NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
UNIVERSITY PARK, P.A. — The Niagara men’s hockey team got off to a dream start at No. 10 Penn State on Friday night. The Purple Eagles opened the scoring just over a minute in before eventually falling to the Nittany Lions, 8-2, at Pegula Ice Arena.
Game Recap
- Niagara jumped out to a very quick start, with Reed Robinson getting his first goal of the season just 69 seconds into the opening period.
- With the Purple Eagles shorthanded and the power play expiring, Justin Kendall swept up a Penn State turnover in the Niagara end and went the length of the ice to earn a one-on-one with the Nittany Lions’ netminder, but was turned aside as Luke Edgerton returned to the ice.
- After Penn State equalized, Niagara won a faceoff in the Lions’ zone, allowing Kris Spriggsto hack a shot and keep sustained pressure in the offensive end.
- Down 3-1 in the second, Alex Truscott got off two quick shots, the first a deflection with his back to the net, and the second a rifle from near the left faceoff dot.
- After Joe O’Brien was run over in the corner and several penalties were dished out to both teams, Stephen Kleysen stopped the Penn State scoring streak with a 4-on-4 goal to make it 5-2.
Beyond The Boxscore
- Robinson and Kleysen became the third and fourth Purple Eagles to record their first collegiate goal in the team’s first three games. Ludwig Stenlund potted a pair on October 12 vs. AIC, with Dylan Mills following suit against the Yellow Jackets one night later. Five of the team’s seven goals this season have been supplied by freshman.
- O’Brien made a career-high 55 saves in net. His previous career high also came at Penn State, when he made 46 denials on Nov. 4, 2016.
Up Next
- The series with Penn State will conclude tomorrow. The puck will drop at 3:30 p.m. The radio telecast for the game will be live on 1340 AM and 105.3 FM WLVL.
