It looked as though Clarkson was poised to spoil another night at Pegula Ice Arena. The Golden Knights jumped out to a 2–0 lead after the first period, threatening to sweep No. 4 Penn State.
But the Nittany Lions had other plans. Penn State stormed back with five unanswered goals, earning a 5–2 victory Friday night and salvaging a series split.
One of Penn State’s biggest issues in Thursday’s loss was failing to establish its forecheck early. Those struggles seemed to linger when, just 21 seconds into the game, Clarkson struck first. On a two-on-one break, forward Erik Bargholtz connected with Luka Sukovic in the slot, who beat Josh Fleming—starting in place of Kevin Reidler—to give the Golden Knights a quick 1–0 lead.
The Nittany Lions continued to have trouble sustaining offensive-zone pressure throughout the first period. Late in the frame, forward Gavin McKenna made a slick move around a Clarkson defender to create a two-on-one opportunity, feeding Jackson Smith for a quality chance. But Clarkson goaltender Shane Soderwall swallowed up Smith’s shot to preserve the lead.
Just when it seemed Penn State was starting to gain momentum, Clarkson quieted “The Roar Zone.” With 13.8 seconds left in the first period, Tate Taylor beat Fleming high on the glove side to make it 2–0. Taylor’s tally marked Clarkson’s sixth unanswered goal in the series.
Heading into the second period, Penn State had been outscored 7–3 in middle frames through its first three games. That trend flipped dramatically Friday, as the Nittany Lions outscored the Golden Knights 3–0 in the second period to seize control.
Penn State’s comeback started on the power play. Following a Clarkson roughing penalty, Charlie Cerrato threaded a cross-ice pass to JJ Wiebusch, who buried it to cut the deficit to 2–1. The goal marked Wiebusch’s third power-play goal in two nights and his sixth of the season.
Moments later, forward Ben Schoen, fresh out of the penalty box after serving a five-minute boarding major, made an immediate impact. Schoen collected a loose puck and ripped it glove-side past Soderwall to tie the game at 2–2.
Just over a minute later, Penn State took its first lead of the night. Captain Dane Dowiak redirected a Reese Laubach pass past Soderwall to make it 3–2, capping an explosive second period.
As the third period began, tempers flared on both sides. Before the game turned increasingly physical—with a staggering 150 combined penalty minutes assessed—Penn State put the contest out of reach.
Midway through the final frame, the Nittany Lions’ top scoring line struck again. Wiebusch set up Cerrato for his third goal of the season, extending the lead to 4–2.
With under five minutes remaining, Penn State continued to control play deep in Clarkson’s zone. After McKenna forced a turnover in the corner, defenseman Jared Crespo corralled the puck and sent it behind the net to Aiden Fink, who found Schoen for his second goal of the night, making it 5–2.
The physicality reached its peak late in the game. After Schoen’s goal, Clarkson’s Bryce Sookro delivered a cross-check to Matt DiMarsico’s head, earning a game misconduct. The incident sparked multiple scrums in the final minute, with Wiebusch and Cerrato among those assessed misconducts.
With six seconds remaining, a final four-on-four skirmish broke out, leading to additional penalties. The Big Ten is expected to review the sequence to determine whether any punches were thrown—if so, suspensions could follow.
Nittany Sports Now’s Three Stars For Penn State
Third Star – JJ Wiebusch
Wiebusch continues to be scorching hot on the power play netting another goal on special teams tonight.
Second Star – Charlie Cerrato
Cerrato continues to be an offensive generator for this team. Great passing setting things up, it is no wonder that the line he participates in with DiMarsico and Wiebusch is red hot right now. Finished for a goal and assist.
First Star – Ben Schoen
Schoen had his breakout tonight. After being assessed with a five-minute major, Schoen had an impact play out of the box to tie it at two and then netted a second goal in the third period.
