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NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- The Penn State men's hockey team ran into a freshman goalie's debut who stood tall for nearly 57 minutes, but Dylan Richard's (Sherwood Park, Alberta) power-play tallied helped earn a 1-1 tie against Niagara on Friday night at Dwyer Arena.
Penn State (4-2-2) applied pressure all evening on Joe O'Brien, who made his collegiate debut on Friday, forcing the freshman to make 39 saves. Penn State out-shot Niagara (0-5-2), 40-22, for the game and kept the Purple Eagles winless on the season.
The Nittany Lions opened the game with a decisive 14-5 edge in shots, but it was Niagara who would score first during an even second period as Derian Plouffe tallied his second of the year with 57 seconds left in the frame.
Niagara, backstopped by O'Brien, looked to be keying in on its first win of the season, but Richard's goal with three minutes left in regulation forced overtime. Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) found Richard who tallied his team-best third power-play goal of the season and fourth overall marker of the year. Scheid collected his third helper of the season.
In overtime, the Nittany Lions had several game-winning goals snagged by O'Brien and Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) rang the post before time expired as the teams skated to a draw in their first meeting as Division I programs.
Penn State netminder Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) picked up his second tie in as many outings, making 21 saves in the game including 10 in the second period. Skoff is 1-1-2 on the season and is undefeated in his past three outings.
Penn State went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Niagara was 1-for-4. The Purple Eagles blocked 24 Nittany Lion shot attempts, while PSU had 12 led by David Thompson (Glen Mills, Pa.). The Nittany Lions led the faceoff battle, 43-35, paced by Scheid's 17-11 mark.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State was held to a season-low one goal, while its defense matched its season-best in goals allowed. Last time Penn State held an opponent to one goal was in the season opener on Oct. 10 at Canisius.
- After opening the season with a nation's best 28 goals in the first five games of the season, the Nittany Lions have tallied just five goals in the past three games.
- A pair of Olczyks were featured on either side of the ice on Friday as redshirt-senior Tommy Olczyk face off against his older brother, Eddie Olczyk, a first-year assistant coach for Niagara. The Olczyks are the sons of Ed Olczyk, former NHL player and current analyst for NBC.
- David Goodwin's career-best seven-game point streak came to a close on Friday night.
- Penn State is 4-0-1 against Atlantic Hockey teams this season. PSU will play two games against an AHA foe this upcoming weekend in Hockey Valley vs. Sacred Heart.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State returns home on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 13-14 to host Sacred Heart at Pegula Ice Arena. Friday's game is slated for a 7 p.m. puck drop, while Saturday's game will commence at 4 p.m. Tickets remain available on Ticketmaster.