ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Call it Pegula Ice Arena East, perhaps, but the Penn State Nittany Lions seem to enjoy playing at their second home of the PPL Center.
In front of a white-out audience of 7,358 that was largely made up of their raucous fans, host Penn State rebounded from an early deficit with five unanswered goals to punch its ticket to the Allentown regional final with a 5-1 rout of Maine tonight.
“There’s so many games at Pegula where we ride the Roar Zone, since its inception,” said Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky. “We had a big chunk of it in Allentown, and it was awesome to ride that wave and have their support.”
Maine, the fourth-ranked team overall in NCAA Division I, grabbed an early lead in a rough-and-tumble first period that saw no less than six penalties called, three per team. The scoring started when a puck popped up into the air in front of the Penn State net, then landed behind goaltender Arsenii Sergeev and slipped over the goal line to put the top-seeded Black Bears on top. Maine defenseman Bodie Nobes was credited with the goal at 4:08.
The Nittany Lions responded less than a minute later, and just eight seconds into their first power play, when JJ Wiebusch scored off a cross-ice pass from Aiden Fink following a face-off in the Maine end to tie the contest at 5:04. The Black Bears’ Thomas Freel had been called for boarding, one of three consecutive boarding calls whistled in the opening period.
Matt DiMarsico was later on denied on a rush by Black Bears netminder Albin Boija, but the Nittany Lions regrouped in their own zone and came back up ice, where DiMarsico shelved a shot at 14:26 to put his team ahead for the first time, and for good as it turned out.
“We play a speed game, looking to turn defense into offense,” said Dimarsico. “We had a couple of odd-man breaks, and finished in the net.”
Penn State then made it 3-1 when Dane Dowiak tipped home a feed by Danny Dzhaniyev from the left circle on a power play at 18:08. The play was reviewed for a potential offside infraction, but the goal ultimately stood.
“The power play was getting a lot of good looks that were not falling,” said Gadowsky. “Now they’re falling.”
DiMarsico then added his second goal of the night, and 16th of the season, at 5:41 of the penalty-free second stanza when Charlie Cerrato fed him in front for a one-timer from the high slot, for the only score of the middle frame. Cerrato finished with a game-high three assists on the night, and has clicked with DiMarsico and Wiebusch on his wings.
“We’ve been playing together a while now,” said Cerrato, who added that the trio’s rapport includes communicating, even on the bench.
“It’s also hockey IQ,” said DiMarsico. “We’re smart hockey players, and when we start clicking, it’s really good.”
Halfway through the third period, Sergeev made back-to-back stops in the slot off of Maine’s Taylor Makar and Nolan Renwick to keep Penn State’s three-goal advantage.
“Arsei’s a stud,” said Cerrato. “He’s the hardest worker and the most competitive kid, and that’s all we can ask of him.”
Penn State later had a brief two-man power-play advantage in the final frame, but nothing came of it in finishing 2-for-5 overall with the man advantage, while outshooting Maine, 34-27, on the night.
“They moved pucks fast, and we weren’t as aggressive,” said Renwick, who played his final game as a Black Bear. “We allowed them to skate freely, and it cost us in the end.”
The Black Bears pulled Boija for an extra attacker with roughly four minutes remaining in regulation, only to have Dowiak hit the empty net at 16:37.
“We kind of preach giving them nothing. We focus on ourselves, and play hard as a core,” said Penn State defenseman Jimmy Dowd, Jr. “We stick to our game plan and stay positive.”
The Black Bears, who won the Hockey East championship this season for the first time since 2004, finish the year at 24-8-6 overall.
“It’s a tough way to end our season,” said Maine head coach Ben Barr. “Credit Penn State, they were outstanding, and for whatever reason we couldn’t get any traction tonight.
“Our guys have accomplished a lot these last few seasons,” he added. “This is going to sting, but I’m proud of our team.”
Penn State (21-13-4), the last Big Ten team standing this season, will now face NCAA tournament newcomer Connecticut, a 4-1 winner over Quinnipiac in the first Allentown regional semifinal, on Sunday for the right to go to the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis in two weeks’ time.
Two years ago, the Nittany Lions were an overtime goal away in Allentown from making their first Frozen Four. Whoever wins Sunday’s contest will be a first-time national semifinalist.
“The atmosphere has been a big part of so many of our big wins,” said Gadowsky. “To have another huge crowd would mean the world, and we’ll take from this game and look at what we have to do against UConn.”
