HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State (2-4-0) opened the scoring for the second-straight night as senior Mac Gadowsky collected a pass from freshman Kaden Pitre in the high slot and flicked a wrister through traffic and past the glove of Golden Griffin net-minder Jack Lisson for the 1-0 edge at 16:19 of the first period.
- Canisius (3-4-1) evened the contest late in the second period as David Elmy ripped a one-timer off a blocked shot beating Nittany Lion freshman goaltender Ryder Fetterolf for the 1-1 score at the 15:18 mark.
- The Griffs then took their first lead of the weekend during a stretch of 4-on-4 play as Rhys Chiddenton flicked a backhander on net from the far dot the bounced off Fetterolf’s shoulder and over the goal line for the 2-1 advantage at 17:45 of the second period.
- The Nittany Lions evened the contest early in the third period as sophomore Justin Poirier laced a one-timer into the back of the net from the left circle after classmate Nolan Collins’ initial shot was turned aside for the 2-2 score at the 5:59 mark.
- Penn State wasted little time in the overtime frame as Fetterolf made two amazing saves, the second springing Smith down the ice after a beautiful pass from Poirier and the big defenseman didn’t miss wiring a wicked wrister past the glove of Lisson for the 3-2 victory just 15 seconds into the period.
GOALTENDING
Fetterolf picks up his first victory of the season moving to 1-2-0 after stopping 26-of-28 shots in the win while Lisson drops to 3-4-1 on the year following a 34-save performance on the other end.
NOTES
- The Nittany Lions held the 37-28 edge in shots on goal including an 11-3 clip over the final 20 minutes while also killing off three penalties. Penn State went a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill in the game while going 1-for-3 on the powerplay with Smith’s goal.
- Saturday night marked the first time this season the Nittany Lions have won a game when trailing entering the third period.
- With his overtime winner, Smith extends his career-long point streak to five games while moving into fifth all-time in goals by a defenseman in Penn State history with 13 for his career. It also marks his eighth powerplay goal the most-ever by a defenseman.
- Poirier added one goal and one assist to secure his third multi-point game of the season and the 11th of his career while freshman Kaden Pitre collected a pair of assists marking his first multi-point effort of the campaign as well as the first of his career.
- The Nittany Lions move to 10-1-0 all-time against the Golden Griffins improving their current win streak to six-straight.
