Quinnipiac 6, Penn State 3: Reality Check

Penn State’s home opener started off hot with an early 2-0 lead, but the Nittany Lions were dominated for the final 50 minutes of regulation in an ugly 6-3 loss to Quinnipiac. Luke Misa, Mac Gadowsky, and Justin Larose each scored for Penn State, but it was a long night for the defense, which allowed 46 shots on goal. Goaltender Josh Fleming was arguably the best player on the ice for the Lions despite allowing six goals.

First Period

Both teams exchanged chances early in the game, but both goalies made a pair of high-danger saves to keep the game scoreless. Four minutes into the frame, a timely check by Kale Dach freed up the puck for Nick Fascia to spring Justin Larose on a breakout pass. Larose raced in on a breakaway and backhanded home his second goal of the season to put Penn State up 1-0:

Penn State took a pair of penalties midway through the period to give the Bobcats a chance to tie the game. Josh Fleming needed to make a few point-blank saves, and the PK survived to hold the lead.

Midway through the period, Kaden Pitre intercepted a pass in the defensive zone, and Penn State rushed the other way with numbers. Pitre’s drop pass missed Lev Katzin, but Mac Gadowsky was there to wrist the puck home through traffic to extend the lead to 2-0:

Another sloppy penalty gave Quinnipiac its third power play. After the Nittany Lions nearly created a shorthanded odd-man rush, the Bobcats disrupted the breakout pass, and a massive scramble around the net led to Antonin Verreault’s first goal of the season to put Quinnipiac on the board.

Shortly after the goal, Reese Laubach made a nice check to get a rush chance, but he fanned on the shot. Penn State’s defense was caught pinching, and Quinnipiac’s Andrew Strathmann found a wide open Ethan Wyttenbach on the stretch pass through the neutral zone. Wyttenbach moved in on the backhand and delayed the shot just enough to catch Fleming out of position to tie the game at 2.

A questionable tripping penalty on Shea Van Olm late in the period gave the Bobcats a fourth power play chance in the period. Penn State cleared the puck, but Quinnipiac caught the Lions flat-footed on a zone entry, and Mason Marcellus converted on a 2-on-1 rush to score his fifth goal of the season and give Quinnipiac a 3-2 lead going into the intermission.

Second Period

A cross-checking penalty against Jackson Smith yielded yet another power play for Quinnipiac. Jack Stockfish extended the Bobcats’ lead to 4-2 on a slapshot from the point after the defense failed to clear the puck.

Penn State finally drew a power play midway through the period, but poor zone entries and bad passing doomed a great opportunity to get back in the game. After the game returned to 5-on-5, Shea Busch rang a shot off the post in transition, and Shea Van Olm missed a wide open net.

In the dying seconds of the period, Ethan Wyttenbach made a nice pass to Mason Marcellus on the forecheck, and Marcellus found a wide open Markus Vidicek for an easy tic-tac-toe goal to put Quinnipiac up 5-2 at the second intermission.

Third Period

Graham Sward added to Penn State’s misery on the power play with a snipe from the high slot that went blocker side high on Fleming. Quinnipiac ran the lead up to 6-2 midway through the final period.

Luke Misa scored his first goal and Penn State’s first power play goal of the season after he pulled away from the Quinnipiac defense on a breakaway and picked up his own rebound to cut the deficit to 6-3:

A brawl erupted in the final minute of regulation, but no major penalties were called. Quinnipiac skated off the Pegula ice with a 6-3 win that did not feel as competitive as the score showed.

Scoring Summary

First Period

• PSU: Justin Larose (2)- Nick Fascia (1), Kale Dach (2)- 5v5- 4:36
• PSU: Mac Gadowsky (2)- Kaden Pitre (1), Lev Katzin (1)- 5v5- 9:53
• QU: Antonin Verreault (1)- Chris Pelosi (2), Ethan Wyttenbach (6)- PP- 11:02
• QU: Ethan Wyttenbach (4)- Andrew Strathmann (3)- 5v5- 13:22
• QU: Mason Marcellus (5)- Aaron Schwartz (2), Andrew Strathmann (4)- PP- 19:08

Second Period

• QU: Jack Stockfish (3)- Chris Pelosi (3), Antonin Verreault (5)- PP- 6:02
• QU: Markus Vidicek (1)- Mason Marcellus (1), Ethan Wyttenbach (7)- 5v5- 19:46

Third Period

• QU: Graham Sward (1)- Mason Marcellus (2)- PP- 10:41
• PSU: Luke Misa (1)- Jackson Smith (2), Joshua Fleming (1)- PP- 12:57

Shots By Period:

• QU: 16-15-15-46
• PSU: 12-8-13-33

Random Observations

• What Could Have Been- The Quinnipiac team I watched kick our butts for 60 minutes tonight is who Penn State should have been last year. The Bobcats returned most of their roster from last year and they did exactly what a veteran team should do in a tough environment on the road. Penn State should have been that team last season. What could have been…
• Defense (Or Lack Thereof)- This defense looks regressed from a year ago, and that bar was already low. They got trapped in their own zone for way too long, could not execute basic breakout passes, and left Bobcats wide open in front of the net for high-danger chances.
• Josh Fleming- Fleming may have allowed six goals, but his stat line will not accurately show how many times he had to bail out the defense’s mistakes. If he did not play as well as he did, Quinnipiac likely wins this game 10-2.
• Long Season Ahead- From what I have watched so far, this is going to be a long season. The offensive cohesion should get better as the season goes on, but there is no resistance from the defense at all. Big Ten play is going to be ugly if things do not turn around.

What’s Next

Penn State will take on Robert Morris at home on Tuesday. Puck drop is scheduled for 6pm.