No. 10 Men’s Hockey Continues Success against Arizona State
No. 10 Penn State men’s hockey (11-1-1) welcomed the Arizona State Sun Devils to Pegula Ice Arena this past weekend for the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
On Friday, Penn State started the scoring onslaught quickly, with a goal from freshman standout Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia) just 58 seconds into the first period.
Arizona State returned the favor just under 10 minutes into the first period, tying up the score, 1-1.
After that Arizona goal, Penn State went all out for the remainder of the first period, notching three more goals.
It was Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) who used a power play to his advantage and faked out the Arizona State goaltender to bring the score to 2-1.
Just three minutes later, at the 15-minute mark, Sturtz again saw the back of the net, this time thanks to a Penn State-won faceoff by Dylan Richard (Sherwood Park, Alb.).
The final goal of the first period was Smirnov, who pushed the puck into the net just 10 seconds after Sturtz thanks to a tipoff by Derian Hamilton (Port McNeill, B.C.), sending the Lions into the second period with a 4-1 lead over the Sun Devils.
Smirnov proceeded to lock in a hat-trick three minutes into the second period with an assist from Richard.
Arizona State came back with an admirable effort, scoring one goal at the five minute mark of the second period, and then opening up the third period with an ASU goal.
Penn State quickly regained its momentum thanks to a goal in the 13th minute by freshman Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) that was followed up by an Alec Marsh (Bridgewater, N.J.) goal in the 19th minute to end the game with a Nittany Lion victory, 7-4.
Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) played the full duration in goal for the Nittany Lions, recording 22 saves.
On Saturday night, Penn State rose to new heights as they defeated ASU 8-0, a program record for most goals scored in a shutout game.
The majority of the goals occurred in the first period, with Dylan Richard notching the first goal of the evening nine minutes into play.
Then, on the power-play, Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) locked in another goal that was quickly followed by a short-handed goal by Sucese.
Zach Saar (Richland, Mich.) assisted Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) as Saar came out of the penalty box to create an odd-man rush that resulted in a goal.
It was Kevin Kerr (Bensalem, Pa.) who got the fifth and final goal of the first period with a powerful slap shot.
Freshman Liam Folkes (Scarborough, Ont.) made the most of his time on the ice, getting the only goal of the second period from a rebound off the boards in the 15th minute.
To lock in the Lions’ fate, the two stellar freshmen Nikita Pavlychev (Yaroslavl, Russia) and Smirnov each scored a goal in the third period, propelling Penn State to victory.
Chris Funkey (Orland Park, Ill.) was in goal for all but 10 seconds of play and recorded 18 saves.
Penn State welcomes its first conference game of the season against Michigan on Thursday, December 1 at home for a 6:30 p.m. puck drop.
On Friday, Penn State started the scoring onslaught quickly, with a goal from freshman standout Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia) just 58 seconds into the first period.
Arizona State returned the favor just under 10 minutes into the first period, tying up the score, 1-1.
After that Arizona goal, Penn State went all out for the remainder of the first period, notching three more goals.
It was Andrew Sturtz (Buffalo, N.Y.) who used a power play to his advantage and faked out the Arizona State goaltender to bring the score to 2-1.
Just three minutes later, at the 15-minute mark, Sturtz again saw the back of the net, this time thanks to a Penn State-won faceoff by Dylan Richard (Sherwood Park, Alb.).
The final goal of the first period was Smirnov, who pushed the puck into the net just 10 seconds after Sturtz thanks to a tipoff by Derian Hamilton (Port McNeill, B.C.), sending the Lions into the second period with a 4-1 lead over the Sun Devils.
Smirnov proceeded to lock in a hat-trick three minutes into the second period with an assist from Richard.
Arizona State came back with an admirable effort, scoring one goal at the five minute mark of the second period, and then opening up the third period with an ASU goal.
Penn State quickly regained its momentum thanks to a goal in the 13th minute by freshman Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) that was followed up by an Alec Marsh (Bridgewater, N.J.) goal in the 19th minute to end the game with a Nittany Lion victory, 7-4.
Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) played the full duration in goal for the Nittany Lions, recording 22 saves.
On Saturday night, Penn State rose to new heights as they defeated ASU 8-0, a program record for most goals scored in a shutout game.
The majority of the goals occurred in the first period, with Dylan Richard notching the first goal of the evening nine minutes into play.
Then, on the power-play, Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) locked in another goal that was quickly followed by a short-handed goal by Sucese.
Zach Saar (Richland, Mich.) assisted Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) as Saar came out of the penalty box to create an odd-man rush that resulted in a goal.
It was Kevin Kerr (Bensalem, Pa.) who got the fifth and final goal of the first period with a powerful slap shot.
Freshman Liam Folkes (Scarborough, Ont.) made the most of his time on the ice, getting the only goal of the second period from a rebound off the boards in the 15th minute.
To lock in the Lions’ fate, the two stellar freshmen Nikita Pavlychev (Yaroslavl, Russia) and Smirnov each scored a goal in the third period, propelling Penn State to victory.
Chris Funkey (Orland Park, Ill.) was in goal for all but 10 seconds of play and recorded 18 saves.
Penn State welcomes its first conference game of the season against Michigan on Thursday, December 1 at home for a 6:30 p.m. puck drop.
