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Goals
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | Final |
| Penn State | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Princeton | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Penn State (11-5-2) capped off its successful first half with a tie in the final non-conference test of the regular season. The Lions did not miss a beat, scoring three goals in the first period to make it four consecutive periods with three goals dating back to last week against Notre Dame.
Aarne Talvitie and Evan Barratt each missed the game for the Lions as they were invited to play at the World Junior Championships. Barratt scored 29 points in the first half of the season, which was good for first in the country until Alex Limoges, his linemate, got an assist to tie his mark in the second period.
Princeton didn’t go away, scoring a goal with four minutes to play to cut the lead to 4-3. With one minute to play the Tigers tied the game. The teams skated to a draw in overtime. It was a game that the Lions could have won, but were equally fortunate to escape with a tie.
Penn State will have a twenty-day layoff before its next game. On January 4 the Lions will resume the season on the road against Minnesota.
How It Happened
Princeton came out ready to go, scoring the first goal just two minutes in. A shot on Peyton Jones bounced out for a rebound and Josh Teves followed for the 1-0 lead.
Kris Myllari chipped a puck in the neutral zone to Brandon Biro a couple minutes later, who took it all the way in for a tying goal. Six minutes in the Lions had a 6-1 shot on goal advantage.
Nikita Pavlychev was called for the first penalty of the game shortly after, giving the Tigers a chance to break the momentum. On the first shift of the penalty kill, Nate Sucese took a loose puck and flew through the defense to score a short-handed goal. The Lions killed the penalty and with 9 minutes to play in the first period, led 2-1.
On the next shift Paul DeNaples went to the box and the Lions were on the penalty kill again. Brandon Biro had a nice chance to score the second short-handed goal of the day but goalie Ryan Ferland made the save. Penn State killed the penalty.
Captain Chase Berger took a pass from Derian Hamilton in front of the net and put the puck in the net while falling down. The Lions went on the power-play on the next shift, leading 3-1 with Princeton on the ropes. Princeton killed the penalty but the Lions held a 15-3 lead in shots on goal by the end of the period, dominating all but one shift of the frame.
Just 17 seconds into the second period, Alec Marsh skated quickly, splitting the defense, and scored to chase Ryan Ferland from the net after giving up 4 quick goals. The teams got into a scuffle after a whistle a couple of minutes later, as tempers began to flare in front of a mostly Penn State-friendly crowd.
They skated 4 on 4 as a result, neither side scored but the Lions held the puck nearly the entire time. The teams went from end to end with crisp, aggressive hockey for the next 7 minutes without a whistle to stop play.
Penn State’s Nate Sucese took a penalty off a face-off to give the Tigers an extra skater. Peyton Jones made a couple of saves to help kill the penalty five minutes before the second intermission.
Max Veronneau got behind the Penn State defense late in the period to cut the lead to 4-2.
The teams played hard early in the final period with Princeton holding a slight advantage through the first ten minutes, and a 7-2 edge in shots on goal. The Lions began taking very short shifts midway through the period in an effort to maintain the stamina needed to hold the lead.
Max Veronneau scored his second goal of the game with four minutes and change to play to cut the lead to just one. With 1:08 to go in the game Princeton tied it 4-4.
In overtime both teams had great chances to score but the goalies on either side held steady to preserve the tie.