SB Nation • 14 min read

Penn State 5, Clarkson 2: That’s More Like It

First Period

Josh Fleming got the start for Penn State, and it started horribly. Clarkson scored 21 seconds in as Luka Sukovic rushed in and redirected home a great pass from Erik Bargholtz for the first goal of the night.

The Nittany Lions gave up a goal in the first minute of the game for the second straight game. The Golden Knights seized control of the game early, but a key save by Josh Fleming on Adrian Misaljevic kept the score 1-0.

Penn State continued to play right into Clarkson’s trap, and although the Golden Knights took a penalty, they killed Penn State’s power play with relative ease. The low-event game Clarkson wanted to play was unfolding in the first 20 minutes.

In the final minute of the period, Clarkson’s Tate Taylor ripped a tough angle shot that hit the pipe and went in to give the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission. Clarkson outshot Penn State 9-6 in the period.

Second Period

After Clarkson took a slashing penalty early in the period, Charlie Cerrato made a perfect backhanded cross-ice pass to JJ Wiebusch, who buried the puck for his fifth goal of the series to cut the deficit to 2-1:

Immediately after the penalty, Ben Schoen took an unacceptable cross-checking penalty that resulted in a five-minute major penalty. Clarkson had a golden chance to take the momentum back with a five-minute power play. The Golden Knights hit one post, and Josh Fleming made three strong saves to keep the man advantage at bay. The Nittany Lions created three shorthanded chances, including one after Aiden Fink forced a turnover in the offensive zone, but the score remained 2-1, and Penn State yet again killed the penalty.

Right after Ben Schoen exited the penalty box, he gathered the puck loose in the neutral zone and rushed into the zone 2-on-1. Schoen buried the wrist shot in transition to tie the game at 2:

Carter Schade took a roughing penalty after Schoen scored the tying goal, and the Nittany Lions immediately went back on the penalty kill. After some dangerous chances on the previous penalty kill, Reese Laubach and Dane Dowiak forced a turnover in the defensive zone and started the counterattack. Laubach fed the puck into the crease for Dowiak, and the Great Dane scored his third career shorthanded goal to give Penn State the lead for the first time:

Penn State started to find its footing at 5-on-5 and created some quality chances, including one in the high slot from Luke Misa that hit the post. After Charlie Cerrato got taken down to the ice by Talon Sigurdson, the Nittany Lions went on the power play. The Golden Knights’ high-pressure penalty kill frustrated Penn State, and a Gavin McKenna turnover nearly yielded a shorthanded goal. The Lions could not find any offense on the man advantage. Clarkson got a glorious chance in the dying seconds when Mac Gadowsky blew a tire in the defensive zone, but the shot went wide of the net. Penn State led 3-2 after two periods.

Third Period

Clarkson took a hooking penalty six minutes into the third period to put the Lions on the man advantage. An utterly horrendous power play from Penn State nearly resulted in a shorthanded goal allowed. Unforced errors by the Lions, including Jackson Smith fumbling the puck at the blue line, resulted in no offensive pressure on the power play.

The Nittany Lions struggled to counter Clarkson’s neutral zone trap and forecheck. Charlie Cerrato finally found an answer midway through the third. Jarod Crespo started the breakout up the ice, and JJ Wiebusch pushed the puck ahead to Cerrato, who moved into the offensive zone with ease. Cerrato deked through Tate Taylor and fired home a critical goal to give Penn State a 4-2 lead:

After a Penn State penalty kill, the first line sustained pressure in the offensive zone. Gavin McKenna launched a shot wide, but Jarod Crespo sent the puck behind the net to an unguarded Aiden Fink.

Fink wrapped the puck around in front to an open Ben Schoen, who scored his second goal of the night to give the Lions a 5-2 lead:

Clarkson iced the puck with its net empty. After the ensuing defensive zone faceoff, Bryce Sookro was called for a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking Matt DiMarsico in the head. Penn State went on the power play for the remainder of regulation. A scrum broke out with 16 seconds left in regulation, with twelve players- six on each side- receiving a game misconduct. Penn State bounced back for a 5-2 win and a split with Clarkson.

Scoring Summary

First Period

CU: Luka Sukovic (1)- Erik Bargholtz (1)- 5v5- 0:21
CU: Tate Taylor (1)- Justin Cote (1)- 5v5- 19:47

Second Period

PSU: JJ Wiebusch (5)- Charlie Cerrato (8), Jackson Smith (2)- PP- 3:07
PSU: Ben Schoen (1)- Unassisted- 5v5- 8:39
PSU: Dane Dowiak (2)- Reese Laubach (2), Nick Fascia (2)- 5v5- 9:49

Third Period

PSU: Charlie Cerrato (3)- JJ Wiebusch (4), Jarod Crespo (1)- 5v5- 10:38
PSU: Ben Schoen (2)- Aiden Fink (5), Jarod Crespo (2)- 5v5- 14:29

Shots By Period

CU: 9-8-6-23
PSU: 6-17-8-31

Takeaways

Sloppy Play- The score looks nice, but Penn State was sloppy for long stretches of this game. Bad penalties, turnovers at the blue line, passes not connecting- it was rough to watch for a bit. Credit to the team, they overcame all of their mistakes to get the W.
Charlie Cerrato- The Carolina Hurricanes drafted Cerrato in the second round of this year’s NHL Draft after most outlets had him going no earlier than the fourth. He is looking to be the steal of the draft so far, with 11 points in the team’s first four games.
Line Shuffling- Guy Gadowsky shuffled the forward lines for most of the weekend, including replacing Reese Laubach with Dane Dowiak on the top line. DiMarsico-Cerrato-Wiebusch is set in stone at this point, but the other three lines are trying different combinations to find a spark. It worked out well tonight, with Ben Schoen and Dane Dowiak combining for three goals.
Faceoffs– Penn State was buried in the faceoff circle against Arizona State, winning just 41% of its draws. The Nittany Lions won 55% of the faceoffs in the two games against Clarkson. Keaton Peters is greatly missed on the fourth line, but Penn State can certainly improve. More consistency in the faceoff circle will allow them to sustain offensive zone pressure and clear the defensive zone more easily.
Adjustments- For the most part, Penn State had to play this game Clarkson’s way and still came away with the win. Credit to the team for finding a way through a good Golden Knights squad.