Penn State Surges Past West Point
Nittany Lions Clinch Playoff Berth
ECRHA February 12th, 2011 at 9:01PM February 13th, 2011 7:44PM
Harrisburg, Pa - Steven Nichols had 4 assists as Penn State skated past West Point on Saturday afternoon to clinch a berth in the 2010-2011 ECRHA Regional Championships.
Penn State struck first, after a 3-on-2 rush into the offensive zone when Adam Bogert picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Tony Day under the arm for a 1-0 lead. West Point countered almost immediately, when Matthew Riopelle used his speed and a strong move to the net before beating Mitchell Reinhold along the rink to knot things at 1-1.
In the final minute of the first period, Dustin Roux sparked a late burst from Penn State, first moving in from the corner and beating the West Point goalie glove side for the lead. Just 15 seconds later, Roux found Bogert who connected with Evan Godfrey to give the Nittany Lions a 3-1 after one period of action.
In the final minute of the first period, Dustin Roux sparked a late burst from Penn State, first moving in from the corner and beating the West Point goalie glove side for the lead. Just 15 seconds later, Roux found Bogert who connected with Evan Godfrey to give the Nittany Lions a 3-1 after one period of action.
On the man advantage, West Point cut the lead in half when Robert Gryfinski took at Riopelle feed and went bar down for the power play tally. Tony Day made the next big play, after getting called for throwing his stick, Day make the pad save on the ensuing penalty shot when he got the best of John Scavelli.
Penn State, unfazed by the missed penalty shot continued the assault on the West Point goal when Tim Montgomery and Adam Bogert scored two goals in the final minute of the period to give Penn State a 5-2 lead after two periods.
West Point cut the lead back to two goals when Matthew Riopelle fired a well placed shot into the bottom corner of the net with the man advantage. However, Penn State had the immediate answer, when Josh Rifkin took a pretty feed from Steven Nichols and slid the puck through the five hole of Matthew Condon to restore the three goal lead.
Penn State put the final nail in the coffin on a impressive passing play with the man advantage, every Penn State player touched the puck as they broke down the penalty killers before John Scavelli buried home the final pass for final tally in a 7-3 victory.
Penn State put the final nail in the coffin on a impressive passing play with the man advantage, every Penn State player touched the puck as they broke down the penalty killers before John Scavelli buried home the final pass for final tally in a 7-3 victory.
Three Stars:
1-Matthew Riopelle - 2 goals, 1 assist
2-Steven Nichols - 4 assists
3- Dustin Roux - 1 goal, 2 assists