Dec. 7, 2012
VIDEO: Coach Gadowsky Postgame Comments | Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Penn State men's hockey team held a 4-2 third-period lead, but the Nittany Lions fell to Holy Cross, 5-4, in overtime at the Hart Center Friday evening. Penn State fell to 6-6-0 with the loss, while the Crusaders improved to 8-4-2.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first period, Penn State went a 4-1 run to take a 4-2 third-period lead. The Crusaders battled back with two third-period markers and the extra-frame tally to secure the overtime win.
Freshman forward Jonathan Milley (Gatineau, Que.) led Penn State with a career-best three points (1g, 2a), while fellow goal scorers Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska/1g, 1a), David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta./1g, 1a) and Connor Varley (Lansdale, Pa./1g, 1a) notched multi-point games. Freshman goaltender Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) turned aside 32 shots.
Holy Cross outshot Penn State by a 37-25 margin and went 2-for-2 with the man advantage. Crusader netminder Matt Ginn made 21 saves.
Holy Cross, which outshot the Nittany Lions by a 16-5 margin in the first period, took a 1-0 lead with 16:02 left in the frame. Adam Schmidt intercepted a Penn State pass in the neutral zone and skated in on a breakaway before slipping the puck past Skoff.
The Nittany Lions wasted little time in the second period as Bailey tied the game just 21 seconds into the stanza. With both teams down a man, the Anchorage, Alaska, native redirected junior Nate Jensen's (Shorewood, Minn.) point shot before scoring on the rebound for his fifth tally of the season.
Glen, who garnered an assist on Bailey's goal, gave Penn State its first lead of the game at 12:09. Milley sent a pass to sophomore defenseman Peter Sweetland (Newtown, Pa.), whose initial point shot was stopped by Ginn. Glen located the loose puck and knocked in the rebound for his eighth marker of the year.
With 7:27 left in the frame, Varley doubled the Nittany Lion advantage. The Lansdale, Pa., native received a pass from Joseph Lordo (St. Louis, Mo.) and started a quick give-and-go with Milley at the blue line. After receiving the reciprocating pass, Varley skated through the Holy Cross defense and wristed a low shot into the back of the net.
Holy Cross responded with a power-play goal with 4:19 left in the period. Castan Sommer took a shot from the point that Mike McNamara redirected for the score.
Milley scored 3:27 into the third period as Penn State grabbed a 4-2 advantage. The freshman received a pass from Bailey and had his first shot stopped, but the Gatineau, Que., native would not be denied as he won the crease battle and powered the puck into the net. Varley also registered an assist on the play.
Holy Cross responded with two straight goals to tie the game at 4-4. Matt Vidal made it a 4-3 game at 14:44 after his shot snuck through Skoff's pads, and Shayne Stockton knotted the contest with a power-play marker with 3:09 left in regulation.
In the extra frame, Erik Vos scored on the rebound at 1:54 to account for the 5-4 overtime final.
The teams will conclude their two-game series Saturday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m.