Blue White Illustrated

Tommy Olczyk might not have an of- ficial captain letter on his sweater any- more, but that didn't stop him from having a large presence on the ice Oct. 10, as Penn State opened its 2014-15 campaign with a 2-2 tie against Con- necticut at Pegula Ice Arena. Olczyk is the only player on the Nittany Lions' roster who had previously attempt- ed a penalty shot. He missed his first at- tempt in a game against Boston College this past January, but against the Huskies he converted midway through the second period to tie the score, 1-1, in front of 6,107 fans. "I'm definitely not known for my goal- scoring," Olczyk said. "It's nice to get one in there." The game ended in a tie after one period of sudden-death overtime, with Penn State coming from behind twice. After an aggressive first period by Penn State, Connecticut took the momentum in the second when it scored with 9:30 remaining. Huskies senior forward Patrick Kirtland snuck the puck under Penn State goalie Matthew Skoff's blocker. Olczyk credited his chance at the penalty shot to his line mates, sophomore forwards Rickey DeRosa and Dylan Richard. DeRosa made a pass to Richard, who then tossed it to Olczyk's backhand. UConn defenseman Ryan Segalla caused the penalty shot, as he hooked Olczyk on a breakaway. UConn went ahead with just under five minutes remaining in the third period. Huskies assistant captain Trevor Gerling hit a strong wrist shot from just inside the blue line that beat Skoff stick side. Sophomore David Goodwin tied the score with 48 seconds remaining after a scramble in front of the net. Casey Bailey, Taylor Holstrom and Richard were all surrounding the front of the net during the sequence. "I was out there whacking and grinding in front," Goodwin said. "Honestly, I saw the Roar Zone hands up before any- thing. I saw that, then put my hands up, and I scored." This is the second time in three home openers that Penn State has gone to overtime. The first overtime was a 3-2 loss against American International to open the Nittany Lions' first season as a Division I team in 2012. This time, however, the teams had an exhibition shootout after overtime. UConn won, 2-1, but Penn State made some program history, as Bailey scored the Nittany Li- ons' first-ever shootout goal. The teams didn't need overtime the following day to decide the second game of the season-opening series. The Nittany Lions rolled, 7-1, pulling away from the Huskies with five goals in the second pe- riod. The seven goals are the most Penn State has scored in a game since beginning NCAA Division I play in 2012. ■ MEN'S ICE HOCKEY Lions open season with tie score, but Casey Murphy made the save. Penn State elevated its offensive attack with three minutes remaining. Three corner kicks and as many shots were recorded, including a Megan Schafer shot on goal at the 89:33 mark. FIELD HOCKEY Nittany Lions fall to No. 2 Maryland Despite a late surge, No. 4 Penn State lost to No. 2 Maryland, 4-3, Oct. 10 in College Park, Md. The Lions scored two goals in the final three minutes to get within one but couldn't finish the come- back attempt. Senior Amanda Dinunzio led the team with a goal and an assist. "We had an outstanding team effort," head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss said. "At times, we needed to take care of the ball better. Maryland is a very strong team and played well." The Nittany Lions outshot the Terra- pins, 19-11, and held a 12-3 advantage in penalty corners. The Penn State defense held Maryland more than nine shots be- low its season average of 20.4. CROSS COUNTRY Penn State harriers shine on home course The Penn State men finished first and the women second Oct. 11 in the Penn State National at the Blue-White Golf Course. Brannon Kidder was third in the men's race, while Lauren Mills placed eighth for the women. Kidder and Austin Pondel both fin- ished within the top five to lead the Nit- tany Lion men. Kidder completed the 5.2-mile course in 26 minutes, 46 sec- onds to finish third, while Pondel crossed the finish line 10 seconds later to place fourth (26:56). In the women's race, Mills and Cara Ulizio both tallied top-10 finishes. They crossed the finish line within one second of each other to place eighth (22:40) and ninth (22:41), respectively. ■ | NET GAIN Olczyk scored the first goal of PSU's season. Patrick Mansell

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