Penn State drops second to AIC at Pegula Ice Arena
UNIVERSITY PARK- Pa.- The AIC Yellow Jackets snapped the No. 12-ranked Penn State men’s hockey program’s 22-game non-conference winning streak. They handed the Nittany Lions their first loss of the season, 6-4, on Saturday night.
The Nittany Lions move to 4-1 for the 2023-24 season.
Souliere’s Struggles
Headed into the first intermission, the Yellow Jackets had already jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead. This came from scoring from Matt Rickard on the power play, followed by Julius Janhonen, and Austen Long.
The lone Nittany Lion goal of the first period came from Simon Mack. Senior goaltender Liam Souliere would allow his fourth and final goal of the game off the stick of Alexander Malinowski mid-way through the second period.
Following a Chase McLane goal to make it a 4-2 game, Josh Lundy snuck a puck past Souliere. He would eventually be pulled from the game.
Though the goal was called back, head coach Guy Gadowsky stuck with his decision and kept sophomore goalie Noah Grannan in the net for the remainder of the game.
Souliere’s night would end, allowing four goals on 10 shots.
“We needed a spark somehow. And often, that’s one way of doing it,” Gadowsky said, explaining his thought process on pulling Souliere.
“It’s like a mindset switch,” senior forward Xander Lamppa said on a mid-game goalie change. “A lot of the goals tonight were not on the goalie,” Lamppa added.
The Comeback
Gadowsky was looking for a spark, and he found one.
Not four minutes after pulling Souliere, Danny Dzhaniyev found the back of the net to bring the game one game closer for the Nittany Lions.
The score was 4-3 in favor of the Yellow Jackets for most of the third period. But, with 3:44 remaining in the game, freshman Reese Laubach tied the game up for the first time since the winding seconds of the first period.
It would not last long, however, as Casey McDonald netted the game-winner with 2:13 remaining in the game.
Brian Kramer would score on the empty net, bringing the game to the 6-4 final.
What’s Next for Penn State
The Nittany Lions will take on the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves Thursday at 7:00 p.m. They’ll meet at Pegula Ice Arena, in University Park, Pennsylvania.
