0 No. 10 Michigan (14-7-3, 6-3-1-1 B1G) |
Box Score | Photo Gallery | Postgame Comments University Park, Pa. • Pegula Ice Arena • Attendance: 6,170 NEXT SERIES: Feb. 14-15 vs. Michigan State | 4 Penn State (5-18-1, 1-9-0-0 B1G) |
Feb. 8, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sophomore goaltender Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) turned aside all 32 shots he faced and the Nittany Lions utilized a three-goal first-period, as the Penn State men's hockey team captured its first Big Ten victory with a 4-0 whitewash against the 10th-ranked Michigan Wolverines at Pegula Ice Arena Saturday night.
The Nittany Lions (5-18-1, 1-9-0-0 Big Ten), who played in front of a sellout crowd of 6,170 fans, became only the second school this season to blank Michigan (14-7-3, 6-3-1-1 Big Ten). Penn State also earned its first shutout of the season, while Skoff, a McKees Rocks, Pa., native, earned his third career shutout.
Penn State received contributions throughout the lineup, including freshman Zach Saar (Richland, Mich.), who opened the scoring and netted a goal in his second straight game. Classmate Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa./1g, 1a) and redshirt sophomore Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn./2a) recorded two points each for three-point weekends, while forward Taylor Holstrom collected his second helper in as many days.
Sophomores David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) and Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska), who scored in three straight games for the first time since Jan. 5-19, 2013, followed Saar's lead with first-period tallies of their own, chasing Michigan starter Zach Nagelvoort out of the net. After a scoreless second stanza, DeRosa netted his fourth marker of the season late in the third.
Penn State out shot the Wolverines by a 40-32 margin, bettering its opponent for the seventh time in the last eight games, while going 0-for-3 on the power play. Michigan failed to score on its lone power-play chance.
Penn State, which defeated its second ranked opponent and first top-10 foe in program history, will return to Pegula Ice Arena next weekend when it hosts Michigan State for a two-game series beginning Friday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. The series opener will air live on BTN, GoPSUsports.com and the Penn State Sports Network.
Saar gave Penn State a 1-0 lead just 5:31 into the contest. Linemates David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.) and Holstrom moved the puck off the half wall and toward the net before Saar found daylight from the right side of the goal.
With 8:36 left in the frame, Glen doubled the Nittany Lion advantage. With a faceoff to the right of Nagelvoort, the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., native won the draw to Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.), who played the puck back to his center. Glen then caught the Michigan netminder leaning off the left post, where his shot snuck in between the iron and Nagelvoort's right pad.
Bailey scored less than two minutes later as Penn State took a three-goal lead. From the left corner, DeRosa's centering feed went off Scheid in the slot, but Bailey located the puck before wristing it to the back of the net.
After a scoreless second period, DeRosa beat Michigan goaltender Steve Racine for the 4-0 advantage. Scheid won a faceoff to defenseman David Thompson (Glen Mills, Pa.) at the right point, where shot was redirected by DeRosa in the slot.