Penn State Shuts Out West Virginia in Game One
The Penn State Icers (18-3-1) added another win to their home streak (now at 12 wins) as they easily defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers (15-13) by a score of 8-0 at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion Friday night.
The Mountaineers defense was strong in the beginning of the first period, and starting goalie Rob Borcky made many impressive stops. The Icers outshot West Virginia 8-2 a little more than halfway through the period but had nothing to show for it. It was then that forward Paul Daley got Penn State going, deflecting an impressive backhand off the crossbar.
Penn State added on to that first period lead as forward Taylor Holstrom craftily flipped the puck over a Mountaineer player’s skate to feed forward Tommy Olczyk his 19th goal of the season. The first period ended with the Icers leading by a score of 2-0, and carrying great momentum as Olczyk and Forward Justin Kirchhevel almost scored rushing towards the net on a 2-1 in the last minute of the period.
The Icers continued their dominance into the second period, playing outstanding defense as well, as Defenseman Brian Dolan blocked a big shot at the start of the period. Forward Michael Longo, typically known for his solid two way play, as he leads all forwards on the team in blocked shots, lit it up in the period.
Longo and his line were firing on all cylinders, as they continued to torture the Mountaineers defense. Longo positioned himself well in front of the net to score off the rebound of a hard slap shot by defenseman Nate Jensen. No more than thirty seconds later, Longo again scores off a pass from forward Jake Friedman to give the team a solid 4-0 lead.
Longo said that he really would have enjoyed scoring one more time to complete a hat trick, but placed more value on playing sound, two-way hockey.
“You still have to keep the mindset that you have to take care of business, and back-check and play defensively too,” Longo said.
The second period would end with a substantial 5-0 lead for Penn State, as defenseman Rich O’Brien scored on a wrist shot from the point.
The third period was much of the same, as the Icers kept the offensive production coming, while the Mountaineers struggled to build up any. Barely two minutes into the period, Kirchhevel scored off a wrist shot sent by Jensen.
It wasn’t until Mike McDonagh scored right through the five hole making the score 7-0 Icers did the Mountaineers make a goalie change. Sophomore goaltender Ryan Schutte replaced the freshman Borcky in net. The Icers still looked to do more damage however as Kirchhevel fed the puck to Olczyk, who scored on the backhander.
Schutte made numerous stops at the end of the period, but the damage had already been done, as the Icers finished the game leading the shots ratio 56-17 and a final score of an 8-0 victory.
Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky was impressed with his team, particularly with Olzyck and Longo. Gadowsky also praised defenseman George Saad.
"He helps you win," Gadowsky said. "He changes when you should change. He blocks shots, whether with his body or his head. He fights hard, he wins battles."
Gadowsky also announced that defenseman Dan Loucks was named captain. Loucks is a Dean’s List Senior at Penn State, and leads all defenseman on the team with 16 points in 21 games. The Collegeville, Pa. native seemed honored by this opportunity to be a recognized leader.
"There are a lot of great leaders on this team," Loucks said. "For coach to give me the 'C' means a lot."
The Icers played against West Virginia again on Saturday afternoon. We will have a recap of that game shortly.
June Dello Russo is a freshman at Penn State majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact her, email jld5691@psu.edu.
