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Oct. 30, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State men's hockey team allowed St. Lawrence to punch home two third-period goals to break a 2-all tie as the Lions fell, 4-2, Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena in front of 6,122 fans. Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Luke Juha (Mississauga, Ontario) tallied second-period goals for Penn State.
"I thought that they [St. Lawrence] played an extremely heavy game and we didn't adjust to it," said head coach Guy Gadowsky. "I don't think we were battle ready to play a team that was ready to compete. I don't think we were prepared for an intensity [of] that level."
In stark contrast to Thursday's game where Penn State (4-2-1) held the pace of play, shots on goal and quality scoring, it was St. Lawrence (5-2-1) who was the aggressor from the outset. The Saints physical play threw Penn State off its game, while providing the Nittany Lions seven power-play chances for a second straight night.
It was SLU's power play that would cash in first, however, as Alex Hagen was the beneficiary of having Drew Smolcynski's blast from the point ricochet into the net with 1:45 remaining in the first period. The Saints carried the play and had a 15-10 shot advantage through 20 minutes, the first time Penn State as out-shot in a period since Oct. 17 vs. Notre Dame (3rd).
The Saints' aggressive style led to four penalties in the second period alone, but its high-pressure penalty kill produced a multitude of chances. Sean McGovern capitalized on a Penn State mistake and scored a short-handed goal midway through the period for a 2-0 lead.
Only 24 seconds later, and after another penalty was called on the Saints, Brooks put away a Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) feed from behind the net to cut the deficit in half. The goal was Brooks' second of the year.
The Nittany Lions continued to press for an equalizer and a turnover in the neutral zone led to it. Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) collected the loose puck at center ice, chipped it into the offensive zone for David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.) whose initial shot was saved by Kyle Hayton's (38 saves) right pad and Juha put away the rebound for his first goal of the year with 3:03 remaining in the frame.
Goodwin, Penn State's only player with a plus rating, added to his career-high point streak that stands at seven games.
The third period would swing the Saints' way following a Nittany Lions penalty kill as Smolcynski sent a missile past Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.) from above the left circle for the game-winning goal with 13:17 left. McAdam played terrific to keep PSU in the game as he made a season-high 35 saves including several stops during various breakaways. McAdam's game of 35 saves or more was March 13, 2015 at Minnesota.
The final breakaway would be all the insurance St. Lawrence needed as Mike Marnell scored his second of the weekend by tapping home McGovern's rebound with 7:26 left for the final 4-2 score line. Penn State out-shot SLU, 18-12, in the period and 40-39 for the game.
Penn State won the faceoff battle, 40-28, as Berger posted a 14-4 record and Goodwin went 11-3. Berger has won two-thirds of his draws this season with an outstanding 80-40 mark.
GAME NOTES
• Penn State failed to win a game in a two-game series at Pegula Ice Arena since March 7-8, 2014 against Wisconsin.
• For the second straight night, the Nittany Lions were held to a season-low two goals. Coming into the series, Penn State led the nation with 5.6 goals per game and had tallied at least four goals per game.
• St. Lawrence entered the weekend ranked 16th in the USCHO poll. The Nittany Lions are now 9-24-1 all-time against USCHO ranked teams. Penn State went 5-6-0 last season.
• Penn State played in front of its 39th sellout in 42 regular-season games at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions have played in front of 18 straight home sellouts. Penn State is 16-4-4 at Pegula Ice Arena the past two seasons.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State takes to the road for a single game at Niagara on Friday, Nov. 6. The game at Dwyer Arena is set for 7 p.m. as the two teams will meet for the first time as Division I foes.