JJ Wiebusch deflected home a shot by Gavin McKenna in the final minute of regulation to lift No. 5 Penn State to a 3-2 win over Stonehill on Friday night. Penn State once again struggled with a less talented team on home ice, potentially a bad sign of things to come in Big Ten play, but a win is a win.
First Period
After another sluggish start, Charlie Cerrato drew a penalty midway through the period. The Nittany Lions did not score on the power play, but it seemed to wake up the offense a bit. Shortly after the power play expired,
Matt DiMarsico wristed home a beautiful shot from the slot to give Penn State a 1-0 lead:
Penn State got one more power play later in the period but again could not convert. The Nittany Lions’ defense settled down after a rough start, and Penn State took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Second Period
Early in the second, Gavin McKenna’s backhand shot was stopped by Connor Androlewicz, and the rebound bounced into the slot to a wide open Luke Misa. Misa nearly scored his first goal of the season with the net yawning, but his backhand shot hit the post. The Nittany Lions continued to apply pressure early in the second period but could not score.
The Skyhawks pushed back a bit, and after the puck took an odd bounce off the boards, Joel Lehtinen fired home the puck with Josh Fleming hopelessly out of position. Stonehill tied the game at 1 six minutes into the second, and less than a minute later, Evan Orr gave the Skyhawks their first lead of the night after he converted on a rebound chance after a point shot bounced perfectly off of Fleming.
The visitors continued to outwork Penn State at both ends of the ice, and after another failed power play, Stonehill took a 2-1 lead into the final frame.
Third Period
With the tension in the building palpable, Gavin McKenna scored his first goal at home. Jackson Smith pushed the puck from the point to JJ Wiebusch at the goal line, and Wiebusch fed a pass through traffic to McKenna, who buried the puck into the net to tie the game at 2:
After playing a relatively clean first two periods, Penn State took two penalties late in the third period. Fortunately, the penalty kill held strong, but the momentum built by McKenna’s goal was gone. Stonehill’s Cole Melady took a two-minute roughing penalty for hitting Lev Katzin in the face with just over a minute left in regulation, giving the struggling power play a chance to score the winner in regulation.
In the dying seconds of regulation, Gavin McKenna shot the puck toward the net, and JJ Wiebusch was there to deflect the puck home:
The Nittany Lions fended off a last-gasp effort by Stonehill in the final seconds to hold on for a 3-2 win.
Scoring Summary
First Period
- PSU: Matt DiMarsico (7)- Reese Laubach (4), Nolan Collins (1)- 5v5- 13:07
Second Period
- SC: Joel Lehtinen (1)- Charles Banquier (3), Joseph Grainda (1)- 5v5- 6:03
- SC: Evan Orr (2)- Cole Melady (1), Frank Ireland (2)- 5v5- 6:27
Third Period
- PSU: Gavin McKenna (2)- JJ Wiebusch (6), Jackson Smith (4)- 5v5- 8:11
- PSU: JJ Wiebusch (8)- Gavin McKenna (6), Mac Gadowsky (3)- PP- 19:38
Shots By Period
- SC: 6-16-10-32
- PSU: 13-15-8-36
Takeaways
- Another Slog- Penn State was outworked for much of this game, and Stonehill caught a couple of breaks to get a lead against a talented Nittany Lions roster. Not what you want to see with Ohio State ahead.
- Power Play- The final power play of the night produced the game-winner, but the previous five man advantage chances were anemic, to say the least. A team with this much firepower on offense will have to find a way to make teams pay for their mistakes in Big Ten play.
- Faceoffs- Penn State won 68% of the faceoffs in the game, a welcome change from the early-season struggles in the faceoff circle.
- Discipline- After the first six games of the season were littered with penalties, the Nittany Lions stayed disciplined for most of this game. Stonehill had only two power play chances. It was not perfect, but it is moving in the right direction.
What’s Next
The two teams will meet again at Pegula Ice Arena tomorrow night. Puck drop is scheduled for 6pm on Big Ten Plus.
