Penn State hockey hadn’t played in two weeks and the Nittany Lions just couldn’t knock off the rust en route to a 5-3 loss to No. 4 ranked UMass Lowell on Friday night.
The Nittany Lions would get scores from junior Casey Bailey, senior Tommy Olczyk and sophomore David Goodwin but it wasn’t enough to pull off the late comeback.
“You have to give UMass Lowell credit,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said after the game. “They out-worked us in our zone and deserved the victory. It will be nice to come back tomorrow night and get another chance.”
The River Hawks struck first as Robert Francis squirted a slap shot from the slot past goaltender Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) with 8:47 remaining in the first period. Adam Chapie fed Francis for the opening goal.
UMass Lowell would double its lead on a similar play. Captain Zack Kamrass found space in the slot to sneak one home late in the first period. Despite trailing by two, Penn State out-shot the River Hawks, 11-9.
The Nittany Lions didn’t give up though and a Bailey goal in front of the net as he back handed the puck over Kevin Boyle’s shoulder would make it a 2-1 game only 17 seconds into the second frame. It wouldn’t last though as the River Hawks would answer with a goal of their own only 1:40 later to retake the 2-goal advantage.
UMass Lowell would extend the lead to three goals as Francis bagged his second of the night off a Maniccia faceoff win with 11:13 left in the second. Skoff was lifted in favor of Eamon McAdam who made his season debut with nine saves in the period. UML held a slight 12-11 edge in shots.
The third period began more positively for the Nittany Lions who put several pucks on frame, but Boyle was there for the early onslaught. The River Hawks would see Smith score their fifth goal of the night with 11:39 left in the period on a feed from Dylan Zink.
Penn State continued its offensive pressure when Kenny Brooks forced a turnover on the boards to Olczyk who fired down low to Curtis Loik behind the net. Loik would draw the defense before feeding Olczyk as he flipped a back-handed shot over Boyle’s glove for his second goal of the year with 8:48 remaining.
With 1:15 remaining in the game, Goodwin was able to score his fourth of the year off feeds from Holstrom and Bailey. The assist for Holstrom was his 10th of the year, raising his point total to a team-best 13 for the season.
Penn State will face UMass Lowell again on Saturday night in the fourth contest between the two teams over the past two seasons.
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