The Youngstown State University Men’s Hockey team went to battle against two league foes this past weekend and came out with two wins. Friday night was a special night in Pittsburgh as the Penguins squared off against the #24 ranked University of Pittsburgh. The game was played in honor of former Pitt hockey staff member Lauren Rudd. Lauren lost her battle with Cancer in August and all proceeds from the game were dedicated to the Mario Lemieux Foundation in her memory.

The Panthers got on the board early in the first Period but the Penguins rebounded quickly. Sophomore forward Greg Eggleston got the Pens on the board at 14:55 of the first period with an unassisted goal. Team captain Zak Kusek followed up just three minutes later with a goal of his own to make it 2-1. Only 3 minutes later the Pens struck again as Freshman forward Nathan Druschel buried his second tally of the season. Freshman Defenseman David Moore then capped the first period scoring with his first collegiate goal at the 1:47 mark.

The Panthers battled back in the 2nd period to make it a 4-3 game but a power play goal in the 3rd by Sophomore Forward Mike Poljak made the score 5-3 and put the game out of reach. Sophomore goalie Gary Biggs stopped 47-50 shots to earn his second win of the season.

On Saturday the Penguins returned to the friendly surroundings of the Ice Zone to square off against the #16 ranked Slippery Rock University Pride. The game was extremely physical with both teams spending over 40 minutes in the penalty box. The Penguins opened up the scoring as Junior Defenseman Kevin Pawlos buried a power play goal at 16:15 of the first period. David Moore and Mike Poljak provided the assists. SRU tied the score at 1 with 4 minutes remaining in the period but the Penguins rebounded to make it 2-1 as Sophmore Defenseman Cody Parker notched his first goal of the season. Sophomore forward Naaman Moorman and Kusek assisted on the goal.

The Penguins scored 4 goals in the second period to take a 6-3 lead. Pawlos scored his second power play goal of the game less than two minutes into the period. The Pride battled back to tie the game at three with ten minutes to go in the period, but the Penguins offensive attack stayed strong. Eggleston buried his second goal of the weekend just 20 seconds after the game had been tied. Moorman and Freshman forward Dan Trobenter got credit for the helpers. The same line struck again just 4 minutes later. This time Moorman got credit for the goal with Eggleston and Trobenter getting assists. Pawlos finished the 2nd period scoring with his 3rd power play goal of the game to give him the hat trick.

The 3rd period saw the Penguins spend a 14 minutes in the penalty box and the Pride battle back to tie the game. The score remained tied at six at the end of regulation bringing about a 5 minute overtime period. Play moved up and down the ice for the first 3 minutes with each team getting one quality scoring chance. Then with just over 2 minutes remaining Moorman caused a turnover in the neutral zone and went down the ice on a 2 on 1 with Freshman Defenseman Michael Kestas. Moorman feathered a pass through the SRU defenseman but it was too far in front of Kestas. Kestas dove and swiped at the puck just as the goaltender reached for it. The puck popped up into the top corner of the net and the Penguins had themselves a 7-6 overtime victory. “I am extremely proud of our young men for the way they continued to battle all weekend.” Said Head Coach Rocky Russo. Our Discipline is improving and I am very impressed with both power play units.” Junior Goalie Matt Jacob stopped 43 of 49 shots to earn his first victory of the season.

The Penguins will travel to Erie, PA this Wednesday to faceoff against Mercyhurst College. They then return to The Ice Zone on Friday for a league battle with West Virginia University.