Nov. 5, 2012
By Pat White GoPSUsports.com Student Staff writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's ice hockey team (5-2-0) got revenge in the form of a 4-2 win against Buffalo State (2-2-1) at the Greenberg Ice Rink on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions lost a tough 3-0 game on Oct. 19 at Buffalo State, but were able to claim their first NCAA Division I victory at home against the Bengals.
Freshman goaltender Matt Skoff (McKees Rock, Pa.) got the start for the Nittany Lions, and recorded his first win of the season, stopping 23 shots. Skoff was solid the entire game, making some key saves down the stretch to hold on for the win. Head coach Guy Gadowsky was glad that Skoff got his first win out of the way after losing his first two starts
"He still looked a little nervous," Gadowsky said, "but he made some tough saves and looked very calm doing it. When he looks like that I think he's going to be at his best. I think it's good for him to get (his first win) out of the way."
The offense was led my freshman forward David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) who scored two goals, giving him five on the season. Michael Longo (Allison Park, Pa.) and Tommy Olczyk (Long Grove, Ill.) scored one goal each. Glen extended his point streak to four games with his two goals, scoring the first and last goals for Penn State in very similar fashion by crashing the net and capitalizing on loose pucks.
"It was kind of just a big goal for the team," Glen said about his last goal. "I was really happy to be able to get one and put the game out of reach."
Gadowsky praised Glen for the leadership that he has brought to the team despite being a freshman. He also said that Glen is a guy who is not afraid to go into the dirty areas around the net, something that he preaches to his team.
"You sort of saw why he's been a captain everywhere he's been," said Gadowsky. "He does everything right and he's such a warrior and that was a huge goal for us."
"David Glen is the kind of guy that excels in tough areas and in today's game, the perimeter pretty plays are the minority. You need guys who can get to the net and grit it out and I expect you'll see that the rest of the year."
The sophomore captain, Olczyk, scored his first goal of the season in the second period on a highlight pass from sophomore forward Max Gardiner (Deephaven, Minn.). Gardiner charged down the left side and made a spin-o-rama pass to Olczyk, who fired the puck to the back of the net. Olczyk said it felt good to score, but humbly deferred the goal as a team effort.
"It was good getting the monkey off the back, but it doesn't matter who scores," Olczyk said. "We've been winning a lot of games lately and beating some pretty good teams. Who gets credit at the end of the day doesn't matter as long as you get the [win]."
Gadowsky, who coached Olczyk last season at the club level, was happy to see his captain finally get his first goal.
"I think when you have leadership like that, people really rally around you and that has obviously happened with Tommy," Gadowsky said. "Everyone was happy to see him get (a goal). He's had chances that just haven't gone in so it's nice to see him get that one tonight."
Penn State out-shot Buffalo State 49-25, and went 1-6 on the power play.
--NITTANYLIONS--