UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Alex Servagno (Gibsonia, Pa.) netted his first collegiate goal which turned out to be the game winner as No. 5 Penn State defeated No. 20 RIT, 3-1, in non-conference action on Saturday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
The Nittany Lions improve to 17-5-0 overall and a perfect 10-0-0 this season in non-conference play, the first time in program history Penn State has produced a clean sheet in regular season non-conference play. The Tigers drop to 12-6-0 on the year with the setback.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State opened the scoring for the second-consecutive game as junior Chase McLane (Trenton, Mich.) potted his first of the season as he tipped a point shot from sophomore Simon Mack (Brockville, Ontario) past RIT goaltender Tommy Scarfone for the 1-0 edge at 13:10 of the first period.
- The Nittany Lions doubled their lead as Servagno received a beautiful feed from junior Christian Sarlo (Lynbrook, N.Y.) and he fired one off the back pipe and out over the blocker of Scarfone for the 2-0 advantage at 11:44 of the middle frame.
- RIT cut the deficit in half late in the third period as for the second-straight night Tyler Mahan scored shorthanded for the 2-1 score at 16:15 of the final stanza.
- Senior Connor McMenamin (Collegeville, Pa.), who was robbed from point blank range earlier in the game, potted the empty-netter to put a bow on the 3-1 victory with just 56.7 ticks remaining.
GOALTENDING
Junior Liam Souliere (Brampton, Ontario) improves to 15-4-0 on the year after making 24 saves in the victory while Scarfone falls 11-4-0 after stopping 37 shots in the loss.
NOTES
- Penn State held the commanding 40-24 edge in shots on goal, but were unable to cash in on a trio of powerplay opportunities, however, the penalty kill went a perfect 2-for-2 including killing off a five-minute major penalty.
- Senior captain Paul DeNaples (Moscow, Pa.) played in his 155th consecutive game passing Chase Berger '19 as the new Penn State Iron Man. Like Berger, DeNaples has yet to miss a game in his Nittany Lion Career.
- McLane's first goal of the season marks the 16th time in 22 games this season that Penn State has scored first running its record to 14-2-0 in such contests. It was also the first goal for McLane since returning from injury and his first in 392 days dating back to early December of 2021.
- Senior Kevin Wall (Penfield, N.Y.) had the primary assist on McMenamin's empty net tally as he has now registered at least one point in six-straight games for a new career-high.
- The Nittany Lions are now 7-5-0 this season against ranked opponents and remain a perfect 12-0-0 when leading after two periods.
NEXT UP
Penn State will have next weekend off before returning to Big Ten Conference play with a trip to East Lansing to battle No. 11 Michigan State on January 13-14.
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.