Scoring Summary

Shots On Goal

Penalty Summary

Guy Gadowsky’s team made a statement with its first road win of the season. Coming off a satisfying series split with No. 15 St. Lawrence last week and facing a tough non-conference road series with No. 5 Notre Dame next week, Penn State made quick work of the Lakers.

Freshman goalie Peyton Jones collected the first shutout of his career. While the game’s outcome was settled early, Jones was forced to make several challenging saves toward the end of the game as the Lakers tried their best to get on the scoreboard.

Nikita Pavlychev got the action started with a breakaway short-handed goal early in the first period. It was the first collegiate goal for the freshman center, a Pittsburgh Penguins 2015 draft pick. Later in the opening period Chase Berger added a second goal to give the Lions a little breathing room.

Nate Sucese added two goals in the second period to extend the Penn State lead to 4-0. There was a brief moment where the Mercyhurst players lost their collective composure following the fourth Penn State goal. Two Laker players were handed 10 minute penalties, one a game-misconduct. Tempers settled down shortly after and the teams played a mostly uninspired third period as the Lions seemed content to sit on the lead and Mercyhurst had very little fight left in them.

Denis Smirnov added a goal in the third period off a screaming blast from the high slot that left Mercyhurst goalie Brandon Wildung little chance to respond. It was Smirnov’s first collegiate goal. Trevor Hamilton scored the sixth goal of the night a couple minutes later for his first goal with the Lions. Andrew Sturtz made it 7-0 when he took a pass from Chase Berger and skated it into the Mercyhurst zone, using the backhand to add an exclamation point on the Penn State victory.

Game Summary

Vince Pedrie was called for a penalty in the early-going but it ultimately led to a Penn State advantage.

Nikita Pavlychev scored his first collegiate goal when he took a loose puck at half-ice and brought it all the way to the goal for the finish. On the play, the 6’7 freshman center used his long reach to skate down the ice with the puck extended far from the reach of the trailing Mercyhurst defender that was attempting to poke-check the puck away. It was one of the first plays that Pavlychev’s immense size and skill resulted in a Penn State goal. While unable to knock the puck away from Pavlychev, Kane Elliot of Mercyhurst panicked and committed a penalty trying to slow him down. After the short-handed goal the penalty was issued and the teams skated 4 on 4.

Shortly after the penalties expired, Pedrie, the most reliable two-way defenseman for Penn State, took a second penalty. It was his fourth penalty through three games, a point that will certainly be brought to his attention this week in practice.

Chase Berger took a great pass from David Goodwin to extend the lead to 2-0 with seven minutes left in the first period. It was Berger’s first goal of the season after scoring a surprising 13 goals as a freshman last season. Goodwin collected his 59th career assist, a Penn State program record. Kevin Kerr was credited with an assist on the play as well.

Nate Sucese scored on a breakaway early in the second period, just 1:09 in, and the Lions had a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Five minutes into the second period Penn State freshman goalie made a great save when Mercyhurst gained a breakaway while short-handed. It was a heat-check for the goalie in his third collegiate game and he was up to the challenge. After seeing only 4 shots in the previous 25 minutes, Jones stonewalled a great shot by Jeremy Wu to preserve the shutout.

With seven minutes left in the period and Penn State continuing to dominate the action, Nate Sucese scored for the second time, on an assist from Goodwin, to bring the lead to 4 goals.

Mercyhurst fell apart at this point. The team lost control of its emotions and as a result it took penalties out of frustration. Nathan Ferriero was escorted to the locker room when he was given a game misconduct for contact to the head against Penn State freshman Denis Smirnov. Patrick Piacentini took a needless tripping penalty shortly after and was handed a game misconduct as well. The referees took control of the game at that point and the emotions settled, though the game was all but settled on the ice.

Denis Smirnov, Trevor Hamilton, and Andrew Sturtz added goals late in the game for the Lions.

Stars of the Game

First Star- Peyton Jones, Penn State. 20 saves and a shutout.

Second Star- Chase Berger, Penn State. One goal, two assists.

Third Star- Nate Sucese, Penn State. Two goals.

Here’s the video of each Penn State goal: