Penn State Hockey Holds On For A 6-3 Win Over Princeton

Penn State (11-2-3) held on for the win versus a very determined Princeton Tiger squad. The final score is not indicative of the competitiveness seen on the ice tonight. Tommy Olczyk scored three goals for the hat trick after playing four years of hockey at Penn State without a multiple point game.

For the second time in three games the Lions got off to a great start, taking a four-goal lead into the third period, only to relax and allow late goals. Princeton scored three goals in the first seven minutes of the third period to cut the lead from four goals to one. The Lions settled down and once again took control, scoring two late empty-net goals.

The eleventh win for the Lions comes more than a month earlier in the season than last year. This was the 50th win for the program since joining division one. The team has a two week layoff before resuming play in Pittsburgh at the Three Rivers Classic.

First Period

The first period started with each team playing crisp, fast hockey. For the first four minutes the teams skated evenly with each having a couple of decent chances to score. Tommy Olczyk got the scoring started for Penn State when he redirected an Erik Autio shot from the blue line. Ricky DeRosa and Autio were credited with an assist on the play. Autio shot the puck toward the net and Princeton goalie Colton Phinney was screened by multiple players, having no chance to make the save as he couldn't see the puck.

One minute later Penn State went on the power play. It only took thirty seconds for the Lions to make the extra skater pay off when Olczyk skated in with the puck and finished a shot over Phinney's left shoulder for his second goal of the game. Vince Pedrie and Dylan Richard were credited with an assist on the goal. The goal gave the red-shirt senior Olczyk the first multiple point game of his career, having previously scored one point in a game thirty times.

The Lions took a penalty when Andrew Sturtz was called for goalie interference but Princeton was unable to score on the power play. Following the penalty kill, Penn State resumed its advantage, holding the puck in its offensive end for a majority of the next ten minutes. With five minutes remaining in the period Princeton went on the power play again when PSU forward Alec Marsh was called for tripping. The Lions were able to kill the penalty again without facing a serious scoring threat.

The period ended with Penn State in the lead 2-0, holding a shot advantage of 15-7.

Second Period

The period began with PSU holding the advantage in puck control. Kenny Brooks had a chance to score in the early going on a nifty backhand shot but Phinney turned it away.

Five minutes into the period Ryan Siiro had several chances to score for the Tigers but Matt Skoff held him off the board. Siro had a shot from the point that Skoff made a tremendous kick save on and Princeton was able to collect the rebound and pepper Skoff with three additional shots before PSU could clear the puck. On the following shift the Tigers continued to turn up the heat, having a couple great shots on goal, but were unable to find the back of the net.

The Princeton flurry of shot opportunities coincided with Penn State losing two players to injury. Andrew Sturtz and Dylan Richard went to the locker room and PSU was forced to skate with only ten forwards. Each player would return to the ice, but Sturtz seemed a little stiff for the remainder of the game.

Penn State went on the power play halfway through the period and power forward Zach Saar hit the post moments into the man advantage. A minute later Chase Berger scored his tenth goal of the season, third on the power play, when he stuffed a close shot through the legs of Phinney.

With five minutes left in the period Kenny Brooks was given a game misconduct and five minute penalty. The hobbled Andrew Sturtz sat in the penalty box for Brooks, buying him five more minutes to recover from his ailment. The Tigers had a couple of chances to score early in the penalty but were unable.

With 51 seconds left in the period, David Glen scored a huge short-handed goal. On the play Glen and Ricky DeRosa managed a 2 on 1 break. Glen used the threat of passing to DeRosa to gain a point-blank shot and he snapped a wrist shot into the net past Phinney. The Lions were able to kill off the five-minute penalty without giving up a goal.

END 2ND: #PennState 4, Princeton 0. #NittanyLions kill off the major and get a goal out of it, too. #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/vhcwnWESiv

— Penn State Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) December 12, 2015

Third Period

Eight seconds into the period the Lions went on the power play when David Hallisey was called for cross-checking. Mike Williamson hit the post on a ferocious shot from the blue line for Penn State. The Tigers were able to kill the penalty.

Soon after the penalty kill Princeton scored when Matt Skoff was unable to squeeze a puck that was initially trapped under his legs. The puck drifted into the net for an unassisted goal by Erik Robinson.

Two minutes later the Tigers scored again on a shot that hit Skoff in the palm of his glove and popped out, continuing toward the back of the net. Ryan Siiro scored the goal and Quin Pompi got the assist.

Just a minute later Erik Robinson scored for the second time in the period to cut the lead to one goal, 4-3. David Hallisey and Ben Foster assisted on the goal. Following the third goal in five minutes, Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky called timeout to rally his players. The tactic worked as Gadowsky's team settled down and took control of the game for the next ten minutes of play.

The teams played hard with each having chances to score. With one minute left in the game, and Princeton goalie Colton Phinney on the bench in exchange for an extra skater, Tommy Olczyk scored an empty-net goal for a hat trick. On the play Kevin Kerr cleared the puck out of the Penn State zone and it landed next to Olczyk as he entered the Princeton zone. Unable to corral the puck until he was nearly behind the net, Olczyk put the tough-angle shot into twine.

Twenty seconds later, after a Princeton timeout, Curtis Loik scored another empty net goal, unassisted, to take the lead out to 6-3.

Notes

• The Lions have a break in the schedule until Dec 28 when it takes on Robert Morris in the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh as part of the Three Rivers Classic.
• Tommy Olczyk scored a goal in three different scenarios for the first time in program history. He scored an even-manned goal, a power play goal, and an empty netter.
• Penn State scored two empty net goals for the first time in division one program history.
• PSU is currently ranked No. 16 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 10 in the PairWise rankings.
• Check out the highlights of the game.

HIGHLIGHTS: #PennState Closes Fall Semester with a 6-3 Win over Princeton. https://t.co/Qcb7Dh1dCb #WeAre #HockeyValley

— Penn State Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) December 12, 2015