Oct. 7, 2016
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -Penn State men's ice hockey (1-0) defeated No. 16 St. Lawrence (0-1), 4-2 Thursday night at Pegula Ice Arena. The victory against the Saints comes in the Lion's opening contest of the season.
Penn State went down early as Drew Smolcynski bested freshman goaltender Peyton Jones (Langhorn, Pa.), 7:51 into the first period, and the first start of Jones' career. Just over two minutes later Dylan Richard (Sherwood Park, Alb.) found the back of the net, with assists from debutant Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia) and senior David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.).
Richard, who had suffered some injuries last year, was pleased with his goal.
"I thought it was nice, it's been a long time coming for me," Richard said.
The Lions weren't done lighting the lamp, as a shot from sophomore forward Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) made it past Saints goaltender Kyle Hayton at the 13:21 mark. Assists on Sturtz's goal came from two freshman, Liam Folkes (Scarborough, Ont.) and Brandon Biro (Sherwood Park, Alb.). The first period ended 2-1 in favor of the Lions, with three freshman having found their way onto the score sheet, tallying the first points of their young careers.
The second period was dominated by two Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Mn.) penalties, tripping at 14:36, and roughing at 17:08. Sturtz scored a shorthanded goal while Pedrie was serving his first two minute penalty, off of a rebound from a Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) shot. The second assist on Sturtz's shorthanded goal came from junior blue liner Eric Autio (Espoo, Finland).
"I was really happy with the composure of Peyton Jones," head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "When they had us on our heels a little bit I thought he looked extremely composed."
Gadowsky said that the Thor hammer, given to the player who made an impact during the game, was given to Jones after the game.
Late in the third period St. Lawrence pulled Hayton for a sixth skater. Freshman Blake Gober (Colleyville, Tx.) took advantage of the empty net, sliding home the Lions' fourth and final goal of the night, assisted by Trevor Hamilton (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mi.).
The fans in attendance, in particular those in the Roar Zone, were in a frenzy as the final 13 seconds ticked off the clock.
The Nittany Lions had defeated a ranked opponent, at home, in their first game of the season. A freshman goaltender claimed his first victory in a Lions sweater, and four freshmen contributed positively on the score sheet, notching the first points of their careers.
"Obviously it was great to get the NCAA games going again," Gadowsky said. "It was a great atmosphere, I thought that we played actually a pretty sound game for the first two periods and then I think St. Lawrence picked it up a notch in the third."
The Nittany Lions are back at it again Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena, once again facing the St. Lawrence Saints.