Penn State Men’s Hockey Completes Sweep of Canisius With Jackson Smith’s Overtime Goal

On Friday, Penn State picked up its first win of the season, and on Saturday it developed its first winning streak.

The Nittany Lions came from behind to down Canisius 3-2, sweeping the Golden Griffins and advancing to 2-4 on the young season.

How It Happened

Penn State picked up where it left off a night earlier, maintaining possession through the opening minutes and mounting a 5-1 shots advantage in the early going.

Casey Aman nearly put the Nittany Lions ahead when his shot trickled past netminder Jack Lisson, but it was swatted away by a Canisius defenseman before crossing the line. A cross-checking call provided Penn State its first man advantage, but it was killed off.

Mac Gadowsky, who departed Friday’s game after the first period with injury, returned to the lineup and was first to find the net, rifling the puck from the high slot to give the Nittany Lions an early lead.

Minutes later, Dane Dowiak was sent to the sin bin for tripping, giving the Golden Griffins their first power play and some momentum, but they couldn’t convert before the first intermission.

Even after the expiration of the penalty in the second period, Penn State had trouble clearing the puck, allowing Canisius to take the lead in shots 11-10.

The Nittany Lions eventually tilted the ice back in their favor and generated a two-on-none opportunity with Dowiak and Justin Poirier, but Lisson made the stop.

Golden Griffin Ethan Wolthers escaped for his own breakaway, but goaltender Ryder Fetterolf made a close-range save with his left pad to maintain the lead.

Canisius evened the score when David Elmy scored on a great feed from Cole Gordan in front of the crease, knotting the game at one apiece.

“(Canisius) is a big heavy team, and I thought they did a pretty good job in the second (period) of winning pucks,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said after the game.

Not long after, a scuffle broke out in front of Penn State’s net between multiple players from both teams. Matching minor penalties were assessed to Golden Griffin Joe Messina, who lost his helmet during the action, and Nittany Lion Shea Van Olm.

Just seconds into 4-on-4 play, Canisius’ Rhys Chiddenton snuck the puck off Fetterolf’s blocker and in to take a 2-1 lead into intermission.

“I thought I played pretty good,” Fetterolf said. “Obviously I’d like those two back, but I think it was a good game.”

To start the third, both teams traded unrelated tripping penalties, which resulted in over a minute of more 4-on-4 action. After a return to full strength, the Nittany Lions leveled the score.

Nolan Collins found Justin Poirier near the left faceoff dot, who fired a slapshot over Lisson’s shoulder and in. With the game tied up once more, Justin LaRose nearly returned the lead when his shot rang off the post. 

With just over six minutes to play, Ethan Weber was sent to the box for tripping, which prevented a Golden Griffin breakaway, but Penn State survived.

The Nittany Lions laid on some late pressure and were given a power play when Jason Gallucci was whistled for “playing with two sticks” after picking up an abandoned one on the ice.

Right in the jaws of the Roar Zone, Lisson and the Golden Griffins fended off the attack to push the game into a five-minute overtime period.

The Golden Griffins nearly ended it with a breakaway off the opening faceoff, but after a stellar save by Fetterolf, Penn State took it the other way on a reverse breakaway.

Poirier dished to Jackson Smith who skated down the ice alone as the fans rose to their feet. Smith rocketed a shot over Lisson’s glove and caused Pegula to erupt in celebration.

“We knew we had to win that game,” Smith said. “That’s one we can’t lose. Sets us up good going into next week.”

Team Leaders

Goals: Mac Gadowsky, Justin Poirier, Jackson Smith, 1

Assists: Kaden Pitre, 2

Saves: Ryder Fetterolf, 26/28

Up Next: Penn State embarks on Big Ten play with a pair of games at Minnesota next Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m.