The Penn State men’s hockey team improved its record to 4-2 this past weekend, going on the road and shutting out Army 5-0 on Friday before beating Sacred Heart 6-3 on Saturday in Connecticut.
Penn State moved two games over .500 with a solid weekend on the road.
Sophomore goaltender PJ Musico recorded Penn State’s first shutout in its short NCAA history, stopping 34 shots to earn what was his third win of the season. Head coach Guy Gadowsky was pleased with the team’s performance throughout the game.
“I liked the fact that we ended strong. Our best period was the third period,” said the second-year head coach. “Sometimes it's easy to take your foot off the gas, but we had our most shots, won the most faceoffs in the third. We peppered them very well. I thought the guys played well, first shutout ... it was a pretty good night.”
Freshmen forwards Casey Bailey, David Glen and Jonathan Milley all scored for the Nittany Lions, and the trio are now tied for the team-lead in goals at three.
The Lions traveled from West Point to Milford, Conn., to take on Sacred Heart on Saturday evening. The Pioneers were the fifth opponent from the Atlantic Hockey Association Penn State has played through six games.
Going down a goal early in the first, Penn State scored three straight and never looked back, outshooting Sacred Heart 31-19 en route to its fourth victory of the campaign. The Nittany Lions had goals from six different players on the night, a testament to the team’s depth and ability to spread out the scoring.
“It's something that we strive for. It is important for how we play. We try to be a high tempo, up-paced team,” explained Gadowsky after the game. “You can’t rely on one or two lines to do that. When you see us getting contributions from all lines, and the D as well, it’s fun, and that’s what we saw tonight.”
Musico got the start on Saturday as well - the California native had split the first two weekends with freshman Matt Skoff - improving his record to 4-0 on the year. Junior forward Michael McDonagh collected three assists while defensemen Nate Jensen and Mark Yanis each added a goal and assist.
Penn State was scheduled to play a couple of NCAA Division III opponents this week, but Hurricane Sandy has changed those plans. The Lions were supposed to travel to Fredonia State on Tuesday evening, but that game has now been postponed until Dec. 11. Penn State is still scheduled to host Buffalo State on Saturday.
- Andrew Dzurita
- Contributor - Lions247