UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Charlie Cerrato (Fallston, Md.) collected one goal and one assist to lead Penn State past St. Lawrence, 3-1, in non-conference action from Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon.
🎥 Highlights from Saturday’s, 3-1, victory as Penn State completes the weekend sweep of St. Lawrence in #HockeyValley!! pic.twitter.com/z0TqSkhrrm
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 27, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State (4-1-0) opened the scoring with a shorthanded tally as Cerrato closed off St. Lawrence’s zone entry and junior Jarod Crespo (Seven Lakes, N.C.) sprung senior Tyler Paquette (Collegeville, Pa.) into the offensive zone and as he was closed off by a defender he found the trailing Crespo uncontested in the slot and he laced a shot past the glove of Skating Saint goaltender Mason Kucenski for the 1-0 edge at 18:57 of the first period.
St. Lawrence (4-4-0) evened the score early in the second period as Felikss Gavars beat Nittany Lion junior net-minder Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) glove side with a one-timer from the slot for the 1-1 score at the 3:43 mark.
The Nittany Lions regained the lead late in the frame with a powerplay goal as senior Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio) set up sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) at the far post and he was able to sneak one past Kucenski for the 2-1 edge at 16:38 of the middle stanza.
Penn State got some insurance late in the third period as Cerrato would secure his first collegiate goal as he knocked a stagnant puck into a yawning net after a scramble out front for the 3-1 edge at the 14:54 mark.
"This weekend was big for us, the energy, the fans were amazing...We need to carry this [momentum] into next weekend [on the road], going against a tough Minnesota team, we need to play our game and we will do good out there," - sophomore Aiden Fink.#HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/xdCO1T0Ig9
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 26, 2024
GOALTENDING
Sergeev stopped 25-of-26 shots to move to 4-1-0 on the year while Kucenski drops to 4-4-0 after making 34 saves in the defeat.
NOTES
Penn State held the 37-26 edge in shots on goal while going 0-for-4 with the man-advantage and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill moving to 23-for-23 on the year.
Penn State has now won four-straight against St. Lawrence moving its all-time record to 5-2-1 against the Skating Saints.
Crespo’s shorthanded tally marked the third of the year for the Nittany Lions moving them into tie with Michigan and Arizona State for tops in the nation for shortys.
With his third period assist, Dzhaniyev extends his career-long point streak to 10 games, dating back to the last five games of 2023-24 and the first five this season.
Fink pushes his point-streak to a now career-long six games as he has registered at least one point in the first five games this season and the last of 2023-24.
Schoen now has points in four of five games this season and three-straight with his primary assist on Fink’s second period PPG.
Penn State dominated at the face-off dot all weekend going 80-for-119 (67 percent) including a 40-for-57 clip (70.2 percent) on Saturday.
With one goal and one assist, Cerrato secures the second multi-point game of his career he also went 23-for-29 (79 percent) on faceoffs for the weekend.
NEXT UP
Penn State hits the road next weekend to begin Big Ten Conference play with a two-game series against No. 5 Minnesota on Friday and Saturday evening.
For more information on the 2024-25 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.