UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The seventh-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions struck for a pair of powerplay goals to come-from-behind and defeat Alaska, 2-1, to complete the sweep in non-conference action on Wednesday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State improves to 13-3-0 on the year and a perfect 8-0-0 in non-conference play while Alaska drops to 5-7-2 overall with the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nanooks opened the scoring as Anton Rubtsov was left uncovered at the near post and found space before slipping the puck past the right pad of Nittany Lion junior net-minder Liam Souliere (Brampton, Ontario) for the 1-0 edge at 12:41 of the first period.
- Penn State responded just four minutes later with a powerplay tally as sophomore Ryan Kirwan (DeWitt, N.Y.) fired a rebound into a yawning net for the 1-1 score at 16:41 of the opening stanza.
- After a scoreless second period, the Nittany Lions took their first lead of the game as sophomore Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio) jammed home a loose puck at the net mouth during the powerplay for the 2-1 advantage at 9:12 of the third period.
GOALTENDING
- Souliere runs his record to 11-3-0 on the year after stopping 33-of-34 shots while his counterpart, Matt Radomsky, drops to 5-7-2 after making 34 saves in the setback.
- Souliere becomes just the fourth different Nittany Lion net-minder to record double-digit wins in a season as he moves past Oskar Autio '22 for the sixth-most victories in a single-season all-time with 11.
- Souliere's 20 career victories also move him past Eamon McAdam for the fourth-most all-time.
NOTES
- Penn State held the slim 36-34 edge in shots on goal that was aided by a 17-8 third period advantage. The Nittany Lions scored both their goals on the powerplay going 2-for-3 on the night and killed off the only penalty they took, a five-minute major.
- With Alaska notching the first goal of the game it marks the first time in non-conference play this season that Penn State hasn't scored first and just the fourth time in 16 games. The Nittany Lions are now 2-2-0 in such games.
- With the primary assist on Schoen's game-winner, junior Christian Sarlo (Lynbrook, N.Y.) has registered at least one point in seven of his last eight games (4-5-9) and is riding a three-game point streak which is now just one game shy of his career-long four-game streak from earlier this season.
- The Nittany Lions run their all-time record against Alaska to 3-2-0 with the Wednesday night victory and series sweep.
- Penn State improves to 5-1-0 this season in games decided by one goal. The Nittany Lions have now held their opponents to two or less goals in 10 of their first 16 games this season.
- The 8-0-0 start to non-conference play is the best in program history and with just one non-conference series left against RIT over New Years, the Nittany Lions will look to better their 9-1-0 non-conference record from last season with a perfect 10-0-0.
NEXT UP
Penn State remains home and resumes Big Ten play against the Ohio State Buckeyes to close out its six-game homestand with games on December 2-3.
For more information on the 2022-23 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: 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.