Penn State skates to 3-2 win over Alaska Fairbanks

The No. 7-ranked Penn State men’s hockey program escaped a late push from Alaska Fairbanks for a 3-2 win Tuesday night at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions move to 12-3 on the season with their non-conference win. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

It was all Nittany Lions in the first period. They started slow and sluggishly, as they had the past few games. 

A Tyler Paquette goal, assisted by Tyler Gratton and Chase McLane, got the scoring started for the Nittany Lions with 12:51 left to play in the first. The intensity picked up for Penn State afterward. Skating faster, dominating time of possession and putting up many quality shots, the Nittany Lions built on their lead. 

With 9:55 left to play in the first period, Ryan Kirwan notched his first goal in over a month, with the assist from Xander Lampa and Christian Sarlo, helping to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. 

The Nittany Lions kept their intensity up in the second period. Continuing to put up good shots, and dominate the puck, Penn State showed its penalty kill unit for the first time in this contest after an Ashton Calder interference penalty with 12:55 to play in the period. 

It did not stop the Nittany Lions. Even shorthanded, they continued to hold on to the puck and take shots. Ture Linden came close to a shorthanded goal but didn’t have the juice to outskate the Nanook defense. 

The Nittany Lions did not miss their second chance. With 11:09 left in the period, and 15 seconds left on the penalty kill, Sarlo beat the Nanook defense to the net and scored an unassisted, shorthanded goal. It gave the Nittany Lions a 3-0 lead. 

The Nanooks eventually got on the board in the second period with a goal from their captain, Harrison Israels, with 5:54 to play. With it, the Nanooks showed that they could keep up with the Nittany Lions late in the period. Still, holding onto a two-goal advantage going into the third period, the Nittany Lions began to look tired. Getting sloppy on both ends of the ice, they held their advantage on shots taken, though.

Payton Matsui scored the second Nanook goal of the night with 13:37 to play as the Nanooks fought their way back 

Penn State’s defense turned it around, however, as it held strong throughout the remainder of the game. Goaltender Liam Souliere held his own in the third period, only allowing one goal. 

TAKEAWAYS

After Saturday’s loss to Michigan State, coach Guy Gadowsky had told the media that the scratch of Ryan Kirwan was to help give him a mental reset, as he had been struggling. The move paid off Tuesday as Kirwan scored his fifth goal of the year and his first since October 20th. 

In the last few games, Liam Souliere’s spectacular performances diminished somewhat. Having a phenomenal year, he gave up three goals in both games in the Michigan State series. And, though a two-goals-allowed performance is not one to forget, against a 5-5 non-conference opponent, it is more than expected. He’ll look to bounce back in his next game. 

Penn State’s powerplay unit continued to struggle, going 0-4 on its four powerplay attempts. The specialty has been a struggle for the team all season, which looked to have been turned around during the Michigan State series. But, from Tuesday’s takeaways, there is still much more improvement needed to be made. 

Overall, the bounce-back game was completed after a tough loss Saturday night and the team looked to be back and firing again. The offense proved more aggressive and the forecheck was fantastic. The defense played very well for most of the game. 

Ultimately, it was a performance the team needed after a tough series split with the Spartans. 

WHAT IS NEXT FOR PENN STATE

The Nittany Lions conclude their series with the Nanooks on Wednesday at 5:00 pm at Pegula Ice Arena.