Fresh off a series split against Clarkson, No. 6 Penn State returns to Pegula Ice Arena for a two-game series against Long Island University (LIU).
It’s the first time the Nittany Lions and Sharks have met in State College since the 2021-22 season, and Penn State will look to extend its perfect all-time mark against the still-growing LIU program.
Series Notes
This weekend marks the fourth and fifth meetings between the two schools and the first at Pegula Ice Arena in three years. Penn State owns a 3-0-0 record against the Sharks, having outscored them 11-5 in those contests.
The teams last met to open the 2023-24 campaign on Long Island, a 3-2 Nittany Lion victory. Then-freshman Matt DiMarsico opened the scoring late in the first period, and Dylan Lugris (’25) delivered the game-winner with just over five minutes left in regulation.
Only nine current Nittany Lions dressed for that game, including Aiden Fink, who recorded an assist. LIU brings back just four players from that matchup, underscoring how much has changed in two short seasons.
Youth versus experience will again be a subplot: Penn State ranks as the 13th-youngest team in the nation with an average age of 21 years, 7 months, while LIU is the 17th-oldest at 22 years, 6 months.
LIU Notes
The Sharks arrive in Happy Valley seeking to regain last season’s momentum. LIU finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 20-12-2 record, closing the year on an 8-2-0 run that secured the first 20-win season in program history.
After the breakthrough, head coach Brett Riley departed for Ferris State, and his cousin Brendan Riley—formerly an assistant at AIC—was promoted to lead the bench in April.
This season, LIU is rebuilding its offense after losing its top four scorers.
Freshman standout Carter Rapalje (17 goals, 30 points) followed Brett Riley to Ferris State, while Josh Zary (12 goals) made the same move. Austin Brimmer transferred to RIT, and veteran Chris Pappas graduated.
That leaves J.R. Perdion as the top returning scorer. The junior tallied 18 points (4G, 14A) last season and has already posted four points (2G, 2A) through LIU’s first three games.
Between the pipes, sophomore Daniel Duris seems poised to take the reins after last year’s starter Noah Rupprechtalso joined Ferris State. Duris started two of LIU’s first three games, while freshman Carter Bickle saw his first collegiate action in a narrow 3-2 loss to Canisius.
Special teams have been a challenge early. The Sharks have scored just two power-play goals in 10 chances and allowed four in 11 opportunities, ranking near the bottom nationally with a 63.6 percent penalty-kill rate.
Penn State Notes
For the second straight week, a Penn State player earned Big Ten First Star honors. Sophomore forward JJ Wiebusch captured his first career accolade after a five-goal, six-point explosion against Clarkson.
Wiebusch became the first Nittany Lion ever to record four goals in a single game, accomplishing the feat in Thursday’s opener. He now leads the nation with six goals through four games, scoring in three straight and posting points in all four—three of them multi-point efforts.
Dating back to last year, Wiebusch has 15 goals in his last 13 games, a scorching pace that includes both a hat trick and a four-goal performance. With 10 points, he ranks second nationally, trailing only teammate Charlie Cerrato (11).
Three of Wiebusch’s six tallies have come on the power play, tying for the national lead. His eight career man-advantage goals leave him one shy of cracking Penn State’s all-time top 10.
Charlie Cerrato Setting The Pace
Sophomore Charlie Cerrato has been just as impressive. He leads the nation with 11 points (3G, 8A) after a five-point weekend versus Clarkson. Cerrato has produced three multi-point games already this season and has registered at least one point in every contest.
Stretching back to last year, he’s collected points in 12 of his last 13 games, totaling 28 points (6G, 22A) and nine multi-point outings—an indicator of his growing consistency as Penn State’s primary playmaker.
Special Teams Strengths
The Nittany Lions’ special teams have been a major catalyst to their hot start. The power play has converted 6 of 19 opportunities (31.6 percent), striking at least once in every game.
The penalty kill has been even better, operating at a 95.2 percent success rate (20-for-21) and snuffing out 18 straightopponent chances. That stretch includes a lengthy 5-on-3 disadvantage and a five-minute major.
The PK group has also chipped in two shorthanded goals, tied for second nationally behind Michigan. Last season, Penn State’s eight shorties led the Big Ten and ranked third-most in program history.
Player Spotlights
- Dane Dowiak netted last Friday’s game-winning shorthanded goal, his third career SHG, tying Dylan Richard (’17) for fifth on the program list. Assistant coach Andrew Sturtz still tops the chart with nine.
- Aiden Fink has recorded a point in every game this season and now sits tied for 10th on Penn State’s all-time scoring list with 93 points. He’s only seven points shy of becoming the fastest Nittany Lion ever to reach 100, surpassing the pace set by Alex Limoges (102 games).
- Ben Schoen provided a pivotal spark against Clarkson. After serving a five-minute major early in the second period with Penn State trailing 2-0, he exited the box, stole a puck at center ice, and scored on a breakaway. Schoen added another goal late, notching his first multi-goal game since January 2022.
Non-Conference Domination
Penn State remains a non-conference powerhouse. The Lions wrapped up last season’s slate at 9-1-0 and have opened 2025 at 3-1-0.
They’ve logged at least eight non-conference victories nine times and boast a 76.2 percent all-time win rate in such games since joining the Big Ten in 2013-14.
Since 2018-19, Penn State is an eye-popping 56-8-1 in regular-season non-conference play, including a 29-5-0 mark over the past three seasons.
Puck drop between Penn State and LIU is set for Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Pegula Ice Arena, with Game 2 scheduled for Saturday night as the Nittany Lions continue their early-season surge.
