Special teams play is always an important part of the game, including when there's more than an hour's worth of penalty minutes in the game.
With the boards shaking and players getting knocked down every shift, it was easy to see there was no love lost between the No. 2 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers and the No. 4 Ohio Bobcats.
In two hard-hitting hockey games this weekend at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, the teams split the series with Ohio taking Friday's game, 4-3, in a shootout and Penn State winning Saturday afternoon 3-0.
"We knew the games would be physical," Penn State forward Luke DeLorenzo said. "We don't really like each other that much."
Penn State (5-2-1) mounted a comeback in the third period of Friday's game with two power-play goals by forwards Matt Schwartz and DeLorenzo, but fell short in a shootout 3-2. Despite dominating play most of the night and outshooting Ohio 47-23, the Icers lost their third straight game in dramatic fashion.
After falling behind 1-0 in the shootout, Icers forward Mike McMullen deposited the puck behind Ohio goaltender Paul Marshall on a backhand shot, igniting the crowd.
Unfortunately for the Icers, after trading goals back and forth, Ohio took a 3-2 lead with one shooter left. Freshman Tim O'Brien's tying attempt was stopped, and the Icers' comeback efforts were thwarted.
"It's frustrating because we had a seven- or eight-minute span where we didn't play that well," Penn State coach Scott Balboni said. "There were a couple of bad bounces that didn't go our way that ultimately cost us the game."
Saturday's game had a different look to it as Penn State freshman Teddy Hume took net for his first collegiate start instead of the junior Signet.
"After losing three games in a row, I wanted to give the team some kind of spark," Balboni said. "I had confidence in Teddy, and he has been showing us something in practice the last couple of weeks."
The Icers gave Hume an early lead when forward Brandon Rubeo redirected a shot from the point past Marshall. This short-handed goal set the tone for the rest of the game, as both teams would have to depend on special teams because of the excess penalty minutes taken.
"When I first found out I was starting I was excited and nervous, but knew I would have to depend on my technique," Hume said. "Being able to make my first few saves let me settle down in net."
Penn State dictated play for most of the afternoon, outshooting the Bobcats 30-19. Goals by forwards DeLorenzo and McMullen in the second and third periods respectively, gave the Icers the shutout victory.
Throughout both games physical play led to an increased number of penalty minutes.
The Icers special teams had to come up huge on many occasions, and they tallied three goals, two on the power-play and two short-handed. The penalty kill stepped up by stopping all 14 power-play opportunities for the Bobcats.
"I'm a little disappointed in the amount of stupid penalties we took by playing undisciplined," Balboni said. "Our penalty kill was great though, and when you score a short-handed goal it's a great lift."
Saturday's game had a combined 59 minutes of penalty time. There were scuffles breaking out all over the ice, leading to special teams' play that decided the games.
The Icers win ended their three game skid, and it probably will help keep their No. 2 ranking.
