Penn State hockey drops 3-1 decision in Frozen Four semifinal

ST. LOUIS – The Cinderella run has come to an end. The Penn State men’s hockey program was eliminated from the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament after its 3-1 loss to the Boston University Terriers on Thursday night.

Nic DeGraves scored the lone goal for the Nittany Lions.

With that, Penn State’s’ remarkable season has come to an end in the national semifinal of the Frozen Four.

How it happened

After a scoreless first frame, the Terriers jumped out to a 2-0 lead through two periods. 

Jack Hughes got the scoring started for Boston after he cleaned up a loose puck in front of the net. Arsenii Sergeev made the initial save, but lost the puck out of his glove, and could not find it before the puck found twine. It was an ugly way to go down (or up in BU’s case) 1-0, but nonetheless, it was a goal. 

The Terries doubled their lead just over nine minutes after Cole Hutson found Cole Eiserman cross-net for a powerful one-timer just outside the crease. Sergeev can shoulder the blame for the first goal, but he could do nothing about the second Terrier tally. 

The Nittany Lion defense left their netminder out to dry on both goals. 

After keeping pace for the first 20 minutes, Penn State was simply dominated in the second. The Nittany Lions needed a quick score in the third, coupled with added physicality and intensity in the third period, if they wanted a chance to win the game. 

Just two minutes and 15 seconds into the third period, the Nittany Lions would get the first score they so desperately needed, courtesy of Nic Degraves. The freshman collected the loose puck out in front and put the Nittany Lions on the board with plenty of game left. Ben Schoen and Simon Mack earned assists on the goal.

The Nittany Lions would play a much better third period, but they were unable to find the game-tying score. Even with the extra attacker, the Nittany Lions’ effort would come to no avail.

Jack Harvey would hit the empty net with less than a minute to play, and that would ice the game for the Terriers. The game would end with a final score of 2-1. 

Penn State’s speed loses out to Terriers’ physicality

Boston University boasts a roster full of NHL talent, size, and physicality. Penn State’s speed rush attack had powered them to places the program had never been before, but it was no match for Boston University’s physicality. 

The Terriers used their size and power to beat the Nittany Lions in puck battles, along the boards, and, in some instances, to bully Penn State off the puck. While this remained true throughout the whole game, it was truly apparent in the second period.

Penn State was not able to generate many chances off the rush, which is where most of its offense this season had come from.

After the game, Terriers’ forward Jack Hughes said they put emphasis on making sure they were always infront of Penn State, not allowing that elusive rush to break free, and that is exactly what they did. 

The Terriers played a defense-first game, and made it hard for the Nittany Lions to rely on their bread and butter. 

Second period struggles

Despite not play its best hockey early on, Penn State at a very minimum kept pace with the Terriers in the first period. They were able to overcome a very sluggish start to put some sustained pressure on the Terriers, and show that Penn State belonged in the tournament.

In the third period, Penn State looked like the better team. With their backs against the wall, the Nittany Lions played some of their best hockey of the season, they were just unable to solve Mikhail Yegorov.

The Nittany Lions played 40 minutes of competitive hockey. Unfortunately for Penn State, 20 minutes of Terrier domination was sandwiched inbetween. PSU just looked lost at all three levels of the ice in the second period. They were dominated in the offensive zone, in the neutral zone, and were limited in their offensive zone. The Terriers had their way with Penn State in the second period, and unfortunately for the blue and white, that is all BU needed. 

Through it all, the Penn State men’s hockey program should hold its heads high. The Cinderella run led to an unforgettable season. The Nittany Lions will be back, sooner rather than later.

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