UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior Oskar Autio (Espoo, Finland) secured his fourth career shutout as Penn State defeated Niagara 4-0 in non-conference action on Thursday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State (4-1-0) opened the scoring midway through the first period as it was junior Connor McMenamin (Collegeville, Pa.) causing a neutral zone turnover to start the rush and classmate Kevin Wall (Penfield, N.Y.) finishing off a beautiful backhand feed from senior Ben Copeland (Edina, Minn.) at the right post for the 1-0 edge at the 11:32 mark.
- The Nittany Lions extended their lead as freshman Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio) cleaned up a loose puck in front of the crease for his first collegiate tally and the 2-0 advantage at 6:08 of the second period.
- Penn State pushed the margin to 3-0 late in the middle frame as sophomore Christian Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) fired the puck on net from the far half wall and it snuck through traffic and past Niagara net-minder Chad Veltri at 17:35.
- Wall added his second goal of the evening early in the third period as he finished on the doorstep after receiving a pass from freshman Ryan Kirwan (DeWitt, N.Y.) during an odd-man rush for the 4-0 bulge at 1:17 of the final frame.
GOALTENDING
- Autio registered his fourth career shutout to tie Peyton Jones '20 for the Penn State all-time career record.
- The senior stopped all 23 shots he faced to move to 3-1-0 on the year while collecting his second-consecutive shutout against Niagara, the first coming back on January 4, 2020.
- Veltri made 34 saves in the defeat falling to 0-2-0 on the year.
GADOWSKY POSTGAME
Opening Statement
"Happy with the win. I think we came out with a really good mentality and carried through for the first two periods. I think the third we absolutely got beat… give Niagara a lot of credit for that. And Oskar, he absolutely earned that shutout, specifically in the third. It was a good team win."
Q: How important was it to get Kevin [Wall] back on track offensively like he was able to tonight?
A: "It was good. I think Ben Copeland had a great game tonight and obviously that was a big part of it. Ben had an excellent game. It's nice to see that line play really well not only did Kevin score but I thought the line, territorially, played really well. It is something we have been waiting for from that line. We had high expectations, so that is one of the things we were very happy to see."
Q: Even with a 4-0 shutout, what do you guys think you can do better tomorrow?
A: "Give Niagara some credit but we did turn the puck over, they did get some chances from us being sloppy with the puck in the first half. But the third period, we didn't finish the game off strong. Obviously, if we come out tomorrow the way we played in the third, we are going to be in big big trouble. If that happens we are going to have to readjust and get back to the mentality we had when it started."
Q: What do you think was different very specifically about that third (period)
A: "I think it's a process you have to go through. Everybody can say 'oh just play the same way' but when you're up and things are rolling and you don't have that same sense of urgency, championship teams, like at the end, they go through experiences that teach you how to do that. And the good news is we didn't lose the game and hopefully we learn that lesson. I do think the guys know that the third was not very good for us, but it is a process. You can say it like that, but you have to go through it."
Q: What did you think of Ben [Schoen's] goal? You know he's not a huge guy. He goes in and he wins the puck in front of the net.
A: "He's a guy that has had grade A opportunities in the past that just didn't go in. You know he's a very skilled player and he's created room for himself with his skill, but this was a goal that was more of a gritty goal. He did a great job of winning the puck. Christian Sarlo did a great job of creating a lot of traffic. It was a great gritty goal. Those are the kind of goals that we love to see. They all aren't ESPN highlights, and this was one where I liked the mentality that it took to score that. I thought that that was a big goal for him. Now you are going to see the skill one's going in as well."
NOTES
- Penn State improves to 7-0-1 all-time against Niagara and is now outscoring the Purple Eagles 32-8 in those contests.
- The Nittany Lions held the commanding 38-23 edge in shots on goal, however, Niagara outshot the hosts 12-5 in the final frame.
- Penn State won the faceoff battle controlling 37-of-64 draws (57.8 percent).
- The Nittany Lions were a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, but went 0-for-2 with the man-advantage.
- Niagara had 23 blocked shots to just three for Penn State
- MacEachern had a pair of assists to register his second multi-point game of the season and the sixth of his career.
- Copeland collected his first two points as a Nittany Lion registering his first multi-point effort this season and the 12th of his career.
- With one goal and one assist, Berger registers his second-consecutive multi-point game of the season and the second of his career.
- With his two goals, Wall secured the second multi-goal game of his career and first this season while registering his eight career multi-point game and his first this season.
- Penn State improves to 4-0-0 on the year when scoring first and when holding a lead entering the third period. PSU is now 131-12-10 all-time when leading entering the final frame.
NEXT UP
- Both teams will return to Pegula Ice Arena tomorrow evening to conclude the season series with a 7 p.m. puck drop.
- In town for Homecoming Weekend, make sure to secure your tickets HERE!
For more information on the 2021-22 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.