Penn State trounces Michigan Tech
The No. 2 seed Penn State men’s hockey team (22-15-1 overall, 10-13-1 Big Ten) dominated No. 4 seed Michigan Tech (24-11-4 overall, 15-7-4 CCHC) 8-0 in the NCAA Regional Semifinal on Friday night at PPL Center in Allentown.
The Nittany Lions got the rout started quickly as Tyler Paquette scored the game’s first goal to go up 1-0, only two minutes and twelve seconds into the first period. However, Penn State would not score another goal in the first period, but they had plenty of shots on goal to feel good about their start.
In front of a Penn State filled crowd, the Nittany Lions began to score goals in bunches. In the second period, Penn State scored quickly again when Jarod Crespo scored a little over four minutes into the period, and Penn State led 2-0. Ashton Calder made it 3-0, while Christian Berger got in on the fun to score and make it 4-0 before the end of the second period.
Penn State did not take its foot off the gas. In the third period, Penn State kept their trend of scoring early in the period going. Kevin Wall scored three minutes into the period to give Penn State a commanding 5-0 lead. The floodgates were open, as Chase McLane scored to make it 6-0, and then Connor McMenamin scored to make it 7-0. After putting up a touchdown, the Nittany Lions added a would-be two-point conversion shortly after when Ryan Kirwan scored to give Penn State an 8-0 lead.
The game ended 8-0, with Penn State breaking their own record for the largest margin of victory in an NCAA regional game.
Penn State advanced in the tournament, and they will face the winner of Friday’s Michigan-Colgate late game at PPL Center on Sunday.