After an overpowering 8-3 performance Friday night against top-ranked ACHA opponent Arizona State, the Penn State men’s hockey team fell Saturday night to the Sun Devils, 3-1 to split the weekend series.
While neither game counted toward official records, the weekend series allowed the Nittany Lions to recover and refocus following a tough series against No. 8 Union last week.
Freshman forward David Glen was the featured scorer in Friday night’s contest, scoring three goals in a game that saw the Nittany Lions score four second-period goals in roughly a four-minute span.
‘When you’re playing against a tough opponent like Penn State, you have to be on your game the whole time,’ Arizona State coach Greg Powers said. ‘I thought we played pretty well on Friday but there was just a little time that we weren’t focused and they took advantage. You can’t blink.’
However, Saturday night was a different game as the Sun Devils were able to hold the Nittany Lions scoreless for two periods, scoring first only 38 seconds into the second period. Arizona State was able to double its lead 2:40 into the third period following a two-on-one breakaway.
Penn State forward Curtis Loik cut into the Sun Devils’ lead with 13 minutes to go in the game, but Arizona State scored again with just under six minutes to go.
‘One team wanted to be here and had the desire to play,’ Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said after the game. ‘I don’t think we had the desire, that’s a keyword for us.’
‘We need to come out and play hard regardless of the opponent,’ Loik said.
