32Pegula Ice Arena | University Park, Pa. | 5,974
STATISTICS
GOALS
123OTFBEN 200-2PSU 012-3
SHOTS
123OTFBEN 14147-35PSU 161122-49
PP
123OTFBEN 2-20-10-1-2-4PSU 0-11-21-3-2-6
GOAL SUMMARYTeam
ScoringPTimeBEN Alex Grieve (2) -- PP
French, Gladiuk19:01BEN Max French (5) -- PP
Blomquist, Gladiuk115:32PSU Scott Conway (3) -- PP
DeRosa, Autio29:14PSU Taylor Holstrom (3) -- PP
DeRosa, Autio317:01PSU Eric Scheid
(unassisted)317:17
GOALTENDERSTeam
GoaltendersMins.GASVPSU
Matthew Skoff59:45233BEN
Blake Dougherty58:55346
Oct. 31, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. --
Penn State men's hockey used a two-goal, third-period spurt in a 16-second span to overcome Bentley, 3-2, in dramatic fashion on Friday night in front of 5,974 fans at Pegula Ice Arena.
Taylor Holstrom (Yorba Linda, Calif.) tied the game with 2:59 left in the third and Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) scored 16 seconds later to give Penn State (5-1-2) its fourth straight victory. PSU trailed 2-0 following two Bentley (3-4-0) power play goals in the first period, cutting the deficit in half through Scott Conway (Basingstoke, England). The four-game winning streak is the longest against Division I competition in program history.
"I thought this was a big, big win for us," head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "We certainly didn't play our best at the start, knowing full well that their (Bentley) power play was sixth in the nation (coming into Friday) and our game play was to not give them any power play opportunities. We gave them two and it's 2-0. I really give (our) guys a lot of credit because in the third period they really buckled down when things weren't going well...Our shots were 22-7 in the third and we looked more like the Penn State hockey team that we expect. That was a really, really good win."
Down 2-1 entering the third, Penn State threw 22 shots on frame and used a key save by Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) on a Max French short-handed chance with eight minutes remaining to try and salvage a tie. It would take 17 minutes before the Nittany Lions could finally even the score.
On PSU's sixth power-play chance of the night, Nate Jensen (Shorewood, Minn.) slid a pass down to Dylan Richard (Sherwood Park, Alberta) on the right wing who found Holstrom in the slot. Holstrom unleashed a one-timer that beat Bentley goalie Blake Dougherty (46 saves for his third goal of the year and team-leading 11th point.
Bentley would win the ensuing faceoff and attempt to enter the PSU zone, Erik Autio (Espoo, Finland) lifted the stick of a Bentley forward allowing Scheid to swoop in and race down the right boards. Scheid crossed the blue line, stopped allow traffic to build up in front of the net and sniped a shot past Doughterty that tipped off a massive celebration inside Pegula Ice Arena with only 2:43 remaining.
Bentley would pull Doughterty for the final minute of the game for an extra skater, but the PSU defense, anchored by Skoff, stood tall. Connor Varley (Lansdale, Pa.) blocked a shot with just under eight seconds left to deny a Bentley, earning a standing ovation when he was helped off the ice. Varley had three blocks on Friday.
Bentley went ahead halfway through the first period on an Alex Grieve power-play goal from French and Andrew Gladiuk. The Falcons would double the lead on the power play five minutes later as French put home a Matt Blomquist feed. Gladiuk earned an assist on the play.
Bentley earned a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes despite being out-shot, 16-14. The Falcons scored their first four goals of the weekend on the power play.
The second period was an even match of the two teams, but it was Penn State's turn to score just before the halfway mark on the power play. Conway took a pass from Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) on the left post and poked one by Blake Dougherty. Autio garnered his third assist of the year on the play.
The tally was Conway's third of the year as PSU was out-shot by Bentley, 14-11. The pendulum would eventually swing the Nittany Lions' way in the third.
Penn State swept its second straight home series and improved to 5-0-1 at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions also improved to 2-1-2 in games decided by a goal or less.
PSU out-shot Bentley, 49-35, for the game and went 2-for-6 on the power play. Bentley was 2-for-4 on the power play for a second straight night, while blocking 19 shots to PSU's 16. Penn State won the faceoff battle, 41-34, with Conway going 12-9, Richard 9-6 and Holstrom 12-11.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State has a two-week break before traveling to No. 9 UMass Lowell for a two-game series at Tsongas Arena Nov. 14-15.