Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532761
M A R C H 2 0 2 5 6 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A s has often been the case for its most fa- mous tenant, Chi- cago's Wrigley Field served as a backdrop for a heart- breaking finish when the Penn State men's ice hockey team faced Notre Dame Jan. 3 in the Big Ten's Frozen Confines series. The Nittany Lions sur- rendered the tying goal in the third period and ended up in a shootout after a scoreless overtime period, with Notre Dame finally ending the marathon game in the eighth round. With the shootout loss, Penn State found itself at 7-9-1 overall and 0-8-1 in Big Ten play heading into the final two months of the regular season. The Nittany Lions could have quietly faded away after the lack- luster start to their season, but instead they did just the opposite. Penn State shut out the Irish, 3-0, two nights later in South Bend, and that game turned out to be the start of a surge that, as of late February, had improbably put the team back into NCAA Tournament conten- tion. Prior to its final series of the regular season, a two-game clash with Minne- sota at Pegula Ice Arena Feb. 28-March 1, the Lions had gone 9-1-2 in their pre- vious 12 games. That streak included sweeps of Canisius, Wisconsin and Notre Dame, and a late-February road trip to No. 1 Michigan State in which PSU took five of six points. The games in East Lansing offered a glimpse at how far the Nittany Lions had come. In the opener, sophomore forward Reese Laubach gave Penn State a 2-1 lead with a second-period goal. The Spartans managed to score the equalizer midway through the third pe- riod, but Laubach struck again in the shootout, giving PSU its third shootout win of the season, the most in program history. The following night, Penn State con- trolled the game from the start. The Nittany Lions scored on their first two shots and led 2-0 with just 1:40 gone in the first period. Then in the second period, sophomore forward Aiden Fink fired a one-timer past Spartans goalie Trey Augustine for a power play goal that extended the visitors' lead to 3-0. Michigan State scored twice in the third period, but the Lions held on for the critical 3-2 win. "It's just coming together for us," Fink told the Big Ten Network afterward. "In the first half [of the season], we learned from our mistakes. "Consistency is better than greatness," he added. "We just want to be consis- tent all the time, and that's why we're on a roll right now." Fink has been a key part of the Nittany Lions' turn- around. His decisive goal against Michigan State was his 23rd of the year, tying Alex Limoges' single-sea- son PSU record, set in 2021. Through 32 games, the Cal- gary native was second in the nation in goals, trailing only Boston College's Ryan Leonard (27). The Lions have also got- ten a lift from junior goalie Arsenii Sergeev. He had been injured earlier in the year but returned to action in the Frozen Confines game and tied a career-high with 43 saves against Notre Dame. In the 3-2 victory over Michigan State, Sergeev made 42 saves, improving his re- cord to 14-6-2. His win total was sixth- best in program history with, at mini- mum, four more games to come. Heading into its series against the Golden Gophers, Penn State was 17- 11-4 overall and 8-10-4 in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions had risen to 15th in the PairWise Rankings, which measure where teams stand ahead of the 16-team NCAA Tournament. However, the At- lantic Hockey America conference and Central Collegiate Hockey Association have automatic bids to the tournament OLYMPIC SPORTS TURNING UP THE HEAT The Penn State men's ice hockey team has surged into NCAA tourney contention M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Sophomore forward Aiden Fink had scored 23 goals through Penn State's first 32 games, tying the program's single-season record. PHOTO BY STEVEN WALTER/PENN STATE ATHLETICS