A
sked simply to evaluate the per-
formance of goaltender Peyton
Jones in Penn State's recent two-game
series against Ohio State, Denis Smirnov
:nished his compliment of the netmin-
der's play before circling back to the ob-
vious.
Allowing the ninth-
most goals per game
nationally, the Nittany
Lions would very much
like to play better de-
fense in front of Jones.
What team wouldn't?
Very few coaches or
players across the
country are likely to
publicly express satisfaction with every-
thing they've done defensively. And
shielding one's goaltender from any sort
of blame has become standard in the
hockey world.
But it's just a little easier to take Penn
State's sta< and players seriously when
they get protective of their third-year
netminder.
"He's been great, obviously," Smirnov
said, re;ecting on the team's visit to
Columbus, where Penn State won the
opener, 4-3, but lost the :nale, 5-2.
"He's saved a lot of shots, some big saves
[against the Buckeyes]. He kept us in the
game."
Penn State's high-scoring style is fun
for even the neutral observer. Any team
averaging over one goal per game more
than anyone else without much apparent
regard for the defensive tradeo
