Sergeev, Fink Lead No. 18 Men's Hockey Past No. 1 Michigan State, 3-2Sergeev, Fink Lead No. 18 Men's Hockey Past No. 1 Michigan State, 3-2

Sergeev, Fink Lead No. 18 Men's Hockey Past No. 1 Michigan State, 3-2

Sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) netted the game-winning tally and junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) stopped 42 shots as No. 18 Penn State defeated No. 1 Michigan State, 3-2, in Big Ten Conference action at Munn Ice Arena on Saturday evening.

Box Score

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) netted the game-winning tally and junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) stopped 42 shots as No. 18 Penn State defeated No. 1 Michigan State, 3-2, in Big Ten Conference action at Munn Ice Arena on Saturday evening.

The Nittany Lions take 5-of-6 points on the weekend and 7-of-12 for the year against the No. 1 team in the nation securing the series victory over the Spartans for the first time since 2020-21.

Penn State is now 9-1-2 over its last 12 games as they push the current unbeaten streak to six games improving to 17-11-4 on the year and 8-10-4-1-1-3 in league play while the Spartans fall to 22-6-4 overall and 13-5-4-3-2-1 in Big Ten action.

The Nittany Lions are now 3-6-2 all-time against the top team in the country including a 3-3-2 mark over the four series dating back to the 2022-23 season.

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HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Penn State raced out to an early 2-0 lead scoring on its first two shots 41 seconds apart just 100 seconds into the game with a pair of freshmen lighting the lamp as Charlie Cerrato (Fallston, Md.) slipped one five-hole off a great feed from sophomore Matt DiMarsico (Wexford, Pa.) just 59 ticks in before JJ Wiebusch (Verona, Wis.) one-timed an errant pass between the rings past the glove of Spartan goaltender Trey Augustine at the 1:40 mark.
  • The Nittany Lions extended the lead early in the middle frame with a powerplay tally as sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) absolutely unloaded on a one-timer from the far dot that beat Augustine over the glove and inside the far post for the 3-0 edge at the 1:27 mark.
  • Michigan State cut into the deficit with a shorthanded tally as Tommi Mannisto finished on an odd-man rush for the 3-1 score at 12:02 of the third period.
  • A late extra-attacker goal from Karsen Dorwart with just 8.5 second remaining accounted for the 3-2 final score.

GOALTENDING

  • Sergeev moves to 14-6-4 on the year after making the second-most saves of the season and his career with 42 in the victory while Augustine drops to 15-6-4 on the year after stopping 21 shots.
  • Sergeev’s 14 victories on the season are now the sixth-most in a single-season in Penn State history.

NOTES

  • Michigan State held the commanding, 44-24, edge in shots on goal including the eye-popping 19-5 margin in the third period.
  • Penn State went 1-for-5 on the man-advantage for the game and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill while blocking 18 shots to Michigan State’s 2 including four each from junior Jarod Crespo (Seven Lakes, N.C.) and senior Simon Mack (Brockville, Ontario).
  • The win is No. 399 in the coaching career of Guy Gadowsky as he is now just one win away from becoming the 30th Division I coach all-time to reach that milestone.
  • In 32 games this season, Michigan State has surrendered the first goal on just 11 occasions, four of which have come at the hands of the Nittany Lions.
  • The Nittany Lions remain perfect on the year when leading after two periods improving to 16-0-1 while also moving to 14-4-2 when scoring first.
  • The victory for Penn State marks the first loss for the Spartans on a Saturday all season long as Michigan State was 10-0-0 in Saturday games entering the contest.
  • With one goal and one assist, Cerrato secures his 10th multi-point effort of the season.
  • Cerrato’s 27 points on the year are now tied for the fourth-most all-time with Casey Bailey and Andrew Sturtz for points by a freshman while his 13 goals are tied for the seventh-most by a Nittany Lion rookie all-time with Chase Berger and Ryan Kirwan.
  • Fink regained his national lead in points following his 23rd goal of the season in the second period. His 23 goals are now tied for the Penn State single-season record with Alex Limoges ’21 while his 45 points remain the third-most in a single-season in Penn State history only trailing the 47 of Denis Smirnov in 2016-17 and the 50 from Alex Limoges in 2018-19.
  • Fink’s 23 goals now lead the Big Ten lead and are good for second in the nation while his eight powerplay tallies tie his own Penn State single-season record from last year and increase his career record to 16.
  • Penn State lost the faceoff battle for the game winning just 34.9 percent, its lowest mark of the season, but the Nittany Lions improve to 7-1-0 in games where they actually lose the faceoff battle.

NEXT UP

  • The Nittany Lions return home next weekend to wrap up the regular-season with a Big Ten series against No. 5/4 Minnesota in Hockey Valley.
  • Puck drop is slated for 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 8 p.m. on Saturday with both games airing nationally on the B1G Network.

For more information on the 2024-25 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.