PHILADELPHIA - Vermont stormed back from 2-0 down by scoring five unanswered goals and skated past Penn State 5-2 on Saturday night in the second annual Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff at the Wells Fargo Center. The Catamounts even their record at 1-1-1 (0-0-0 HEA), while the Nittany Lions drop to 1-3-1 (0-0-0 Big 10).
Penn State scored the first two goals of the contest in the first period less than two minutes apart. A diving effort from H.T. Lenz couldn't keep Taylor Holstrom's shot from crossing the goal line at 11:56. Tommy Olczyk then netted a shorthanded tally at 13:17 as he finished off his own rebound into an empty net to double the PSU lead.
Just 2:10 later, Jake Fallon put the Catamounts on the board. Chris McCarthy centered the puck to Fallon in the low right circle, and the junior out-waited Eamon McAdam before roofing the puck over the sprawling netminder. Connor Brickley picked up the second assist on the play.
In the second period, Vermont played its way back into the game and took its first lead of the night. Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Nick Luukko wristed a point shot through traffic to beat McAdam under the right pad at 6:46 off a pass from Matt White. The senior forward made it a 3-2 game three minutes later, stuffing a loose puck inside the right post after a misplayed dump-in by McAdam.
2:30 into the final frame, Richboro, Pa. native Brendan Bradley added some insurance with a shorthanded goal for his first career tally. Bradley deked his way to a clean look inside the Penn State zone, and finished off a rebound after McAdam's initial save. Pete Massar then deflected Rob Hamilton's point shot past McAdam's glove on the power play to seal the victory.
Mike Santaguida posted a career-high 32 saves on the night, including 23 in the thid period alone, while McAdam was credited with 24 stops. Vermont was 1-6 on the power play and posted a perfect 6-6 mark on the penalty kill. UVM out-shot PSU 12-1 in the second period.
The Catamounts return to action next weekend as they host No. 2 Notre Dame to open the Hockey East slate. The teams face off on Friday (Nov. 1) at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday (Nov. 2) at 4:30 p.m. at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Vermont will also be celebrating the 50th anniversary of men's hockey, presented by Vermont National Country Club, as Notre Dame plays its first-ever Hockey East series.