| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UAA |
Dylan Hubbs (3) Mitchell (5) |
1 | 12:08 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UAA
Nicolas Erb-Ekholm (1)
Kozun (3), Brown (4)
1
12:37
PSU
Ricky DeRosa (3)
Olczyk (2), Pedrie (4)
2
3:42
PSU
Curtis Loik (4)
Brooks (8), Berger (5)
2
12:36
PSU
Kenny Brooks (4)
Marsh (7), Scheid (5)
3
16:20
|
|||||||||||||||
Nov. 20, 2015
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Penn State men's hockey team scored three unanswered goals in the second and third periods to down Alaska Anchorage, 5-2, on Friday night at Sullivan Arena in front of 1,784 fans. Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied two goals and Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) had a two-point game to pace the Nittany Lion offense.
"I thought the response was great (when we gave up two goals)," head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "I'm a little disappointed that we let (UAA) get back in the game. We had a couple great performances: Kenny Brooks, Andrew Sturtz was phenomenal and another great goaltending performance. I don't like the fact that we let them back in, but once righted the ship I thought we played very well."
Penn State (7-2-2, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) saw a two-goal lead evaporate in just 29 seconds in the first period, but rebounded to score the final three goals of the game. Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) notched his third game-winning goal of the season early in the second period and Curtis Loik (North Vancouver, British Columbia) and Brooks added insurance tallies.
Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) also tallied a two-point game with a pair of assists and Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.) had 19 saves to improve to 5-1-0 on the season.
Sturtz staked Penn State an early 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in an 89-second span. His first came when he sniped a wrister from above the left faceoff dot over Olivier Mantha's left shoulder with 12:59 left in the frame. Berger forced a turnover in the PSU defensive zone and Kevin Kerr (Bensalem, Pa.) sent an outlet to Sturtz as he dragged the puck from the right wing to the left side of the ice to set up the shot.
Sturtz was at it again as he collected another turnover, this time forced by David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta) on the penalty kill. Sturtz went unimpeded and scored his first collegiate short-handed goal and Penn State's fourth of the season to double the lead with 10:30 remaining. Glen knocked a Seawolf off the puck at PSU's blue line.
UAA (6-4-1, 3-2-1 WCHA) would respond with a pair of goals in rapid succession: only 29 second apart. PSU was unable to clear the zone and it led to a flurry of chances as Dylan Hubbs put away a rebound and Nicolas Erb-Ekholm scored his first collegiate goal to even the score with 7:23 remaining.
Less than a minute after the Erb-Ekholm equalizer, Kerr ringed the crossbar with a shot from the left wing. Penn State held a 12-9 edge in shots for the opening 20 minutes.
In the second, DeRosa took a Tommy Olczyk (Long Grove, Ill.) feed on the left wing and beat Mantha (26 saves) stick side for a 3-2 lead with 16:18 remaining in the second. Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) earned his fourth helper on the play.
"Heckuva play, really started by Vince Pedrie moving the puck really quickly," Gadowsky added. "And a cute, cute, great vision play by Tommy Olczyk to send Ricky in and he made no mistake. That was a big one, we were on the back of our heels a little bit and then when Ricky got one we were able to right the ship."
The Nittany Lions capitalized on another 2-on-1 opportunity as Loik scored from the left wing using Luke Juha (Mississauga, Ontario) as a decoy for a 4-2 lead with 7:24 remaining. Loik's linemates, Brooks and Berger, collected assists.
In a free-flowing third period that saw few stoppages and a pair of Nittany Lion power plays, it was Brooks who put the final stamp on the game with a goal from the slot assisted by Alec Marsh (Bridgewater, N.J.) and Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) Marsh withstood a Mason Mitchell elbow to find Brooks in front for the three-goal advantage.
Penn State out-shot UAA 31-21 as the Lions took the fewest shots on the season, while holding an opponent to its fewest. Both teams were scoreless on the power play with the Lions missing out on four opportunities and the Seawolves having all three of their chances killed. Penn State won the faceoff battle, 30-23.
GAME NOTES
Penn State held a third-period lead for its third straight game in Alaska. The Nittany Lions earned its first win in Alaska after going 0-1-1 last year in Fairbanks.
Five Nittany Lions earned three-game point streaks: Loik (1g), Berger (2a), Brooks (1g, 1a), Sturtz (2g) and Marsh (1a).
Berger and Brooks each collected their fourth multi-point games of the season, which are the most on the squad. Sturtz earned his third such game.
Loik and Berger are tied for the team lead with 13 points.
Sturtz registered his second career two-goal game. He tallied six points in a seven-period span following his two-goal first period.
All three DeRosa goals are game-winning markers.
Penn State improved to 4-1-2 against current WCHA teams and 1-0-1 against Alaska Anchorage.
The Nittany Lions are 4-0-1 this season when scoring first and an unblemished 7-0-0 when leading after two periods.
Guy Gadowsky evened his personal record against UAA to 10-10-2
Penn State is 7-2-2 in its first 11 games for the second straight season.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State and Alaska Anchorage conclude the two-game series on Saturday night at Sullivan Arena. Opening faceoff is slated for 11:07 p.m. ET with coverage on WCHA.tv ($) and free live streaming through GoPSUnow and the Penn State Sports Network.