Dec. 27, 2014
| THREE RIVERS CLASSIC | |
| 9-4-2 (3-1-0-0 B1G) | 11-2-3 (9-2-3 AHA) |
| Monday, Dec. 29 at 7:35 p.m. | |
| 9-6-1 (3-2-1 ECAC) | 6-8-2 (2-6-2-2 NCHC) |
| Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 4:35 p.m. or 7:35 p.m. | |
| CONSOL ENERGY CENTER | PITTSBURGH | |
| GAME DAY CENTRAL |
| MONDAY TV: None |
| MONDAY: Live Audio ($) | Live Stats |
| MONDAY RADIO: Penn State Sports Network |
| TUESDAY TV: None |
| TUESDAY: Live Audio ($) | Live Stats |
| TUESDAY RADIO: Penn State Sports Network |
| Men's Hockey Blog | 2014-15 Yearbook |
| Follow Us: @PennStateMHKY | Facebook | Instagram |
| TEAM STATISTICS Penn State | Robert Morris Colgate | W. Michigan |
PROMOTIONS
Friday: Student chance to win Capitals tickets
Sunday: Student Hockey Mask Giveaway // Costume Contests TICKET EXCHANGE
Buy & Sell Tickets to PSU Men's Hockey Games -->THREE RIVERS CLASSIC TICKETS
Three Rivers Classic Tickets
| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | RMU | |
| 9-4-2 | Overall Record | 11-2-3 |
| 3-1-0-0 | Conference Record | 9-2-3 |
| 52 | Goals Scored | 66 |
| 39 | Goals Allowed | 37 |
| 3.5 | Goals Scored/gm. | 4.1 |
| 2.6 | Goals Allowed/gm. | 2.3 |
| 594 | Shots | 602 |
| 39.6 | Shots/gm. | 37.6 |
| 80 | Assists | 112 |
| 16-60 | Power Plays | 15-67 |
| .267 | Power-Play Pct. | .224 |
| 38-46 | Penalty Kills | 55-66 |
| .826 | Penalty-Kill Pct. | .833 |
| 411 | Saves | 451 |
| 0 | Shutouts | 3 |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State men's hockey plays in the Three Rivers Classic hosted by the CONSOL Energy Center for the third straight season when it opens play Monday at 7:35 p.m. against Robert Morris. Colgate and Western Michigan kick-off action at 4:35 p.m. with the winners and losers meeting in subsequent consolation and championship games on Tuesday.
The Nittany Lions own a 2-2-0 all-time record in the Three Rivers Classic, sandwiching a pair of victories between losses en route to a third place finish (2012) and a second place showing (2013).
In the inaugural tournament, a 6-0 loss to Robert Morris on opening night gave way to a 5-4 victory over future Big Ten rival Ohio State. In 2013, the Nittany Lions downed the Colonials, 3-2, before falling to Boston College, 8-2, in the championship game.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris (11-2-3, 9-2-3 AHA) is following up its 2013-14 season that won Atlantic Hockey and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament with an even more impressive season in 2014-15. The Colonials have been ranked in the USCHO poll for most of the season and are 19th when the Nittany Lions come to Pittsburgh.
RMU boasts the leading offense in the country at 4.12 goals per game despite a 3-0 loss to Mercyhurst in the final game of the fall semester. That shutout snapped a 73-game streak that featured a goal. The Colonials have played all but two games in conference action this year.
Robert Morris jumps on teams early with a 17-8 advantage in the first period. The offensive onslaught continues into the second and third periods with RMU having earned 24-14 margins in each frame this year. The Colonials give up 2.3 goals per game with an average of 3.33 goals allowed in the past six contests.
RMU is ninth nationally in power play percentage (22.4) and 26th on the penalty kill (83.8 percent)
Cody Wydo, who holds a four-goal game against the Nittany Lions in his career, leads RMU with 11 goals, 14 assists and 25 points. Six other Colonials have 14 or more points: Brady Ferguson, Zac Lynch, Daniel Leavens, David Friedmann, Scott Jacklin and Brandon Denham.
In net Terry Shafer (5-1-2) and Dalton Izyk (6-1-0) have split time in net. Shafer has a 2.21 GAA and .919 save percentage, while Izyk holds 2.30 and .930 numbers in the same categories.
SERIES HISTORY WITH RMU
All-Time Series: Tied 2-2-0
PSU vs. RMU at 3RC: 1-1-0
PSU Streak: 2 wins
First Meeting: 12/15/12, RMU 3-2
Last Meeting: 12/27/13, PSU 3-2
Last PSU Win: 12/27/13, 3-2
Last RMU Win: 12/28/12, 6-0
Last Tie: n/a
Largest PSU Win: 5-4, 11/1/13; 3-2, 12/27/13
Largest RMU Win: 6-0, 12/28/12
HOCKEY VALLEY INVADES SECOND NHL BARN
Monday's appearance in the Three Rivers Classic hosted by CONSOL Energy Center will represent the second time this season the Nittany Lions have played in an NHL arena. Penn State previously played in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 29, a 3-1 loss to Cornell, in the Frozen Apple.
Later this season, Penn State will play Vermont in the third Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff on Jan. 31 at Wells Fargo Center before the Big Ten Tournament at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. Penn State is 2-4-0 all-time in NHL arenas.
PENN STATE RANKED FOR FIRST TIME
The Nittany Lions checked off another achievement Monday afternoon (Dec. 15): being ranked by a national poll. Penn State was tabbed 20th by USCHO.com.
Penn State (9-4-2, 3-1-0-0 Big Ten), who has been receiving votes for the majority of the season, has had a strong start to the 2014-15 season and is coming off its first Big Ten sweep at Wisconsin (Dec. 5-6).
The Nittany Lions, who were idle this past weekend, received 79 votes, up from its 56 the week before. Penn State's next opponent, Robert Morris, is 19th in the USCHO poll with 125 votes. Penn State and Robert Morris are the newest members of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.
Penn State is currently 16th in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the formula the NCAA Selection Committee uses for its tournament. Sixteen teams comprise the NCAA Division I Championship with six automatic bids being awarded and 10 at-large bids granted.
In the USA Today/USA Hockey poll, Penn State hasn't been ranked yet. The Nittany Lions have only received votes once this season in that poll, which ranks the top 15 teams in the country.
AUTIO CALLED TO FINLAND CAMP, MISSES TEAM
The Finnish men's national hockey program named Penn State freshman defenseman Erik Autio as one of its 29 members ahead of the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship on Dec. 8. Autio reported to team camp, but ultimately didn't make the final 23-man roster for the competition. He will be with the Nittany Lions for the Three Rivers Classic.
NITTANY LIONS EARN FIRST BIG TEN SWEEP
Penn State knocked off another note on its varsity checklist, completing a two-game Big Ten road sweep of Wisconsin with a 4-2 win Saturday night (Dec. 6) at the Kohl Center. The Nittany Lions used three successive second-period goals in an eight-minute span to overcome the Badgers.
Penn State (9-4-2, 3-1-0-0 Big Ten) scored four straight goals after the first Wisconsin (1-10-1, 0-2-0-0 Big Ten) tally to stake a claim of first place in the conference. James Robinson, Max Gardiner, Tommy Olczyk and Ricky DeRosa each scored, while Matthew Skoff saved 23 shots.
After conceding an early second-period goal to UW's Kevin Schulze, Robinson tapped home a David Glen offering by way of Kenny Brooks just two minutes later for a 1-1 game with 15:22 remaining. Less than a minute later, Max Gardiner scored his third power-play goal of the season from Dylan Richard and Curtis Loik for a 2-1 lead. The three-goal period came to a close when Erik Autio intercepted a broken-stick pass from UW's defense on the penalty kill, slid a pass to Tommy Olczyk who scored the short-handed effort for a 3-1 advantage with 7:06 left.
Ricky DeRosa closed the scoring on a Scott Conway pass off his own rebound with 12:07 remaining in the game as a Wisconsin goal with less than five minutes left wasn't enough to prevent PSU's first Big Ten sweep.
GLEN NAMED B1G THIRD STAR OF THE WEEK
Junior forward David Glen was named Big Ten Third Star of the Week on Tuesday morning (Dec. 9). The weekly award was Glen's first of his career.
Glen recorded a three-point weekend with a goal and two assists in Penn State's road sweep of Wisconsin. Glen returned from a six-game layoff to score the opening goal in Friday's 5-2 win, adding an assist later in the game.
IMPROVING IN BIG TEN PLAY
The Nittany Lions started 0-9-0-0 in Big Ten play last season, but finished the year going 3-7-1-0 down the stretch before going 1-1 in the Big Ten Tournament.
The sweep over Wisconsin upped PSU to 3-1-0-0 in the early going. The Nittany Lions have gone 7-9-1-0 vs. Big Ten competition since Feb. 8, 2014. Penn State sits in first in the Big Ten heading into January.
SHORT-HANDED, BUT WINNING
The Nittany Lions have been seemingly short-handed in every game they've played, missing multiple players all season.
The returns of David Glen and Dylan Richard from month-long absences were welcomed sights for the Nittany Lions in Wisconsin. Penn State had to offset injuries to the team-leader in points, Taylor Holstrom, as well as the second-leading scorer, Eric Scheid.
Also missing extended periods of time this season have been Jonathan Milley (4 GP), Connor Varley (8 GP, last game Oct. 31) and Zach Zaar (0 GP). Saar is expected to be back in practice and possibly game ready for this week's tournament.
BAILEY REGAINING SCORING FORM
Behind a Big Ten-leading 10 goals, junior forward Casey Bailey has regained his scoring form from 2012-13 that saw him tally 14 goals during his freshman campaign. Last season, Bailey tallied nine goals in 32 games.
Bailey is first on the team with six multi-point games and recently registered a two-goal game against UMass Lowell and a two-point effort in the 3-2 win at Michigan. Bailey holds a six-game point streak after scoring a goal and an assist Friday vs. Wisconsin.
FIRE AWAY!
Penn State likes to shoot the puck. A lot. The Nittany Lions lead NCAA Division I with 39.60 shots per game.
Penn State had out-shot its opponent in every game this season until playing at Michigan, where the Wolverines held the edge both nights. PSU is 8-3-2 when out-shooting its opposition.
Monday's game against Robert Morris features the two leading shot takers in men's hockey as the Colonials put 37.62 pucks on net per game.
LIONS BOAST CHART-TOPPING OFFENSE
Penn State's has been impressive in the early going, ranking in the top 15 in several offensive categories.
PSU leads the country in shots per game (39.60), fifth in power-play percentage (.267), seventh in goals per game (3.47) and tied-eighth in power play goals (16).
Among Big Ten teams, Penn State leads in shots (39.60), while ranking second in goals (52), goals per game (3.47), goal differential (+13), power play goals (!6) and power play percentage (.267).
JUNIORS PROVIDING THE SCORING
Penn State's juniors have been the most productive class in scoring this year with 26 goals and 29 assists for 55 points. The three other classes combined have totaled 26 goals and 51 assists for 77 points.
AVOIDING THE PENALTY BOX
Penn State has been less penalized in 2014-15, averaging 3.7 penalties per game and 8.1 minutes per game, resulting in 46 power play chances for its opponents (3.07 per game). Last year, The Nittany Lions were committing 5.3 penalties for 12.3 minutes per game and teams were capitalizing on 18.9 percent of the resulting power plays (4.42 chances per game). This year's penalty kill is allowing goals on 17.4 percent of the time. The result has been only eight power-play goals against, the fewest in the Big Ten.
PENALTY KILL RETURNING TO SHAPE
Following a poor weekend (4-for-8) against the nation's top power play unit, Bentley, the Nittany Lions have become progressively better on the penalty kill in the weeks that have followed. The Nittany Lions killed off all nine Michigan power plays in November and both opportunities against Cornell, while killing off 5-of-6 Wisconsin power plays.
Penn State has allowed just two power play goals in the past 21 opportunities.
BALANCED NITTANY LION SCORING
Penn State has 52 goals through four games, an average of 3.47 goals as opposed to last year's 2.2 average.
Moreover, 15 different Nittany Lions have already registered a goal this season with a total of 22 Lions recording a point. In 2013-14 alone, 16 Lions scored goals with 21 total earning points.
BLOCKING SUCCESS
Penn State's defense has allowed an average of 30.0 shots per game to reach net this year in good part of the blocking ability of PSU's defensive corps, which has stopped 219 from reaching frame.
Senior captain Patrick Koudys (28), junior Luke Juha (24) and sophomore David Thompson (24) lead the team in the category.
SKOFF GETS THE NOD IN 2014-15
Proclaimed the starter by head coach Guy Gadowsky in the offseason, junior Matthew Skoff started the final 11-of-15 games for the Nittany Lions last season, while compiling an 8-13-2 record with a 2.95 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and a shutout.
This season, Skoff started the first nine games of the season, becoming the goalie of record in a career-best 12 straight games dating to last season.
Skoff's career record stands at 23-24-4, starting 6-3-2 this year. He has a 2.27 GAA and a .919 save percentage this season, which is better than his career numbers of 2.65 and .914.
MCADAM STARTS CAMPAIGN 3-1-0
Sophomore Eamon McAdam had a tough freshman season, going 0-9-0 against the third-toughest schedule in the nation. The netminder rebounded nicely in 2014-15, holding the then-nation's best scoring squad (UMass Lowell) to two goals over 90 minutes and earning a win over the fourth-ranked team in November.
McAdam's stellar play continued to Michigan as he earned his first Big Ten win over the Wolverines on Nov. 21. Despite a poor outing the next night, McAdam earned his second Big Ten win Dec. 5 over Wisconsin, allowing two goals and saving 22 shots.
TOP LINE REMAINS PRODUCTIVE, INTACT
Penn State has already used 23 different offensive line combinations in the first 13 games, but one thing has remained constant: David Goodwin-Taylor Holstrom-Casey Bailey will play and score.
The threesome have been together in 12 of 15 contests (only times not together were Oct. 17 at Alaska, Dec. 5-6 at Wisconsin), accounting for 44 of Penn State's 111 points. The three have combined for 18 goals, 26 assists and a plus-8 rating. Currently, the line is 7-3-2 this season.
ROLLING WITH HOLSTROM
Penn State's most productive point-scorer has been Taylor Holstrom with four goals and 14 assists for 18 points.
Holstrom enters this week's tournament second nationally in assists per game (1.17) and tied-third in points per game (1.50). Holstrom missed both games at Wisconsin.
ERIC THE CLUTCH
Forward Eric Scheid has been Penn State's go-to guy for a late-game goal. Scheid ranks tied for sixth in the nation with three game-winning goals this season, earning his third by scoring 16 seconds after PSU's game-tying goal vs. Bentley on Halloween in the third period.
Scheid is second on the team in scoring with seven goals, adding a first-period insurance goal in a 4-1 win over UMass Lowell and the second goal in the 3-2 win at Michigan. Scheid hasn't played since that game.
ERIK THE PASSER
Prior to the season, head coach Guy Gadowsky identified freshman defenseman Erik Autio as one of Penn State's best passers. It took four games, but Autio registered an assist in three straight contests all on the power play.
While he didn't tally a point at Lowell, Autio and teammate Luke Juha were effective in Penn State's efforts. The defensive pairing had matching plus-two ratings Friday night and were both plus-one the following night. Autio's fourth assist of the year came on Tommy Olczyk's game-winning, short-handed goal at Wisconsin (Dec. 6).
NITTANY LIONS TO HAVE SIX MORE TV GAMES
It was announced on Tuesday, Dec. 3, that the American Sports Network picked up six Penn State hockey games beginning with the Dec. 6 tilt at Wisconsin.
ASN, which is owned by Sinclair, distributed that game to local outlets. The Dec. 6 game was shown live in Harrisburg-Lancaster-York-Lebanon on CW 15 as well as on MeTV in State College-Altoona-Johnstown. All ASN games will air on BTN2Go as well.
The other games set to have local broadcasts are a home series against Ohio State (Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.; Jan. 10 at 3 p.m.) as well as another home game against Wisconsin (Feb. 7 at 2 p.m.) highlight the schedule before road contests at Ohio State (Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.) and at Minnesota (March 13 at 8 p.m.). All times are Eastern.
This brings Penn State's TV package to 18 total games for the 2014-15 season with 16 games remaining entering Friday, which will air live on ESPNews. Fans are encouraged to check their local listings for all games.
NEXT TIME OUT
Following Tuesday's consolation/championship game against either Western Michigan or Colgate, Penn State returns from its two-month sojourn Jan. 9-10 to kick off a six-game home stand with Ohio State. The Nittany Lions play 10 of their final 17 games at home.