How It Happened:
Penn State went down to an early Bentley goal for the second straight night as Alex Grieve slapped one in on the man advantage 9:01 into the game. Max French would add another on a redirection on the power play just under 6 minutes later to make it 2-0 heading into the first intermission. Penn State would lead the shot count for the period 16-14 but lacked quality scoring chances for much of the period.
Scott Conway would give Penn State life though scoring on the power play 9:14 into the period, getting the puck past goaltender Blake Dougherty who was outstanding all night en route to a 46 save night.
Down a goal Penn State would charge and pressure Bentley but couldn’t find the back of the net during a 22 shot third period but Taylor Holstrom would finally slip on past Bentley from the slot to tie the game. With Pegula Ice Arena on its feet and roaring, Eric Scheid would wrist one past Dougherty only 16 seconds later to give Penn State the lead with just under 3 minutes to play.
Turning Point: Penn State scored two goals in a 16 second span to go from being down 2-1 to leading 3-2 with just under 3 minutes to play in the third period. Taylor Holstrom registered the first tally on the power play before a streaking Eric Scheid rocketed a puck past goaltender Blake Dougherty and under the crossbar to make it 3-2. It was all defense from there and the Nittany Lions walked away with an improbable victory.
Player Of The Game: Eric Scheid’s game winning goal gives him the honors tonight with Penn State net minder Matthew Skoff picking up an honorable mention for a 33 save effort including a few crucial stops to keep a 2-0 first period deficit from growing.
Stat Of The Game: Friday night’s win marks the second straight sweep of the season and the second come from behind victory in program history. It also marks the largest come from behind victory in program history. The previous mark set the night before as the Nittany Lions erased a 1-0 deficit to win 3-2 on Thursday.
What Is Next: The Nittany Lions take a break from the action before traveling to UMass-Lowell on Nov. 14 on the road for the first of a two game series. Penn State won’t return to Pegula Ice Arena until Jan.9 when the Nittany Lions will remain home for that entire month and a 9-game home stretch.
