Jan. 31, 2016
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
NEW YORK ââ'¬" Despite fantastic support from the Penn State fans in attendance, the No. 15 Penn State men's hockey team (16-7-3, 6-4-0 Big Ten) was unable to edge No. 6 Michigan (16-3-4, 7-1-2 Big Ten) on Saturday as part of Big Ten Super Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Nittany Lions fell to the Wolverines, 6-3.
Mora than 500 Penn State students traveled to Madison Square Garden to support both the men's basketball and men's hockey teams as part of the doubleheader against the Michigan Wolverines. Penn State sent 13 buses of students to the Big Apple to cheer on the Nittany Lions.
Head coach Guy Gadowsky was extremely appreciative of the student body turn out at the event and noted how vital the fans are for the team's game mentality.
"They continue to surprise us, they are the best," said Gadowsky. "I hope that doesn't sound like a cliché because they are. They've proven it ever since we got here and this is just another example, to have over 500 kids come down and make this trip is amazing, it's just amazing."
The students and fans cheered every chance they got, and didn't let up until the third period horn.
Thunderous applause erupted thanks to a late goal in the first period by junior forward David Goodwin, sending the Nittany Lions into the second period tied 1-1 with the Wolverines.
It was end-to-end action throughout the second period as the Nittany Lions fought for possession of the puck. Two more goals from the Nittany Lions, from freshman forward Andrew Sturtz and junior forward Ricky DeRosa, gave the Nittany Lions the edge heading into the third period, with Penn State leading 3-2.
Despite the consistency of play throughout the first two periods, during the third period the momentum shifted as the Wolverines found the back of the net four more times with the Nittany Lions unable to answer. Penn State was outshot, 22-11, in the third period.
"I thought, like coach said, the first two periods there was a good sense on the bench, everyone was really confident, it's just one of those things that we didn't play all three periods to have success against a good team like Michigan," said Goodwin.
Senior goaltender Eamon McAdam made 43 saves during Saturday's contest, with the loss now putting McAdam's record at 9-4-0 during this season.
The Penn State men's hockey team was humbled by the opportunity to once again play at Madison Square Garden and look forward to opportunities to return to New York City in the future.
Next for the Nittany Lions, they will travel to Minnesota for two of their remaining eight road games. Penn State will host their only remaining home contest on Feb. 19 and 20 against Ohio State.
With little remaining home matchups, the Nittany Lions will look to notch critical wins on the road to help their chances of advancing to post-season play.