No. 4 Men's Hockey Uses Five-Unanswered Goals to Down Clarkson and Earn Series SplitNo. 4 Men's Hockey Uses Five-Unanswered Goals to Down Clarkson and Earn Series Split

No. 4 Men's Hockey Uses Five-Unanswered Goals to Down Clarkson and Earn Series Split

Senior Ben Schoen scored twice and captain Dane Dowiak potted the eventual game-winning tally while shorthanded during 5-2 victory in Hockey Valley

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio) scored twice as No. 4 Penn State used five-unanswered goals to defeat Clarkson, 5-2, and split the weekend series in non-conference action at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday night.

Schoen led four players with multi-point nights securing his first multi-goal game of the season and the second of his career in the process while also notching his first multi-point effort this year and the 13th of his career.

Dane copy

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Clarkson (1-2-0) once again opened the scoring early with a quick odd-man rush as Erik Bargholtz found Luka Sukovich who redirected the puck past the blocker of Nittany Lion freshman goaltender Josh Fleming (Montreal, Quebec) for the 1-0 edge just 21 ticks into the contest.
  • The Golden Knights then doubled the margin in the final minute of the frame as Tate Taylor sniped one shortside over the shoulder of Fleming for the 2-0 lead with just 13.8 seconds remaining in the first period.
  • Penn State (3-1-0) cut the deficit in half with a powerplay goal as sophomore JJ Wiebusch (Verona, Wis.) netted his fifth of the weekend off a cross-crease pass from classmate Charlie Cerrato (Fallston, Md.) for the 2-1 score at 3:07 of the second period.
  • The Nittany Lions then evened the score immediately after killing off a five-minute major, the guilty party, Schoen, made amends by whistling a wrister far-side past the glove of Clarkson net-minder Shane Soderwall for the 2-2 score at the 8:39 mark.
  • Following the goal Penn State was assessed a minor penalty for roughing, however, just over halfway through the kill captain Dane Dowiak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) jammed home a feed from junior Reese Laubach (San Jose, Calif.) at the far post off the rush for the shorthanded tally and the 3-2 lead at 9:49 of the second stanza.
  • Penn State extended the lead midway through the third period as this time it was Wiebusch springing Cerrato up the far wall through the neutral zone and he beat his defender, cut atop the crease and roofed the puck over the blocker of Soderwall for the 4-2 margin at the 10:38 mark.
  • Schoen then cashed in at the net mouth off a beautiful backdoor feed from junior Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) pushing the lead to 5-2 at 14:29 of the third period.

GOALTENDING

Fleming moves to 1-0-0 on the year after stopping 21 shots in his first collegiate start while Soderwall drops to 1-2-0 on the year after making 26 saves in the defeat.

IMG_6220 copy

NOTES

  • Penn State held the 31-23 edge in shots on goal while going 1-for-5 on the man-advantage and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill including killing off Schoen’s five-minute major early in the second period while already trailing 2-0 to that point.
  • Dowiak’s shorthanded tally proved to be the game-winner and is the second of the season through the first four games for the Nittany Lions after they led the Big Ten and finished third in the nation with eight a season ago, just one shy of UConn and St. Thomas.
  • The Nittany Lions are the lone team this season with multiple shorthanded tallies.
  • With one goal and one assist, Wiebusch collects his third multi-point effort of the year and the 11th of his career as he now leads the nation with six goals through the first four games of the year.
  • Wiebusch now has 15 goals in his last 13 games dating back to last season including a hat-trick and a four-goal game and has at least one goal in 10 of his last 13 games including three-straight while extending his point streak to four to open the season.
  • Cerrato also registered a goal and an assist on the night giving him three multi-point games this season and 18 for his career. He too extends his point streak to four games while moving into the national lead for points with 11, one ahead of Wiebusch’s 10.
  • Senior Jarod Crespo (Seven Lakes, N.C.) collected a pair of secondary helpers on the final two goals of the game giving him his first multi-point game of the season and the fourth of his career while tying his career high for points and assists in a game.
  • With one assist, Fink is now tied with Danny Dzhaniyev ’25 for 10th on the Nittany Lion all-time scoring list while his two assists on the weekend give him 55 for his career and are just one shy of Evan Barratt for 10th on the all-time assists list. He too extends his season opening point-streak to four games.
  • Penn State improves to 5-2-0 all-time against the Golden Knights following the victory.

NEXT UP

Penn State remains home as its six-game homestand rolls along with a non-conference series against LIU at Pegula Ice Arena next Friday and Saturday.

For more information on the 2025-26 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.