3 Michigan State (8-10-3, 2-2-2-2 B1G) |
East Lansing, Mich. • Munn Ice Arena • Attendance: 5,972 NEXT GAME: Jan. 25 vs. 4/3 Boston College • 7 p.m. | 2 Penn State (4-14-1, 0-6-0-0 B1G) |
Jan. 18, 2014
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Forwards Taylor Holstrom (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) helped the Penn State men's hockey team erase a pair of one-goal deficits, but Lee Reimer's third-period strike gave Michigan State the 3-2 victory at Munn Ice Arena Saturday night. The Spartans improved to 8-10-3 (2-2-2-2 Big Ten), while Penn State fell to 4-14-1 (0-6-0-0 Big Ten).
Sophomore defenseman Luke Juha (Mississauga, Ont.), who collected his fourth career multi-point game, led all players with two points (2a), while his assist on Scheid's tally marked his eighth power-play point of the season. The eight power-play points place the Mississauga, Ont., native second among Big Ten defensemen.
Michigan State, which went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, out shot the Nittany Lions by a 32-31 margin. Penn State finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while freshman netminder Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.) turned aside 29 shots.
Michigan State jumped out to an early lead on the game's first shot, but Holstrom's tally in the opening frame's final minute knotted the score at 1-1. After cycling the puck below the Nittany Lion goal line, Matt Berry found Michael Ferrantino alone in front of the net just 1:33 into the contest.
With 28 seconds remaining in the stanza, Holstrom's third marker of the season tied the game. Sophomore forward Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska) passed to Juha in the left circle, where his shot was deflected by Holstrom outside the crease.
The Spartans retook the lead at 7:06 of the second period. Greg Wolfe passed to Tanner Sorenson at the side of the net, where he snuck a shot through McAdam's five hole.
Just 1:18 into the third period, Scheid evened the score with the Nittany Lions' first power-play tally since Dec. 27. Michigan native Zach Saar (Richland, Mich.) fed Juha at the left point, where he found Scheid along the goal line. Scheid moved off the line and caught Spartan netminder Jake Hildebrand leaning before wristing his team-leading ninth goal.
With 16:19 left in regulation, Lee Reimer put the Spartans up for good when he redirected RJ Boyd's shot from the left circle.
Penn State played nearly the final five minutes of the game shorthanded following a major penalty but continued to put pressure on the Michigan State defense in search of the tying goal. McAdam was also pulled for an extra skater during parts of the final two minutes but, despite controlling play and out shooting the Spartans in the game's final moments, the Nittany Lions were unable to score the equalizer.
Penn State will return to action Saturday, Jan. 25 when it hosts No. 4/3 Boston College in its final non-conference game of the season. Opening faceoff is set at 7 p.m.