The Youngstown State University hockey team took the Ice against the #13 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers last Friday in a huge College Hockey Mid-America matchup. The Penguins (6-1-1, 2-0) were riding high from last weekends sweep of #24 Pittsburgh and #16 Slippery Rock and were looking to go to 3-0 in the league. WVU (4-3-1) was coming off a 2-0-1 showing at the ACHA showcase and looking to reestablish their dominance in the CHMA.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when YSU defenseman David Moore turned the puck over and Mountaineer forward Kenny Lehmann scored on a shorthanded breakaway. However Moore quickly made up for his mistake by finding Mike Poljak on the backdoor for a powerplay goal at the 5:49 mark of the first period. The Penguins outscored the Mountaineers 2-1 in the second period as the Penguins received goals from Michael Stokar and Captain Zak Kusek. Poljak assisted on both tallies and Naaman Moorman added a helper on the Stokar goal. Both Goals were scored on the powerplay.
The 3rd period saw the Penguins add two more powerplay goals. Stokar struck at the 17:28 mark of the period, on assists from Poljak and Kusek. Less than a minute later Stokar buried his 3rd goal of the game for the hat trick. Once again Poljak assisted on the powerplay goal. Freshman Defenseman Alex Arnold added the second helper. The Mountaineers scored late in the period to pull within 2 goals but could not come any closer as the Penguins claimed a 5-3 victory over the reigning CHMA champions.
The boys continue to battle each and every night” said Head Coach Rocky Russo. “Hopefully we can carry the momentum of the night into next weekends games” The Penguins face off against Duquesne University and John Carroll University next weekend at the Ice Zone. Gary Biggs stopped 21-24 shots to earn his 3rd victory of the season.