Penn State swept by Michigan State in home series
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The No. 20-ranked Penn State men’s hockey program was swept by the No.8-ranked Michigan State Spartans after a 7-3 loss Saturday Night.
The Nittany Lions move to 10-9-3 on the season and 2-7-3 in Big Ten play.
Adjustments from Game 1
After a 5-0 shutout loss in the series opener, the Nittany Lions had a lot to work on in the brief turnaround before the series finale Saturday night. Crowding the net was one of them, as distracting Spartan goalie Trey Augustine seemed to be the only way to get pucks past the freshman.
Penn State did just that on an early power play chance when Aiden Fink sent a rocket to the back of the net while Augustine was distracted by two other Nittany Lions out in front.
Jacques Bouquot scored after he redirected a Dylan Gratton shot from the blue line. He was in front of the net along with Danny Dzhaniyev on the score. Christian Berger scored the third and final goal for Penn State after he caught Augustine on the wrong side of the net.
Though Penn State was able to get three pucks past the star netminder, it was not nearly enough for the Nittany Lions to get the win.
The 5-0 Run
After the first Penn State score, the Nittany Lions seemed to be matching the intensity, if not beating the intensity of the Spartans.
That would last just about five minutes, as a between-the-legs score from Karsen Dorwart killed all the Nittany Lion momentum, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.
Dorwart scored the first of a 5-0 run for the Spartans that stretched just over 20 minutes before the next Nittany Lion score.
Though it is hard to say a game is over with just under 30 minutes to play, that run sucked the life out of the Nittany Lions, and it seemed nearly impossible for them to claw their way back into the game.
Takeaways
The Nittany Lions have had power play struggles all season, with spurts of scoring every once in a while.
It seemed as if the Nittany Lions were ready for the man advantage after Fink’s opening power- play goal, but was all they’d get on the power play. Penn State went 0-4 on their next four
attempts, including a crucial 5-on-3 attempt down just two scores. Penn State would only get two shots off during that span.
Penn State struggled to get the puck out of the defensive zone Saturday night, allowing the Spartans many bonus opportunities on the attack. Though the Spartans did not convert on any of those chances, it is never good when you allow extra opportunities to a team.
Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky said postgame that Michigan State was one of if not the best forechecking team they have played. Though Penn State was able to get 30 shots on goal Saturday night, the Spartans were able to contain the Nittany Lions in the offensive zone, not allowing many good chances.
Penn State is heading into its “easiest” stretch of the remaining season. The Nittany Lions will travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame, who they took to a shootout in both games earlier in the season, then host Ohio State the following weekend. Playing the other two teams in the bottom three of the Big Ten, Penn State will need to build some momentum before seeing Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin again later in the season.
What’s next for Penn State
The Nittany Lions will travel to South Bend, Indiana, to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
