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| Carlson Center | Fairbanks, Alaska | |
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Oct. 19, 2014
FAIRBANKS, Alaska -
Penn State men's hockey staked a 3-2 lead at Alaska Saturday night, but couldn't hold on as UAF's Austin Vieth scored two third period goals to win the Brice Goal Rush, 4-3, at the Carlson Center.
Junior goaltender Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) was named to the All-Tournament Team. Connor Varley (Lansdale, Pa.) had a goal and an assist to pace the Lion offense.
Up 3-2 with six minutes left in the game, the Nittany Lions had a turnover that allowed Vieth to rush in unimpeded and beat Skoff to his stick side to tie the score at three apiece with 5:57 to go. Just 27 seconds later, a two-on-one allowed Vieth free passage to the net and to score the game-winner.
Penn State (1-1-2) put together another strong start to a game, firing the first four shots of the contest, but it was Alaska (4-0-0) that scored first. Tyler Morley's left-winged shot required a left pad save from Skoff and the ensuing rebound landed to an unmarked Taylor Munson who slotted it home with 15:07 left in the first.
The Nittany Lions wasted little time in their answer as Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) slid home a Varley rebound from the point just 33 seconds later.
Freshman James Robinson (Cochrane, Alberta) played a pass up the boards to Varley, whose slap shot couldn't be corralled by Alaska's Sean Cahill as Scheid tallied his second of the year. Robinson earned his first collegiate point on the play, while Varley picked up his first assist of the season.
Second period, much like the first, saw an Alaska goal in the fifth minute as Nolan Huysmans put home a shot in the slot assisted by Morley and Garrick Perry. The goal came with 15:43 left in the frame.
The Nittany Lions waited 68 seconds this time as Varley's bomb from the right point found its way through a sea of skaters to tie the score at two with 14:35 left. Curtis Loik (North Vancouver, British Columbia) fed Varley up the boards and Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) cycled the puck to Loik.
Just 7:41 into the second, Morley took a major penalty on a hit of Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska), giving the Nittany Lions five minutes of a man-up. It wasn't until the sixth shot on net did the Nittany Lions capitalize as Max Gardiner (Deephaven, Minn.) rushed in down the left wing and beat Cahill top shelf for his first goal since Feb. 8, 2013 against Alabama Huntsville.
PSU had a 15-11 edge in shots in the second and an 18-10 margin in the third. Nevertheless, it was Alaska that would pull ahead on the two goals by Vieth. Penn State out-shot the Nanooks, 43-33, tallying the most shots against Alaska all season (21 allowed vs. Maine).
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State returns to the ice on Friday when it hosts Holy Cross at Pegula Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup. The two-game series concludes Sunday, Oct. 26 at Noon.