Nittany Lions End Season against Familiar Foe, Michigan
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Nittany Lions End Season against Familiar Foe, Michigan

The Nittany Lions (21-13-4) entered the Big Ten tournament this past Friday with a recent loss to Michigan fresh in their minds. Knowing they needed to prove themselves on the ice to make it, the Lions hustled hard on Friday against Wisconsin and fought to the end on Saturday against Michigan.

The puck dropped Friday evening in St. Paul, Minn., for the Penn State vs. Wisconsin game. This past season, Penn State won three out of their four games against Wisconsin, but each of game was won or lost by a close margin of one goal. Wisconsin’s physical play and brute force proved powerful many times this past season, and the Lions came out on fire to combat that this past Friday.

Goalie Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.) started and played the entire game for the Nittany Lions. He made a total of 35 saves for Penn State, allowing two goals for the evening.

The Nittany Lions started strong in the first period with two late goals from Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) and Connor Varley (Lansdale, Pa.). Wisconsin answered those two goals early in the second, but it was Ricky DeRosa (Aston, Pa.) and Tommy Olczyk (Long Grove, Ill.) who gave Penn State a comfortable 4-1 lead going into the third. Wisconsin once again returned the favor with a single goal to start the third, but Scheid once again proved the Lions’ superiority, notching a final goal in the nineteenth minute for the Lions, making the final score a decisive 5-2 win.

The Lions then advanced to the next round of the tournament, whose game would be played the following day against a well-known foe: Michigan.

A formidable opponent, Michigan proved to be the final challenge for Penn State, who lost all four games to Michigan this season.

It was once again McAdam who started in goal for the Lions, but he was replaced about halfway through the game by Matt Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.)

Michigan went unanswered for five goals in the first and second periods, leaving Penn State with a hefty deficit to make up.

It was Kevin Kerr (Bensalem, Pa.) who notched the Lions’ first goal of the evening in the eleventh minute of the second period thanks to assists from David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.) and David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta).

Michigan grabbed an early goal in the first minute of the third, only to have Luke Juha (Mississauga, Ont.) return the favor in the second minute.

Unfortunately, the Lions’ efforts were not enough as Michigan scored a final time in the eleventh minute of the third to close out the Lions’ season with a 7-2 loss.