March 30, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - No. 20 Penn State (4-4, 2-0 CAA) dropped a hard-fought midweek decision to the 18th ranked Bison of Bucknell (8-2), 8-6 at Bucknell's Mathewson Stadium. Freshman goalie Austin Kaut (Morton, Pa.) was solid in the loss, making 12 saves on 36 shots faced. Classmate Shane Sturgis (Downingtown, Pa.) continued to lead the Lions' offense with three points off two goals and one assist.
Penn State wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, as junior Ryan Link (Englewood, Colo.) would notch an unassisted tally just over a minute in to put the Lions up 1-0 at 13:58. Bucknell was quick to answer however, scoring an unassisted mark of its own at 11:17 to even the score. Penn State would trade scores with the Bison, as Sturgis buried two unassisted goals to end the Penn State scoring for the quarter, and Bucknell would answer back with two of their up to end the quarter 3-3
Junior captain Matthew Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.) notched a man-up tally on an unassisted effort at the 9:36 mark of the second quarter. Bucknell came back to take the lead however, scoring two goals a minute apart to take the lead by one. The Penn State extra-man unit would strike again, as Billy Gribbin (Rockville, Md.) would burry a Sturgis assist with the man advantage to even the score, but Bucknell would have the last laugh of the quarter, scoring with 1:36 remaining to end the half up 6-5.
The Bison came out of halftime firing, as they would push the lead to a deuce just :08 seconds into the third quarter on a fast break goal by Ryan Klipsteain. Sophomore Nick Dolik (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) would score on a Mackrides assist at 5:09 to cut the Bucknell lead to one. However that was all the offense the Lions could muster, as they were held scoreless in the fourth quarter and Bucknell notched an insurance tally to win by a final score of 8-6.
Bucknell out shot Penn State 36-25, but the teams were even at 20 shots on goal. Nittany Lion freshman goalie Kaut delivered another solid performance for Penn State, allowing just eight goals for a .600 save percentage. Sturgis paced the Lion offense with two goals and an assist, while Mackrides notched one of each. Link, Gribbin, and Dolik also had a goal apiece for Penn State.
Penn State sophomore Danny Henneghan (Beverly Hills, Mich.) won seven of 18 face-offs for the Nittany Lions, while Link led the squad with five ground balls.. Penn State's and Bucknell were both 2-4 on man-up opportunites, and the Nittany Lions had 22 turnovers to only fifteen for the Bison.
Penn State is now 4-4 on the season with two victories over ranked foes. Bucknell moves to 8-2. The Nittany Lions will continue non-conference play as they travel to Lehigh (5-4) for a 1 p.m. face-off on Saturday, April 2nd. Penn State then returns home on Saturday, April 9th to resBUe conference play as they host Drexel (5-1, 1-1 CAA) for a 1 p.m. matchup. The game against Drexel will be played at Bigler Field unless otherwise announced.
GAME SUMMARY: Penn State 8, Bucknell 7
SCORING (Goal-Assist):
1st: PSU 12:51 (Link), BU 11:17 (Heritage), PSU 7:07 (Sturgis), BU 4:56 (Danylyshyn, Bailey), PSU 2:01 (Sturgis)
2nd: PSU 9:36 (Mackrides), BU 8:00 (Danylyshyn, Burke), BU 6:59 (Bailey), PSU 4:26 (Gribbin, Sturgis), BU 1:36 (Heritage, Bailey)
3rd: BU 14:52 (Klipstein, Clarke), PSU 5:09 (Dolik, Mackrides)
4th: BU 1:19 (Klipstein, Heritage)
GROUNDBALLS: PSU 28, BU 38 MAN-UP OPPS: PSU 2-4, BU 2-4
SHOTS (SH-SOG): PSU 25-20, BU 36-20 FACE-OFFS: PSU 7-18, ND 11-18
GOALIE SUMMARY: PSU Austin Kaut (60:00, 12 SV, 8 GA), BU Kyle Feeney (60:00, 14 SV, 6 GA)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:1234F
BUCKNELL33118
RECORDS: Penn State 4-4, 2-0 CAA; Bucknell 8-2, 2-0 Patriot League
ATTENDANCE: 530