PITTSBURGH — The Penn State men’s hockey team found itself in an unfamiliar spot Dec. 29.
The Nittany Lions had just lost the previous night for the first time in nearly two months at the hands of Robert Morris. They found themselves trying to turn the page quickly as they played Clarkson in the consolation round of the Three Rivers Classic at Consol Energy Center.
The Nittany Lions struggled to find their game and were outworked and out-chanced through much of the first two periods. They were outshot 28-17 through two periods and were headed for being outshot by their opponent for the first time this season. Yet they looked up at the scoreboard and found themselves with 3-1 lead after two periods. McKees Rocks native Matthew Skoff got the nod in the net, and played one of his best games as a Nittany Lion in front of his hometown friends and family.
A sequence in the second period saw Skoff make two point-blank saves on Clarkson players in the slot. On two other occasions, Skoff made diving saves as Clarkson players had wide open nets. He went on to stop 36 of the 37 shots he faced. The performance did not go unnoticed by head coach Guy Gadowsky.
‘In the first two periods, Skoff was absolutely awesome,’ Gadowsky said. ‘He stole a few sure goals and that gave us a chance to get our legs under us and I think we did (that).”
It was an important performance as it came on the heels of Big Ten leader Eamon McAdam giving up five goals to Robert Morris the night before. While that result was not solely on McAdam, Penn State needed a collective pick-me-up and Skoff provided that. He attended the Pittsburgh Penguins Prospect Development Camp in July, and he spent a good deal of time playing at Consol Energy Center. He looked very comfortable in net and with his surroundings.
“The time I had with the Penguins (helped),” Skoff said. “Any time with guys at the next level (helps). You see the way they go about day-to-day and you learn little things. Working with Matt Murray, he was on my team, and he is obviously having a ton of success with the Penguins now. Just seeing how he goes throughout his day as a pro, I just tried to be like a sponge.”
After a rough opening night game against Notre Dame to start the season, Skoff has really put together a strong stretch of games. He moved to 5-0-3 in his last eight starts with a .936 save percentage and 1.82 GAA in those starts. The Nittany Lions will need both him and Eamon McAdam to be on the top of their games as Minnesota comes to Pegula for a two-game series. Minnesota is having a bit of a down year this season at 8-9-0 so far, but they are a hockey powerhouse and will not stay at the bottom of the pack for very long. The Nittany Lions have struggled against Minnesota, going 1-7-0 against them since joining the Big Ten.
The puck drops at Pegula tat 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, and then at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9.
