No.15 Penn State Mens Hockey(5-2-0) falls to Alaska-Anchorage (4-4-0) Friday Night in a 6-5 series tier at The Pegula Ice Arena in front of a crowd of 6365
First Period:
Penn State got straight to business following the opening face-off. Jacques Bouquot and company quickly found themselves all alone in front of the net and scored on a rebound to put the Nittany Lions on the board 1-0 nothing at the 1:23 mark of the first period.
Danny Dzhaniyev got a taste of the action when he received the puck in the middle of the offensive zone, quickly cashing and snipping it past the defenseless Alaskian goalie to give Penn State the lead again 2-1 at the 8:31 mark of the first period.
The Seawolves had Liam Souliere’s number this period, getting four goals past him with just 11 total shots. While Souliere could stop seven shots, a mix of bad turnovers and face-off losses led to the score not being in their favor going into the second period.
Second Period:
Captain Christian Berger quickly jumped on the puck early in the first period following a slick pass from Adien Fink to put The Nittany Lions within one. 4-3 at the 1:27 mark of the second period.
Following the goal, Penn State would quickly find themselves short-handed and on the power kill. Reese Laubach refused to let that keep the Nittany Lions from scoring their first short-handed goal of the year, Tying Alaska-Anchorage at four goals a piece at the 4:39 mark of the second period.
While Souliere repeatedly made quality saves in the crease, it wasn’t enough to keep Alaska-Anchorage out of the back of the net. Penn State finally won the Faceoff battle in the second period, winning 14 of the 21 total faceoffs. Guy Gadowsky’s team also finally outshot the Seawolves 14-9. Despite Alaska leaving the period with the lead again, this time leading by one goal 5-4 at the end of the second period.
Third Period: Penn State Seemed to be in chase mode the entire period. PSU was consistently getting shots on goal but could not get the puck in between the pipes. Penn State finally found themselves on the receiving end of a five-minute major penalty, leading to Gadowsky pulling Souliere at the 16:48 mark. The Nittany Lions would finally find the back of the net thanks in part to a laser beam shot from Dylan Lugris at the 19:48 mark of the third period. Despite the Barrage of shots from the Nittany Lions offense, the horn sounded, ending the game with the Nittany Lions being short one goal 6-5.
Goaltender Stats: Tonight was not Souliere’s night, seemingly overwhelmed by Alaska’s swarming offense the entire night. After a few early quick goals, It felt like Souliere was at the mercy of the, at times, lackluster Penn State Defense. Souliere’s final stats for the night ended with a .750 save percentage, having stopped 18 of the total 21 shots on goal. Tonight’s loss moves Souliere record to 5-2-0 on the year.
Next Game: The Penn State Nittany Lions Continue their six-pack homestand on Saturday, November 4th, as they start their two-game series with The Notre Dame Fighting Irish at The Pegula Ice Arena at 7:30 pm.
