Men’s Hockey Upsets Notre Dame with OT Win
Penn State men’s hockey (2-1-1) took to the road this past Friday to take on the No. 3-4 Fighting Irish on their home rink.
This has historically been one of the most heated and intense games that the Nittany Lions play in a season, and with a stellar class of recruits, many were waiting with baited breath to see just what the outcome of this matchup would be.
Penn State struck first, scoring a goal just two minutes into the first period thanks to the skills of freshman Nikita Pavlychev (Yaroslavl, Russia), who used a rebound to his benefit on a power play to get the ball rolling.
At fifteen minutes into the first, Notre Dame notched its first goal of the night, a shorthanded goal off of a rebound shot that all started with an intercepted defensive pass.
Tied at the first, Penn State knew it had to come out firing on all cylinders in order to remain a contender for the win.
Penn State had difficulty holding off Notre Dame at the start of the second, as the Fighting Irish came out looking for blood, and taking any and every shot available to them. However, it was the Nittany Lions who once again scored the first goal of the period.
It was Kevin Kerr (Bensalem, Pa.) who set up Dylan Richard (Sherwood Park, Alberta) for the goal after sending the puck into the neutral zone, giving Richard the time and options to fake out the defender and send the puck to the back of the net at the 10th minute of play.
Richard then, at the 18th minute, slammed in a loose puck that had been tipped by Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) on a questionable high stick, and after review for a high stick, Penn State’s goal stood, much to the pleasure of the fans and team.
There was not much time for Penn State to relish in their significant lead; Notre Dame returned the favor less than 40 seconds later, bringing the score to a heart-pounding 3-2.
The final period, however, allowed the Fighting Irish to even the score in the 12th minute of play, sending the two teams into overtime.
Overtime was unable to decide a winner, even after both teams killed off a penalty and both teams’ goalies had to make some incredible saves.
Freshman Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) played the entire game for the Nittany Lions.
Saturday evening, however, was when the real show began. A game of back-and-forth scoring throughout the three periods resulted in yet another overtime.
Penn State scored the only goal of the first period. Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) assisted James Robinson (Cochrane, Alberta) for a goal just four minutes into the game.
The second period was Notre Dame’s turn to score as they took advantage of a power-play to tie up the game.
The third period allowed both teams to score one more time before overtime. It was standout freshman Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) who hammered in a shot just three minutes into the third to keep Penn State alive.
Notre Dame returned the favor, sending the teams into a nail-biter of an overtime.
Ultimately, it was Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) who was able to find the net during a mad scramble in front of the Fighting Irish’s net just over a minute into the overtime to give Penn State the upset and 3-2 victory over Notre Dame.
Jones once again netminded for the full duration for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State returns home next Friday and Saturday to take on Canisius at the Pegula Ice Arena at 7 p.m.
This has historically been one of the most heated and intense games that the Nittany Lions play in a season, and with a stellar class of recruits, many were waiting with baited breath to see just what the outcome of this matchup would be.
Penn State struck first, scoring a goal just two minutes into the first period thanks to the skills of freshman Nikita Pavlychev (Yaroslavl, Russia), who used a rebound to his benefit on a power play to get the ball rolling.
At fifteen minutes into the first, Notre Dame notched its first goal of the night, a shorthanded goal off of a rebound shot that all started with an intercepted defensive pass.
Tied at the first, Penn State knew it had to come out firing on all cylinders in order to remain a contender for the win.
Penn State had difficulty holding off Notre Dame at the start of the second, as the Fighting Irish came out looking for blood, and taking any and every shot available to them. However, it was the Nittany Lions who once again scored the first goal of the period.
It was Kevin Kerr (Bensalem, Pa.) who set up Dylan Richard (Sherwood Park, Alberta) for the goal after sending the puck into the neutral zone, giving Richard the time and options to fake out the defender and send the puck to the back of the net at the 10th minute of play.
Richard then, at the 18th minute, slammed in a loose puck that had been tipped by Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) on a questionable high stick, and after review for a high stick, Penn State’s goal stood, much to the pleasure of the fans and team.
There was not much time for Penn State to relish in their significant lead; Notre Dame returned the favor less than 40 seconds later, bringing the score to a heart-pounding 3-2.
The final period, however, allowed the Fighting Irish to even the score in the 12th minute of play, sending the two teams into overtime.
Overtime was unable to decide a winner, even after both teams killed off a penalty and both teams’ goalies had to make some incredible saves.
Freshman Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) played the entire game for the Nittany Lions.
Saturday evening, however, was when the real show began. A game of back-and-forth scoring throughout the three periods resulted in yet another overtime.
Penn State scored the only goal of the first period. Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) assisted James Robinson (Cochrane, Alberta) for a goal just four minutes into the game.
The second period was Notre Dame’s turn to score as they took advantage of a power-play to tie up the game.
The third period allowed both teams to score one more time before overtime. It was standout freshman Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) who hammered in a shot just three minutes into the third to keep Penn State alive.
Notre Dame returned the favor, sending the teams into a nail-biter of an overtime.
Ultimately, it was Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) who was able to find the net during a mad scramble in front of the Fighting Irish’s net just over a minute into the overtime to give Penn State the upset and 3-2 victory over Notre Dame.
Jones once again netminded for the full duration for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State returns home next Friday and Saturday to take on Canisius at the Pegula Ice Arena at 7 p.m.
