FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) tied his career-high with four points on one goal and three assists to help lead Penn State to a 5-0 victory and series sweep in non-conference action at Big Dipper Ice Arena on Sunday evening.
Fink netted all four points in the second period tying the program single period record for points set by Nate Sucese ’20 against Union during the NCAA Tournament in 2017. His three second period assists also tie the Penn State single-period record for assists as he becomes the fourth different Nittany Lion to accomplish this feat and the first since Connor McMenamin ’23 against Wisconsin in 2021.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first frame, Penn State (2-0-0) opened the scoring early in the second period as sophomore Matt DiMarsico (Wexford, Pa.) redirected an offering from the point by Fink through Nanook goaltender Lassi Lehti for the 1-0 edge just 44 ticks into the stanza.
The Nittany Lions extended the lead less than two minutes later with their first powerplay goal of the season as sophomore Reese Laubach (San Jose, Calif.) one-timed a cross-ice feed from senior Danny Dzhaniyev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) past the outstretched blocker of Lehti for the 2-0 margin at 2:41 of the middle frame.
Penn State pushed the lead further midway through the period as it was Laubach again connecting on an odd-man rush after a perfect pass from Fink for the 3-0 lead at the 9:45 mark.
Laubach then returned the favor feathering a pass up ice to a streaking Fink and he went in on a breakaway cleanly beating Lehti for the 4-0 advantage at 16:10 of the second period.
The visitors continued to buzz early in the third period notching their second shorthanded tally of the weekend as senior Simon Mack (Brockville, Ontario) fed sophomore Dane Dowiak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) on an odd-man rush for the 5-0 score at the 4:12 mark.
GOALTENDING
Junior Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) moves to 2-0-0 on the year after stopping all 32 shots he faced to secure his second career shutout and first as a Nittany Lion, while his counterpart, Lehti, drops to 0-1-0 after making 27 saves in the loss.
NOTES
Each team had 32 shots on goal while Penn State went 1-for-2 on the powerplay and perfect 9-for-9 on the penalty kill. The Nittany Lions were a perfect 13-for-13 on the PK for the weekend.
The shutout for the Nittany Lions was the first in over a year dating back to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, an 8-0 victory over Michigan Tech. It also marks the first road shutout for Penn State since a 4-0 win at Wisconsin on October 29, 2022.
With his two second period assists, Dzhaniyev extends his career-long point streak to seven games, dating back to the last five games of 2023-24 and the first two this season as he registers his first multi-point effort of the season and the 17th of his career.
By matching his career-high with four points and setting a new career-best mark with three assists, Fink secured his first multi-point game of the season and the 10th of his career.
With his two second period goals, Laubach notched his first multi-goal game this season and the second of his career while also securing the sixth multi-point game of his career. His three points on the night are a new career-best mark.
With a pair of assists, Mack secured his second multi-point effort of the season and the sixth of his career.
This weekend marks the first time the Nittany Lions have potted shorthanded goals in back-to-back games since December 28-29, 2015.
Penn State improves to 5-2-0 all-time against Alaska including four-straight victories and are now 3-2-1 all-time in the state of Alaska.
The Nittany Lions improve to 2-0-0 on the young season when scoring first.
NEXT UP
Penn State travels to 2023 National Champion Quinnipiac next Saturday for a single game with puck drop slated for 7 p.m.
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.