Hamilton, N.J. — In a MACH Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup dubbed the ‘Battle of Pennsylvania,’ the second-seeded Penn State Ice Lions asserted late in the first period and cruised to a 5-0 win over Drexel on Friday (Feb. 14) at Ice Land.
After even, scoreless hockey through the first 13 minutes, the Lions capitalised on a Mark Lewery cross-checking minor and opened the scoring with 5:06 left in the first period. With one second left on their power play, Penn State controlled the front of the Drexel net, and freshman Dayton Collins poked the puck in amid a net-front scrum. The Lions struck again on the power play with 36 seconds left in the first period, when Matt Owens beat Drexel goalie Logan Kramsky off a Dylan McLaughlin assist.
Penn State added one more in the second, extending their advantage to 3-0. Ryan Long capped a give-and-go with Matt Wikman at 8:23 with a hard bar-down wrist shot from 20 feet.
With 38 seconds elapsed in the third, Penn State forward Joe DeLaurentis forced a turnover just inside the Drexel blue line and walked the puck in for an easy goal. After his second-period tally, Long went on to earn the secondary assist on the final goal of the game, an Andrey Alipov tip of an Adam Johnson shot with 7:37 left in regulation.
Anthony Dominick was perfect in net for the Lions, saving all 25 shots he faced.
Penn State squares off against Rowan in Saturday’s (Feb. 15) semifinal; full coverage is available at Delaware Hockey Night.
