Penn State hockey underwent its first real test of the season on Saturday against No. 6 North Dakota in Nashville, and it secured an emphatic A-plus and a gold star to boot.
The Nittany Lions put six goals past the Fighting Hawks, scoring three of them on the power play, as they defeated North Dakota 6-4.
This is Penn State's first win over top-10 opposition since November of 2019, and its second consecutive six-goal outburst.
"We were pretty opportunistic," Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky said of his team's attack. "And then we had to battle and fight for a few of those...Fortunately, we had some traffic in front, and we were lucky enough to have a few go in."
The Nittany Lions had to make the most of their chances on Saturday, as they were outshot 32-23. They made the Fighting Hawks pay for the penalties they took, and created some excellent opportunities on the break at even strength as well.
A three-on-one jailbreak set up the first Nittany Lion goal, with true freshman Danny Dzhaniyev feeding Tyler Gratton on the doorstep.
That was key for Penn State, which battled an arena full of North Dakota fans at this neutral site contest.
Gadowsky felt it was crucial to keep the energy from the crowd from snowballing on the Nittany Lions, so getting off to a good start was paramount.
"We're still learning about what kind of team we are, but early in the season we've obviously been a little more comfortable," Gadowsky said. "We haven't had a lot of experiences to come from behind...So to get ahead, I think it delayed that snowball coming, and I think that was really important."
The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 2-0 behind the first of two goals from defenseman Clayton Phillips on the night — this one on the power play. Judd Caulfield pulled the Fighting Hawks back within a goal before the end of the first period.
That's the back-and-forth pattern this game followed.
Connor MacEachern scored on the power play early in the second to make it 3-1. Ethan Frisch then responded for North Dakota two minutes later. Phillips found the back of the net again with 4:13 on the clock in the second to extend the lead to 4-2, but Jake Schmaltz lit the lamp to cut the lead back to 4-3 with under 15 seconds remaining in the period.
MacEachern provided a late insurance goal that proved vital with 4:08 left to give Penn State a 5-3 advantage. Riese Gaber scored North Dakota's fourth with 2:01 left, before Ben Copeland hit the empty net for Penn State with less than five seconds to go to conclude the scoring.
For the Nittany Lions, it was some crucial early-season proof-of-concept before entering Big Ten play at Ohio State next week.
It was also, Gadowsky hopes, an experience that will come in handy in the NCAA Tournament, where the Nittany Lions will play in neutral venues should they qualify.
"Certainly, you hope that down the road, someday in the postseason, you play in something similar," he said. "Great experience on its own, but obviously beneficial for the future."
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