Multi-Goal Collapse Leads to First Series Loss of the Season
Deja vu was the theme in East Lansing, as No. 5 Penn State saw a multi-goal lead vanish as they couldn’t gain the extra point in a shootout loss to No. 17 Michigan State.
The Nittany Lions were flat-footed early on, giving up several odd-man rushes and prime scoring opportunities for the Spartans, yet Liam Souliere was up to the task.
The junior goaltender finished the night with 35 saves and his first period performance helped the blue and white gain the early advantage.
Penn State opened the scoring for the second straight night as Kevin Wall snuck one past Dylan St. Cyr for the early lead.
The blue and white saw their lead vanish early in the second period when Miroslav Mucha jammed in a loose puck on the man advantage.
The tie didn’t last for very long, as the Nittany Lions scored two quick goals, one on the man advantage and one on the rush.
Tyler Paquette cashed in on a rebound from a shot by Carter Schade to give Penn State the 2-1 lead, then Simon Mack scored on a two-on-one rush mere minutes later to double the lead.
Yet similar to game one, the Nittany Lions struggled to hold onto their multi-goal lead.
Jagger Joshua potted the second power play goal of the night for the Spartans with around five minutes left in the second period, then tied the game in the final minute of the middle frame.
Penn State quickly regained their lead early in the third period thanks to an Ashton Calder pass to Danny Dzhaniyev, but Joshua completed the hat trick just 11 seconds later.
Similar to night one yet again, the blue and white were given multiple opportunities to take the game into their own hands on the man advantage.
Instead of finding a way to dig deep and come away late in the third, the Nittany Lions couldn’t convert and went 1-for-5 on the power play while their counterparts went 2-for-4, leading to another night where Penn State lost the special teams battle.
The inability to score late in the third and overtime on special teams would be Penn State’s downfall, as Michigan State would score on all three shootout attempts to gain the extra point in the Big Ten standings.
The blue and white finished the weekend 3-for-13 on the power play and their first series loss of the year, leaving the squad with more questions than answers going into the second half of the season.
The Nittany Lions will have a chance to get back in the win column against Notre Dame at Pegula Ice Arena next weekend in yet another pivotal conference series.
Joshua Bartosik is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jsb6137@psu.edu.
