Penn State Men’s Hockey (0-2, 0-0-0 Big Ten) fell to No. 8 Quinnipiac (3-1, 0-0-0 ECAC), 6-3, at Pegula Ice Arena in the team’s home opener.

Penn State started off strong with two early goals in the first period of the contest, but six Quinnipiac tallies led to the Nittany Lions falling short.

How It Happened

Dane Dowiak won the opening faceoff for the Nittany Lions, but both teams struggled to establish continued possession at the start of the game.

Left winger Shea Van Olm had an early shot for the Nittany Lions, but Quinnipiac quickly cleared it off the goal line. Quinnipiac’s first chance of the game came moments later, when Jack Stockfish’s attempt forced Penn State goaltender Josh Fleming into an early save.

The first goal of the contest came just before five minutes in, when left winger Justin Larose deked out Quinnipiac goaltender Christian Kirsch on a breakaway and went top shelf to give the Nittany Lions an early lead.

Following the goal, Penn State took the first penalty of the game, when defenseman Jackson Smith was sent to the box for a cross-checking minor.

Quinnipiac put the pressure on during the man advantage early but took a penalty of their own during its power play when captain Mason Marcellus went to the box for interference.

During the ensuing 4-on-4, chaos broke loose, as a big hit by Bobcat defenseman Elliott Groenewold led to a retaliation penalty from Larose.

On their man advantage, the Bobcats peppered Fleming with shots, but Penn State was able to return to full strength with its 1-0 lead intact.

Immediately following the end of the Quinnipiac power play, Penn State extended their lead to 2-0 as Senior defenseman Mac Gadowsky beat Kirsch over the shoulder.

Quinnipiac returned to the power play moments after the goal, as defenseman Caeden Herrington was taken to the box for interference. Quinnipiac would score early on the ensuing minor penalty, as left winger Antonin Verreault picked up a rebound in front of the net and beat Fleming.

Quinnipiac tied the game moments later, as sophomore right winger Ethan Wyttenbach beat Fleming on a backhand following a Penn State chance at the other end.

Van Olm added to the list of penalties when he tripped the Quinnipiac netminder, Kirsch, with about two and a half minutes to go in the first period of play. Quinnipiac took advantage of the power play when Marcellus scored on a tic-tac-toe style play for the Bobcats’ second power play goal of the game to give his squad a 3-2 lead.

A shot from transfer right winger Justin Poirier, followed by a carom off the glass, gave Smith the first dangerous chance of the second period for the Nittany Lions. Moments later, sophomore left winger Lev Katzin failed to capitalize on a prime backdoor opportunity.

Smith would take another penalty following continued Quinnipiac pressure, as he was called for a cross-checking minor which was reviewed for a major. Quinnipiac would capitalize again for their third power play goal of the game when Stockfish beat Fleming on a one-timer to make it 4-2.

Penalties continued to run wild throughout the second period when Quinnipiac center Markus Vidicek took a tripping minor nearly midway through the frame. The Bobcats killed it off to maintain their 4-2 advantage.

Penn State had a chance to cut into the deficit moments later but narrowly missed the opportunity as freshmen right winger Shea Busch wrang a wrister off the post. Penn State would continue the pressure, but Van Olm squandered a golden opportunity to score by missing a wide-open Quinnipiac net off of a rebound.

Quinnipiac would take another penalty a few minutes later, as defenseman Graham Sward went to the box for interference. Penn State once would once again fail to capitalize a man up.

The Bobcats would extend their lead to a convincing three goals as Vidicek buried a back door feed from Marcellus to make the game 5-2 with just 15 seconds remaining in the second period.

Penn State would start the third with early pressure but failed to capitalize despite numerous opportunities for Katzin. Shortly after, Quinnipiac had a prime chance of its own Wyttenbach sprung free past the Penn State defense, but Fleming shut down the opportunity.

Penn State would continue the penalty parade with an interference minor from defenseman Nolan Collins and then a too many men on the ice penalty. Quinnipiac would capitalize on the latter as a Sward shot would beat Fleming to make the game 6-2.

Directly following the goal, Quinnipiac’s Nate Tivey would take an interference penalty. On the ensuing power play, Penn State center Luke Misa scored to cut the deficit to 6-3.

A brawl in the final minute of the contest led to ejections for Van Olm, Collins and Dowiak for Penn State as well as Matthew Lansing and Gabriel Frasca for Quinnipiac.

Ultimately, Penn State would fail to mount a heroic comeback, and therefore would drop the contest by a final score of 6-3.

Takeways

• Sloppy defense from each team told the story of the game early on, as five goals were scored in the first period alone.
• Special teams were the main story of the contest, as Penn State took seven penalties and gave up four power play goals while Quinnipiac took four penalties allowing only a single power play goal.
• Defensive zone turnovers played a big part in the Nittany Lions’ struggles, as these mistakes allowed Quinnipiac to create multiple dangerous opportunities.

What’s Next?

Penn State will continue its season with a home matchup against Robert Morris at Pegula Ice Arena on Tuesday, October 20, at 6 p.m.