Penn State Hockey Falls to St. Lawrence 4-2

First Period

The crowd showed up early and was ready to cheer on the team from the start. Just two minutes into the game PSU went on the power play when Woody Hudson was called for interference. The team was unable to capitalize on the man advantage but was able to control the puck for nearly the entire two minutes.

Once the penalty was over the teams skated cautiously but evenly for the next several minutes. St. Lawrence held the advantage in shots on goal 5-3 nine minutes into the game and it appeared that it made the decision to challenge the Lions in the neutral zone more so than it had in Friday's game.

By the time the period had seven minutes remaining, PSU flipped the shot advantage in its favor 10-8. A minute later Mike Marnell of SLU took advantage of a sloppy PSU line change and skated the puck in on Eamon McAdam, but was stonewalled by the imposing goalie.

With just over two minutes left Kenny Brooks was called for a two-minute penalty on what appeared to be a clean hit. SLU went on the power play. Thirty seconds later the Saints made the extra man pay off when Alex Hagen scored a goal assisted by Eric Sweetman and Drew Smolcynski.

The period ended with the Lions trailing 1-0. The fans were dressed in Halloween costumes but were waiting for something to celebrate.

The Pope and a unicorn...not something you see everyday. Happy Halloween Hockey Valley! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/UXYfKD7exK

— Penn State Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 30, 2015

Second Period

The second period began with both teams skating evenly and the tempo was fast. Four minutes in Andrew Sturtz had a chance to take the puck in deep but was the victim of a hooking penalty and PSU went on the power play. The Lions were unable to tie it up. Seven minutes in the score remained 1-0 with SLU holding an advantage in shots 19-12.

With 11:12 remaining in the period the Lions went on the power play when Mike Graham was called for a two-minute holding penalty. Shortly into the penalty SLU had a two man breakaway but Eamon McAdam kicked the short-handed attempt aside to preserve the one-goal deficit. Although PSU had an extra skater, it was St. Lawrence that was on the offensive for much of the power play. Less than five seconds remained on the penalty when the Saints' aggression was converted into a short-handed goal. Sean McGovern took a loose puck and beat McAdam with a nifty move to make the game 2-0.

Shortly after, SLU was called for a boarding penalty. It didn't take long for PSU to make it hurt when Kenny Brooks scored a power play goal assisted by Chase Berger. The goal got the student section involved in the game once again and the atmosphere at the Peg was electric.

Five minutes later the Lions went on the power play once again and once again it was SLU that had the first scoring attempt. Eamon McAdam was able to use his blocker to turn the shot aside. PSU had several chance to score on the power play but came up short.

A minute later the Lions tied the game when Luke Juha scored a goal assisted by David Goodwin and Andrew Sturtz.

With a little over two minutes remaining in the period PSU was called for another penalty. The Saints challenged McAdam several times but were unable to convert.

The period ended with the teams tied at 2, just as the game on Friday night ended.

Third Period

Less than a minute in the Lions were called for a penalty and forced to skate 4 on 5. The Saints tested McAdam early and often but were unable to score. With 20 seconds left in the penalty SLU took a penalty of its own and the teams briefly skated 4 on 4. With ten seconds left in the St. Lawrence penalty the Lions were once again whistled for an infraction when David Glen was called for holding.

The Lions killed the penalty but before Glen could rejoin his teammates in the defensive zone SLU scored an even-strength goal to grab a 3-2 lead. Drew Smolcynski was credited with the goal.

A couple of minutes later Connor Varley had a chance when he and Curtis Loik managed a two on one breakaway off a stolen puck. Goalie Kyle Hayton of St. Lawrence came out of the net to cut off the angle and was able to stop the shot.

With ten minutes remaining PSU went on the power play and before the time started it managed to hold the puck long enough for McAdam to skate to the bench and an extra attacker to skate on. PSU got a couple of shots with the man advantage but was unable to score.

SLU killed the penalty and moments later scored on a breakaway goal by Mike Marnall assisted by Sean McGovern. The goal sapped the energy out of the crowd with seven minutes remaining in the game.

The Lions did not stop fighting and had a few very good looks at scoring. With 42 seconds left and a face-off in SLU's zone, the visiting team called timeout to discuss endgame strategy. Don't Stop Believing by Journey was played over the stadium speakers during the break and the crowd sang along. It wasn't enough to make a difference and the game ended 4-2 in favor of St. Lawrence.

Stars Of The Game

First Star- Sean McGovern, St. Lawrence, goal, assist.

Second Star- Drew Smolcynski, St. Lawrence, goal, assist.

Third Star- David Goodwin, Penn State, assist.