Penn State Hockey Scores Five Unanswered In Exhibition vs. Windsor

Story posted October 5, 2015 in CommRadio, Sports by Ryan Berti

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Pegula Ice Arena showcased an international exhibition boutSunday in which the Penn State took down the Windsor Lancers of Canada 5-2.

In the first game since March earlier this year, the Nittany Lions found themselves with an early power play opportunity in the game's second minute due to an interference call on Windsor. They failed to capitalize on their advantage, but got another chance when the Lancer’s Kyle Hope tied up skates with freshman Vince Pedrie and got two minutes for boarding.

Being down a man proved to be no challenge for the Lancers however, for they scored a shorthanded goal less than a minute into the power play. Dylan Denomme weaved through defenders and sent one over the shoulder of Matthew Skoff to give Windsor the early lead.

The two teams continuously displayed a chippy mentality, constantly nudging one another when in close quarters. Several times in the first period the refs were needed to separate players during situations.

The Nittany Lions looked to answer back in the second by firing off several shots but to no avail, including one from Chase Berger which ricocheted off of the bar and another from Matt Mendelson that went wide of the net despite the fact the goalie’s back was turned.

Windsor padded onto their lead after a shot trickled by Skoff and into the net. The defense lackadaisically let the Lancer attack squeeze by and get a cheap goal.

Down two goals, the Lions attempted to make a comeback. They killed two consecutive Windsor power plays in the second and then got their first goal from a Curtis Loik breakway as he split two defenders and backhanded the puck into the upper right corner of the net.

Penn State continued to pile on shots, peppering the Windsor defenders with 22 shots in the second and getting their final shot to find the net. With eight seconds remaining, Pedrie sent a slap shot towards the goal and David Goodwin was able to poke it in, tying it all up at two.

"He's someone we'll have to rely on," reigning Big Ten coach of the year Guy Gadowsky said on Goodwin’s impact on the team. Goodwin finished the game with a goal and an assist.

The competitiveness as the night went on only elevated the sense of dislike between the two squads. As the second period ended, the refs were once again forced to split feuding players up and send the teams to their locker rooms

Penn State started slow heading into the third, where it took them nearly four minutes to make their first shot of the period. It did not take long to take the lead after that, for their third shot got past Michael Doan for a goal.

Lancer players started to look more interested in beating up Penn State physically rather than beating them on the scoreboard. They appeared more aggressive in their scuffles and lost men to the sin bin thanks to cross-checking and roughing during the period.

Behind captain David Glen, the Lions looked past it and continued to play, with Glen scoring on a redirect and Tommy Olczyk putting in an empty netter, easily putting the game away for Penn State.

The team picked up right where they had left off, for after finishing last season with the most shots in the nation, they piled on a total of 57 in the game against Windsor.

Reigning B1G coach of the year Guy Gadowski was pleased with the result, but found room for improvement. He recognized the need to improve their off check and their power play, but thought the offense played well as the game progressed.

The regular season will start next Saturday for the Nittany Lions on the road at Canisius. Their home opener will be a two-game series against Notre Dame on October 16 and 17.

Ryan Berti is a sophomore majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email ryanpberti@gmail.com or follow him on twitter: @RBirdman7