Penn State Hockey: Nittany Lions Drop Shootout to Michigan State

Penn State men’s hockey (8-7-1, 3-4-1 Big Ten) tied the game late but fell to Michigan State in a shootout to close out the weekend series.

Evan Barratt scored his fourth goal of the season and his second in as many nights to open the scoring. After conceding two quick goals in the later part of the second period, Trevor Hamilton tied the game 2-2 with 34 seconds left in the third period to send the game to overtime. Andrew Sturtz’s shootout goal would not be enough for Penn State to pick up the two points on the evening.

Goalie Peyton Jones made 21 saves for the Nittany Lions.

How It Happened

A night earlier, the first period of the game saw the Nittany Lions and Spartans share five goals en route to a 7-2 Penn State victory. Saturday’s first frame ended in a scoreless tie.

Michigan State failed to earn its first shot on goal for the first six minutes of the game, finishing the stanza with six shots compared to Penn State’s 10.

After a strong defensive period from both teams, Penn State and Michigan State finally found the back of the net in the second period.

It took nearly 13 minutes for Evan Barratt to open the scoring and give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 advantage. His fourth goal of the season and second in as many nights was assisted by Brett Murray and Alec Marsh at 12:57 of the middle frame.

Michigan State responded well — Taro Hirose and Carson Gatt’s goals were separated by just 2:05 of play, giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead entering the second intermission. Gatt’s second goal of the season gave Michigan State its first lead of the weekend.

Penn State spent the third period searching for a game-tying goal, but an early Nikita Pavlychev holding penalty set up a huge Nittany Lion penalty kill.

After successfully killing off the penalty, a pair of Penn State embellishment penalties washed out potential power play opportunities for the Nittany Lions.

Brandon Biro and Trevor Hamilton were both called for embellishment at crucial points of the third period, setting up four-on-four hockey for two minutes on both occasions. It’s rare to see one embellishment penalty called in a hockey game; two on the same team in the same period is almost unheard of.

Despite this, it would be Trevor Hamilton who tied the game at 2-2 late in the third period to send the game to overtime. Kevin Kerr and Andrew Sturtz picked up the assists on the senior defenseman’s second goal of the season, which came with 34 seconds left in the third period.

Neither team could find a game-winner during the five minute overtime period, sending the game went to a shootout. Taro Hirose and Mitchell Lewandowski both scored shootout goals for Michigan State and the Spartans took the victory after Alex Stevens’ final attempt was denied by Spartan goaltender John Lethemon.

Player Of The Game

Trevor Hamilton | Senior | Defenseman

Hamilton came up huge with his second goal of the season late in regulation to extend the game into overtime.

Hamilton and the Nittany Lions bounced back nicely from the frustration caused by the embellishment penalties, salvaging a point in the Big Ten standings.

What’s Next

Penn State will travel to Columbus next weekend for a series with Big Ten rivals Ohio State. The puck drops on Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m., but the Saturday game may see a time change due to the Big Ten Championship football game featuring the Buckeyes and Wisconsin.