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| Munn Ice Arena | East Lansing, Mich. | 6,444 | |
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Feb. 14, 2015
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Penn State men's hockey team gave a better overall effort on Saturday night, but ultimately fell, 3-1, to Michigan State with a pair of power play goals proving to be the different. Junior defenseman Connor Varley (Lansdale, Pa.) scored his second of the year in the second period while Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska) recorded his 20th goal of the season in the third.
The Nittany Lions were undone by two power play goals, while Michigan State was propelled by Mackenzie MacEachern who scored all three goals.
Penn State (15-9-4, 7-4-1-0 Big Ten) came out a decidedly different team Saturday night as compared to Friday night, firing 11 of the game's first 14 shots with a pair of early power-place chances.
Nevertheless, Michigan State (12-12-2, 6-4-2-2 Big Ten) would go on top with a fortuitous bounce that found the stick of MacEachern in the slot midway through the first period. Despite trailing 1-0, Penn State out-shot the Spartans 15-8. It took until the third period on Friday to reach the 15-shot plateau.
PSU's territorial dominance sprung into the second period as the Nittany Lions recorded seven of the first eight shots and 15 of the first 17 in the frame en route to a 21-12 period advantage.
The Nittany Lions would finally cash in on their first goal of the series on the power play as Varley ripped a shot from the high slot that beat Hildebrand to even the score at one apiece with 12:29 remaining in the second. The play was set up by Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) who won the puck on the near boards and swung it up to Varley for his 10th assist.
The goal was Varley's second of the season, his first career power-play goal and the first goal he scored since Oct. 18 at Alaska.
Penn State found its momentum halted by a pair of hooking penalties called on Bailey as well as a high-sticking call to give the Spartans a 5-on-3 power play. MacEachern was again the culprit, bagging his second of the game and ninth of the year, punching home a rebound on the right post.
The third period wouldn't see the same play as the previous two stanzas, as a free-flowing opening eight minutes saw only one whistle and just three shots by the two teams. Eventually, a penalty was called on Penn State and MacEachern completed the hat trick, putting away a blocked shot with 10:38 remaining for a 3-1 lead.
Penn State would pull Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) with three minutes remaining in a 4-on-4 situation, eventually leading to a Bailey rip from the slot assisted by Nate Jensen (Shoreview, Minn.). Jensen brought the puck up the length of the ice and laid it off to Bailey who made no mistake going top shelf past Jake Hildebrand, who finished with 40 saves.
The Nittany Lions kept Skoff on the bench earning a series of faceoffs in Michigan State territory. Nevertheless, the Spartan defense stymied every opportunity, finishing up with 25 blocks.
Skoff finished with 26 saves in his first start since Jan. 23 against Northern Michigan.
Penn State out-shot Michigan State, 42-29, for the game, while the Spartans went 2-for-7 on the power play. The Lions went 1-for-4. The Nittany Lions were swept for the first time all season.
GAME NOTES
• The Nittany Lions fell to 4-5-0 in true road games and 5-8-1 in all games away from Pegula Ice Arena.
• Penn State fell to 0-6-2 when scoring two goals or less and 1-9-1 when allowing three goals or more.
• Michigan State took the season series 2-1-1 and won its fourth straight game against Penn State at Munn Ice Arena
• Varley's goal was the third power play by a Penn State defenseman in the past two games. The Nittany Lions hadn't received a power play goal from the defense prior to last weekend.
• Bailey became the first Big Ten player with 20 goals and the fifth across NCAA Division I men's hockey to reach the 20-goal plateau.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State returns to the friendly confines of Pegula Ice Arena for a crucial two-game series against the surging Minnesota Golden Gophers. Friday's game is set for a 6:30 p.m. puck drop on Big Ten Network, while Saturday's game will commence at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.