Oct. 19, 2012
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Penn State men's hockey team fell to Buffalo State, 3-0, at Buffalo State Sports Arena Friday evening. The Nittany Lions dropped to 1-2-0 while the Bengals began their season at 1-0-0.
In a game marred with penalties, Penn State and Buffalo State committed a combined 29 infractions. The Bengals capitalized with three power-play goals on 11 chances, while the Nittany Lions were 0-for-9 with the man advantage. Freshman goaltender Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) made 23 saves, including several big stops to keep Penn State within reach. Penn State outshot the Bengals by a 35-26 margin.
An aggressive Buffalo State squad broke the scoreless tie with 3:28 left in the first period. While on the power play, Nick Melligan collected the puck near the blue line and waited for traffic to develop in front. He then wristed a shot that deflected off a Penn State defenseman and found its way into the back of the net. The Nittany Lions dominated the opening period, launching 19 shots at Buffalo State netminder Kevin Carr, but were unable to crack the scoreboard.
Buffalo State added a pair of power-play goals in the second to take a 3-0 lead. With 15:05 left in the frame, Mike Zannella sent a shot from the top of the left circle to the back of the net. Melligan and Anthony Orange assisted on the play.
Less than three minutes later, Trevor McKinney extended the Bengals' advantage. Jason Cleaver found McKinney along the right-wing boards, where he placed a shot from above the circle over Skoff.
A scoreless third period followed to account for the 3-0 final.
Penn State will return to action Saturday, Oct. 20 when it faces Atlantic Hockey foe RIT at 7:35 p.m. The game will be held at Blue Cross Arena, home of the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans, with a sellout crowd of more than 10,000 expected in attendance.