Men's Hockey Secures Shootout Victory Over No. 1 Michigan StateMen's Hockey Secures Shootout Victory Over No. 1 Michigan State

Men's Hockey Secures Shootout Victory Over No. 1 Michigan State

Senior Dylan Lugris (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored the game-clinching goal in the fourth round of the shootout earning Penn State the extra conference point following a 2-2 tie against No. 1 Michigan State in Big Ten Conference action from Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday evening.

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior Dylan Lugris (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored the game-clinching goal in the fourth round of the shootout earning Penn State the extra conference point following a 2-2 tie against No. 1 Michigan State in Big Ten Conference action from Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday evening.

The Nittany Lions move to 8-10-2 on the year and 1-9-2-0-1-1 in Big Ten play while the Spartans are now 18-2-2 overall and 9-1-2-2-0-1 in league action following the tie.

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HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Penn State opened the scoring for the second-straight night as sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) streaked up the near wall and laced a wrister beating Spartan net-minder Trey Augustine low on the glove side for the 1-0 edge at 3:55 of the first period.
  • Michigan State evened the contest early in the second period as the Nittany Lions got caught changing leading to a 2-on-0 rush for the Spartans and Isaac Howard beat Penn State junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) low past the blocker for the 1-1 score at the 4:41 mark.
  • The Spartans took the lead later in the stanza as Patrick Geary wheeled around the back of the net and fed Joey Larson atop the goal crease and he one-timed the puck past Sergeev for the 2-1 edge at the 13:52 mark.
  • Penn State opted for the empty net following a late MSU penalty and while skating 6-on-4 with under two minutes remaining in regulation senior Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio) redirected a Jimmy Dowd Jr. (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.) point offering from between the circles and into the upper left corner of the net tying the contest 2-2 with just 1:44 remaining earning the Nittany Lions a crucial conference point and sending the game to overtime.
  • Following a scoreless 3-on-3 overtime period, Lugris ended the contest in the fourth round of the shootout earning the extra point for the Nittany Lions after both Augustine and Sergeev had stopped each of the previous seven attempts.
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GOALTENDING

Sergeev moves to 5-5-2 on the year after stopping 35 shots as well as the extra four he saw in the shootout while Augustine collected 32 saves and stopped 3-of-4 shootout attempts moving to 11-2-2 this season.

NOTES

  • Michigan State held the slim 37-34 edge in shots on goal. Penn State went 1-for-7 on the man-advantage with the crucial game-tying goal late in the third period while also going a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
  • The Nittany Lions are now 2-6-1 all-time against the number one team in the nation including a 2-3-1 mark in their last six such games dating back to the 2022-23 season.
  • The shootout was the second in as many weeks for the Nittany Lions after going to a shootout three times a season ago and they are now 1-1 in such games this season after going 2-1 last year. Penn State has now won the last two shootouts against the Spartans.
  • Fink extends his point streak to six games tying his career high following his first period goal as he has now registered at least one point in 12 of his last 13 games. Fink has only been kept off the scoresheet three times in 20 games this season.
  • The third period penalty shot attempt for Fink was the first penalty shot attempted by the Nittany Lions since Kevin Wall ’23 scored against Niagara back on October 22, 2021, recording a hat-trick in the process.
  • Freshman Nick Fascia (Blackwood, N.J.) had the primary assist on Fink’s first period goal for his first career point.
  • With a pair of helpers, Dowd Jr. collects his second multi-point effort of the season and the 16th of his career while eclipsing the 70-point mark for his career as he is now just seven points shy of Cole Hults’ program record for points by a defenseman of 78. His 59 career assists are also now just two shy of Hults’ defenseman record of 61.
  • The extra attacker goal for Penn State is the third of the season and the second 6-on-4 goal scored as senior Danny Dzhaniyev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored against Wisconsin on November 15 during a 6-on-4 stretch.

NEXT UP

Penn State remains home and takes a break from Big Ten play to conclude non-conference action with a weekend series against Canisius next Friday and Saturday.

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.