UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 20 Penn State scored first, but couldn't keep up as No. 8 Michigan State raced to a 7-3 victory and series sweep in Big Ten Conference action on Saturday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
The Nittany Lions fall to 10-93 overall and 2-7-3-0-0-2 in the Big Ten with the loss while the Spartans improve to 15-4-3 on the year and 9-1-2-0-1-1 in conference action following the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State opened the scoring with a powerplay goal as freshman Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) reached back and unleashed an absolute bomb of a shot from the far faceoff dot for the 1-0 lead at 4:22 of the opening frame.
- The Spartans evened the score midway through the stanza as part of three-straight unanswered goals to close the first period as Karsen Dorwart got fancy above the goal crease beating Nittany Lion senior net-minder Liam Souliere (Brampton, Ontario) past the blocker after going between his legs on a rebound effort at the 9:23 mark.
- Joey Larson scored a man-advantage tally with a one-time blast from the far dot for the 2-1 score at the 12:28 mark before Red Savage redirected a centering pass from Gavin O'Connell into the back of the net for the 3-1 edge at 15:34 of the first period.
- MSU extended the lead further with a pair of early second period goals just over a minute apart as Artyom Levshunov and Gavin O'Connell found the back of the net at 4:02 and 5:19, respectively.
- Graduate transfer Jacques Bouquot (South Windsor, Conn.) stopped the run of Spartan goals as he was able to redirect a shot from the point by sophomore Dylan Gratton (Pottstown, Pa.) past Michigan State net-minder Trey Augustine for the 5-2 deficit at 11:43 of the second stanza.
- Michigan State regained the four-goal edge late in the second period as Reed Lebster found the back of the net at the 18:12 mark.
- Penn State continued to fight as a few veterans took things into their own hands as senior Xander Lamppa (Rochester, Minn.) sent a pass from behind the net right on the tape of classmate Christian Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) and he beat Augustine under the blocker from below the near dot for the 6-3 deficit at 1:53 of the third period.
- Nash Nienhaus added a late goal for the Spartans at the 14:35 mark to account for the final score.
GOALTENDING
Souliere drops to 7-6-1 on the year after making 27 saves in the loss while his counterpart, Trey Augustine, improves to 13-3-2 on the year stopping 27-of-30 shots in the victory.
NOTES
- Michigan State held the 34-30 edge in shots on goal while going 1-for-2 on the powerplay. Penn State was 1-for-5 with the man-advantage for the game.
- This marks the first-ever sweep of the Spartans over the Nittany Lions at Pegula Ice Arena and the first since February 13-14, 2015, and only the third sweep ever for MSU over PSU.
- Saturday night's attendance of 6,483 marks the fifth largest in Pegula Ice Arena history.
- Fink moves into a tie with Andrew Sturtz and Casey Bailey for third on the single-season points list for freshmen with 27 now on the season while his 12 goals are good for the eighth-most for a freshman in a single-season.
- Berger's ninth career goal moves him into solo eighth on the all-time goal scoring list for Penn State defensemen while his 42 points are good for 10th.
- Penn State drops to 8-4-0 when scoring first this season.
NEXT UP
Penn State hits the road for a Big Ten series in South Bend against Notre Dame next Friday and Saturday.
For more information on the 2023-24 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.