with the glove on a wrister by Noah Serdachny, kept them out of the net. Most Penn State penalty kills this year have been the result of great defense, but this one was all Reidler.
The penalties kept on coming, as Trevor Griebel went off for tripping at 16:30 for LIU. The Nittany Lions prioritized puck possession on this one after how some of the others had gone, spending significant time in the offensive zone, but not depositing the go-ahead goal.
Shea Van Olm came extremely close to his first goal as a Nittany Lion, hitting the crossbar at 19:17. On the other end, Dane Dowiak went off for tripping at 19:47, sending the Nittany Lions into the third period shorthanded once again.
Unlike the prior two power plays, LIU couldn’t get anything going with the man-advantage to start the third. A big hit at center ice was challenged by head coach Guy Gadowsky, and the veteran coach notched his first successful challenge of the year, as Nate Benoit was handed a five-minute major and game misconduct for head contact.
The first few minutes of the prolonged power play saw a lot of passing and a few tense moments on giveaways that nearly sprung shorthanded opportunities. The Nittany Lions started to get pressure late, and a loose puck bounced onto the stick of DiMarsico, who buried his third goal of the game for his second hat trick of the season at 6:26 on the power play, making it 4-3 Penn State.
LIU got a power play at 9:24, when Smith went off for slashing. While most of the power play was relatively muted, the Sharks pushed hard in the final 30 seconds, eventually finding the back of the net as soon as the power play expired, as Bernardo potted his second of the game at 11:27 to tie the game at four.
McKenna nearly gave the Nittany Lions the lead at 15:15 on a shot from the right circle, but Duris stood tall. Reidler made the save on a 2-on-2 the other way. The clock continued to tick down, with both teams getting close but not scoring a go-ahead goal, sending the game to overtime.
Jarod Crespo, Dowiak, and Smith started the 3-on-3 overtime for the Nittany Lions. Smith tried to sneak one over the left shoulder on the first shift, but was denied. Schoen got a takeaway and had a chance, as did McKenna. Aman broke up a high-danger chance the other way.
A great save by Reidler denied Trent Powell of the game-winner, but it sprung an odd-man rush the other way. McKenna waited, dished off to Smith, who delivered a booming feed to Fink in the slot, who deflected it in off his skate for the game-winner at 2:57 of overtime, his second of the season.
Takeaways
- Penn State was wearing white, but LIU donned a powder blue and yellow sweater for one of the more interesting jersey matchups I’ve ever seen.
- Since scoring the first two goals in the season opener in Arizona, Penn State has allowed the first goal in four consecutive games. For the third game in a row, they trailed after just five minutes.
- Special teams were a strength for the Nittany Lions through four games, but they struggled mightily in the early going, allowing a power play goal and surrendering a shorthanded goal
- Only one hat was thrown onto the ice, but Penn State got its third hat trick in just five games, already tying a program record set in 2023-24. DiMarsico is the first player in Penn State history with multiple hat tricks in a season.
- Reidler settled in after a rough start, making 32 saves and saving his team’s bacon a few times late in the game.
- The comeback kids did it again. They’ve come from behind to win all four of their games this season and have rallied back from multi-goal deficits in three of them.
Up Next
The men’s hockey team concludes its weekend series with LIU at Pegula Ice Arena at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 18. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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