FAIRFIELD, Conn. – No. 17 Penn State fought back from a three-goal deficit tying the game early in the third period, however, Sacred Heart regained the lead and tacked on a pair of empty netters to skate away with the 6-3 victory in non-conference action to conclude the 2026 Ice Breaker Tournament at Martire family Arena on Saturday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sacred Heart (1-1-0) thought they had opened the scoring after dominating the opening stretch of the game as Michael Rubin slipped a wrister through traffic that snuck past Nittany Lion freshman goaltender Ryder Fetterolf at the 7:31 mark, however, Penn State challenged the play for offsides and were correct as the goal was taken off the board.
- The Pioneers would eventually take the lead just past the midway point of the second period taking advantage of a shattered stick on a one-timer attempt by the Nittany Lions to spring an odd-man rush and after two stops by Fetterolf it was Landen Gunderson who found a yawning net for the 1-0 edge at the 12:27 mark.
- The hosts then took advantage of a defensive zone turnover to the side of the net by Penn State as Taos Jordan stole the puck away before skating across the crease and depositing the puck past the outstretched pad of Fetterolf for the 2-0 advantage at 16:34 of the middle frame.
- The Pios continued to press and were again rewarded as a center ice dump ricocheted off the endboards then off an official right on the tape of Emmanuel Vermette and he ripped a one-timer bar down for the 3-0 margin at 18:18 of the second period.
- Penn State (0-2-0) came out of the second intermission on fire and tied the contest with three-straight goals over an 87-second stretch in the first five minutes of play as freshman Kale Dach netted his second of the weekend as he batted the puck out of midair and into the back of the net after sophomore Justin Poirier’s initial attempt was turned aside for the 3-1 score at 3:17 of the third period.
- Just 21 ticks later freshman Justin Larose secured the puck behind the net and elevated it over the shoulder of Pioneer net-minder Ajeet Gundarah lacrosse-style for the one-goal deficit, 3-2, at the 3:38 mark.
- Senior captain Dane Dowiak then slipped the equalizer inside the far post after classmate Mac Gadowsky’s point shot was blockered aside for the 3-3 score at the 4:44 mark.
- Sacred Heart regained the lead nearing the midway point of the final frame taking advantage of another odd-man rush as Gunderson scored his second into a yawning net for the 4-3 lead at the 9:17 mark.
- The Pios sealed the game by hitting the empty net as Jake Bongo sent it 190 feet into the yawning cage for the 5-3 edge at 17:56 of the third period.
- SHU added a second empty-netter with five seconds remaining for the 6-3 final.
GOALTENDING
Fetterolf falls to 0-1-0 on the year after stopping 34 shots in his collegiate debut while Gundarah moves to 1-1-0 after making 22 saves in the victory.
NOTES
- Dowiak skated in his 100th career game on Saturday night.
- Sacred Heart held the commanding 40-25 edge in shots on goal. Penn State went a perfect 4-for-4 in the game and 6-for-6 on the weekend on the penalty kill, however, they failed to score in their lone powerplay chance of the evening and all four on the weekend.
- The win is the first for Sacred Heart against Penn State as the all-time record now stands at 6-1-0 in favor of the Nittany Lions.
- Penn State is 0-2 to open the season for just the second time in program history and first time since the 2020-21 season.
- Dach and Larose each registered one goal and one assist giving them their first career multi-point games while Poirier added a pair of assists to secure his first multi-point game of the season and the ninth of his career.
NEXT UP
Penn State returns to Hockey Valley for its home opener, a single contest next week, as they battle No. 6 Quinnipiac at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday evening with puck drop slated for 7 p.m.
For more information on the 2026-27 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.