Icers Finish Regular Season Undefeated at Home with Win over Kent State

Story posted February 24, 2012 in CommRadio, Sports by June Dello Russo

The Penn State Icers trounced the Kent State Golden Flashes (16-21-1) by a score of 13-1 at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion Friday night. With the win in their last game of the regular season, the Icers finished 19-0 at home.

Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky made it clear that having an undefeated home record was never a focused goal for the team, but was certainly a pleasant surprise.

"We certainly didn't have this goal at all, to go undefeated here," Gadowsky said. "It's nothing that we talked about or set out to do, but it is really nice when you look back and accomplish that."

All but two Penn State forwards scored in the blowout win. The strong offensive effort appeared to give the Icers confidence going into the postseason.

“I think it’s good to give everyone a little more confidence right before nationals. Some guys have been struggling lately to put the pucks in the back of the net.” McDonagh said.
For Kent State, most of their opportunities came early in the game, but they failed to take advantage of them. The Icers killed a 5-on-3 power play during a very solid defensive effort.
That defensive play eventually led to a lot of scoring for Penn State, beginning with a Bryce Johnson goal in front of the net on a pass from Taylor Holstrom. George Saad would also score a glove side goal on a pass from Eric Steinour, and the Icers took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

The second period was an offensive show for Penn State that led Kent State to pull goaltender Zachary Nowak. Justin Kirchhevel started things off with a breakaway goal, going top shelf on Nowak. Johnson would tack on his second soon after, and then Tommy Olczyk ended Nowak's evening with his 22nd goal of the season, as Kent State replaced Nowak with Justin Wisniewski.
The goalie change did little to aid the Golden Flashes' defensive problems, as they continued to be dominated in their own zone. Andy Hanno managed to get his team on the board with the lone goal given up by Icers goalie PJ Musico, but that would be it for Kent State offensively. Jake Friedman and Mike McDonagh added to the Icers' tally before the second intermission, and Penn State went in with a 7-1 lead.

The third period would get even more lopsided, as Penn State scored six goals. Olczyk started with his second of the night and 23rd of the season. He was followed by Paul Daley, Chris Cerutti, Dominic Morrone, and Michael Longo to make the final score 13-1.

This is the final year that the Icers will be part of the ACHA league, and next year they will be moving into the NCAA Division I ranks. Gadowsky seemed impressed by his team’s win and felt there was a strong connection with their relentless efforts and this being the last ACHA game for Penn State.

“It was the last game for us here in the ACHA,” Gadowsky said. "I think the guys really wanted to put on a show and I think they did that."

With the regular season at its end, the Icers play their next game in Cleveland, Ohio on March 3rd at 5 p.m. for the ACHA National Tournament.

June Dello Russo is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email jld691@psu.edu