UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 9/8 Penn State men's ice hockey team dropped a 4-0 decision to the University of Alaska Nanooks on Friday night inside Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State falls to 3-1-0 to begin the season while the Nanooks improve to 3-3-0 with the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nanooks opened the scoring hemming Penn State in its own zone for over a minute before Colton Leiter one-timed a bouncing puck below the right dot that shot over the right shoulder of Nittany Lion sophomore net-minder Oskar Autio (Espoo, Finland) for the 1-0 edge just 72 seconds into the first period.
- Alaska extended its lead early in the second period as Justin Young slipped a rebound past Autio as a power-play expired for the 2-0 margin just 29 ticks into the middle frame.
- The Nanooks then pushed the lead to 3-0 as Young scored his second of the game on the doorstep off a feed from behind the net by Didrik Henbrandt at 3:50 of the third period.
- Max Newton capped the scoring for the visitors as he found himself all alone in front of the net off an errant pass by the Nittany Lions and he finished over the glove of Autio for the 4-0 score at 11:15 of the third period.
GOALTENDING
Autio falls to 0-1-0 on the year after making 19 saves while Martinsson improves to 1-1-0 after a 35 save performance.
GADOWSKY POSTGAME
Opening statement:
I think when you look across at the other bench you saw a lot of heart and guys that were committed to outworking their opponent and it was unfortunately at our expense, but it is really impressive to see. It's just our hope that we learn a lesson from a great example.
Q: How do you balance having an off night and trying to find a way to win?
A: I think part of it is that when things aren't clicking, you weather the storm and you find a way. In the past, we've put ourselves behind the 8-ball and found a way. But this time it just happened to be against a team that was not going to quit.
Q: What lesson did you learn from this?
A: I think it would be really disappointing if every individual on our team, coaching staff included, doesn't learn a lesson, even without saying a word. We got beat badly, we got beat 4-0 in our own barn. It's something that we talked about in terms of winning games, when we win the first night, that no matter what you have to be better. This is an absolutely perfect example of it, it's not like we didn't know it was coming. I think it's the level of performance that you need in situations like this, we weren't willing or prepared to give that.
Q: How would you depict how physical the game was on the ice?
A: Anytime that you get a team that has their back against the wall and has something to prove, and it's a genuine desire, it's hockey and it's going to be physical. I don't think that game was any more physical than when we've had our back against the wall here at Pegula in the past when we needed to win or other instances where we won on Friday night and then face a team with something to prove. I think it was physical but I think it was hockey; I think you have to give UAF a ton of credit, I think they wanted to play that way and I give them credit. I would argue that it worked, look how many penalties we took in the third period, you might argue that it was a great plan. Either way, it's hockey and it's going to happen again.
Q: The four-and-a-half-minute power play had the potential to change the game, what happened?
A: I think in a way, even though Alaska was up at the time, I think that was somewhat of a turning point. Even though they were up and continued to be up, it was a huge opportunity and Alaska did great, they killed with heart, they played smart, but they killed with heart, they blocked shots. If you look at anything in the game, the first shift was a real confidence booster for them but I think that four and a half minute kill was also a huge confidence boost.
NOTES
- Penn State held the 35-23 edge in shots, but went 0-for-4 with the man-advantage. The Nittany Lions were a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.
- Penn State was shutout for the first time since a 4-0 loss at Michigan on January 19, 2018 and for just the second time ever at Pegula Ice Arena. This is the first shutout at home since November 14, 2013 against UMass-Lowell, just the fourth game ever in the building.
- Sophomore Aarne Talvitie (Espoo, Finland) sees his career-best, five-game point-streak snapped while juniors Alex Limoges (Winchester, Va.) and Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) along with seniors Brandon Biro (Sherwood Park, Alberta) and Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) each have their three-game point-streaks come to an end.
NEXT UP
Penn State remains at home for a single contest next Friday against the Robert Morris Colonials at 7 p.m.
For more information on the 2019-20 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: the Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.