Penn State Hockey: Nittany Lions Pick Up 3-2 Overtime Win Against Michigan State

Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky often talks about the things in a hockey game you can’t really control: Bouncing pucks, referees and goalies.

And as Penn State skated into the offensive zone down 2-1 with just over a minute to play – after largely dominating the proceedings against Michigan State on Friday night, those bounces loomed large.

The first came 4:01 into the second period, Penn State ahead 1-0 thanks to a Christian Sarlo first period tally, but Spartan forward Josh Nodler’s odd angle shot squirted off and past Nittany Lion goalie Oskar Autio – who would make 26 saves in the winning effort – to tie the affair at 1-1.

And then with just 15 seconds gone by in the third period, Mitchel Lewandowski put Michigan State ahead shooting the puck from behind the net, off of Autio and back into the goal. There was, in a hockey sense, no good reason for this. Penn State had outshot the Spartans 33-18 through two periods, with that margin 17-5 in the opening 20 minutes of play. Michigan State had its chances and Autio stood tall, but the action was not in the Nittany Lions’ end of the ice.

But those bounces.

So it was fitting, or funny, or just how Friday night was going that Connor MacEachern slammed home a pass into a wide open net with just over a minute to go in regulation.

It was even more fitting that captain Alex Limoges’ game-winning redirection just 30 seconds into overtime was in fact a redirection, something that is basically nothing more than a semi-controlled bounce. A good night to be a bouncing puck, not such a good night to be a goalie.

Autio finished his third-straight start with his second-straight victory as the Nittany Lions made it six wins over the past eight games. Both teams will take the ice Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.

And both will hope for good bounces, the Nittany Lions will also hope for something less dramatic, three-straight home games all going to overtime. Albeit, the hosts winning all three.