Saints Puzzle The Nittany Lions In Home Series.

Story posted November 1, 2015 in CommRadio, Sports by Trey Cochran

Penn State played host to No. 16 Saint Lawrence in a two game series at Pegula Ice Arena, as the Nittany Lions earned a tie in the opening game and dropped the series finale 4-2. Entering the matchup, the Nittany Lions were 0-7 versus Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) opponents.

As game one got underway, Penn State’s Alec Marsh looked to score on a wraparound shot that was immediately waved off by the goal line judge as play continued. Nearly a minute later, Kevin Kerr fluttered a puck on net, which tipped off the glove of goalie Arthur Brey and into the back of the net.

As the Nittany Lions celebrated what would have been the freshman’s first collegiate goal, the referees went to the scorekeepers box to review Marsh’s attempt on net. Once the official saw a replay, it was clear that Marsh had scored, which resulted in a retraction of Kerr’s goal and a change in the clock to the time when the first goal was scored.

Minutes later, the Saints knotted the game at one as captain Brian Ward wristed a shot past Penn State goalie Matthew Skoff following a faceoff win.

The Nittany Lions continued to pepper Brey, who making his first collegiate start, but the freshman goalie stood strong, making 19 saves.

On a power play with just four minutes left in the second period, the Saints took a 2-1 lead when Mike Marnell stuffed in a goal after he was rejected trying to make a cross crease pass.

Midway through the final period, Vince Pedrie claimed his first goal as a Nittany Lion on an odd man rush as he converted a tape-to-tape pass from David Goodwin.

“I finally got the monkey off my back,” defenseman Pedrie said. “After shooting the puck that much, it was nice to see one finally go in.”

Penn State kept up the pressure they had been applying all game, but were snake bitten on all of their opportunities on net as the game progressed. As the third period came to an end tied at two, the teams headed to overtime to decide a winner. Despite two power plays and hitting a post in the 5-on-5 overtime, the Nittany Lions were held off the score sheet as the game came to an end tied at 2-2.

“We had 17 shots on the power play,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “It’s not because we weren’t getting opportunities, but again the hockey gods tend to bring you back to reality at some point.”

The game counted as a tie for both teams, but an exhibition shootout took place to decide a winner. Saint Lawrence scored on their second attempt as Christian Horn ripped a puck past Skoff, which was all it took as Penn State was shut down by Brey.

Although the Saints secured a tie and an exhibition shootout win, head coach Greg Carvel wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance.

“Yeah we escaped for sure I thought the first 30 minutes was a lopsided game, thought the second half was pretty even,” Carvel said.

Halfway into the first period of game two, following a penalty by Kenny Brooks, St. Lawrence took the ice for their first power play of the night. Seconds into the man advantage, Alex Hagen scored on a deflection off of a shot from a defensive teammate.

Just over halfway through the second period, the Saints jumped to a 2-0 lead as Sean McGovern scored on a shorthanded breakaway. Minutes later, the Nittany Lions cut it to a one goal deficit as Kenny Brooks snuck a puck past goalie Kyle Hayton. With just four minutes remaining in the second, Penn State made it a 2-2 game when David Goodwin’s shot was redirected to a wide-open Luke Juha, who dumped it into the empty net.

The third period was littered with penalties and opportunities for both teams, but the Saints were the only ones to find the back of the net as they scored two goals in the final period to clinch a 4-2 victory. 

“Eamon McAdam was fantastic,” Gadowsky said. “I don’t think the shots in the game or the score was a good indication of the “Grade A” opportunities they had on net.”

Trey Cochran is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mjc5789@psu.edu.