Penn State Hockey: Nittany Lions Tie Alaska Anchorage 1-1

A Luke Juha power-play goal in the third period was all Penn State needed for an eventual 1-1 tie with Alaska Anchorage on Saturday night at Sullivan Arena in front of 1,884 fans. The Nittany Lions, who out-shot UAA 37-21, finished their Alaskan voyage unbeaten and ran their unbeaten mark to four straight on the road.

Down a goal from the 2:23 mark in the first period, Penn State (7-3-3, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) battled  to tie a determined Alaska Anchorage (6-4-2, 3-2-1 WCHA) side that was backstopped by a sharp goalie in Olivier Mantha (36 saves).

It took until 6 minutes into the third period and on the second part of an interrupted five-minute major power play for the Nittany Lions to find the back of the net as Juha ripped his second of the year and seventh power play goal of his career from long distance.

With less than a minute remaining on a Tyler Azurdia major penalty, David Glen played a puck from behind the net up the right boards to David Goodwin found . Goodwin quickly swung the puck to the high slot where Juha finished the job.

The Nittany Lions dominated the third period, out-shooting the Seawolves 19-6, forcing Mantha into several sprawling and athletic glove saves.  In overtime, it was Matthew Skoff who made a pair of timely stops to preserve PSU’s third tie this season. Skoff had 20 saves, all of which came after the opening goal. 

UAA scored in transition after only 2:23 into regulation when Mason Mitchell took a Blake Leask outlet pass down the right wing and beat Skoff stickside high for the early lead. The play was set up in Anchorage’s defensive zone off a faceoff as Sevalrud found Leask in quick fashion.