ALLENTOWN — Penn State men’s ice hockey reached the Frozen Four for the first time in program history on Sunday, March 30.
After starting the season 0-8 in the Big Ten, many called the Nittany Lions season over, with some people saying head coach Guy Gadowski should be fired.
Now, after winning 13 of its last 15 games, Penn State will be traveling to St. Louis for the program’s first ever Frozen Four. 2023 was the closest they had been, prior to this season, losing to Michigan in the regional championship in overtime.
On Sunday, the Nittany Lions flipped the switch sending UConn home with Matt Dimarsico’s overtime game-winner.
The Huskies opened the scoring just three minutes into the first period. Penn State responded 10 years later through a Dane Dowiak one-timer. Dowiak has been one of the hottest players in the NCAA tournament, scoring twice in the first round and once against UConn.
UConn took the lead once again in the second period from a flicked shot from the blue line. Tabor Heaslip flicked the puck into the air, and it bounced its way through bodies, beating Penn State’s goalie Arsenii Sergeev.
Exactly 30 seconds later, Penn State equalized once again. This time it was freshmen Charlie Cerrato and JJ Weibusch connecting for a goal from the far dot. The PPL Center in Allentown was almost solely Penn State fans, and this goal electrified an already raucous atmosphere.
In the third period, UConn looked to have more energy left in their tanks, but Sergeev and the Penn State defense held strong to bring the game to overtime.
The Huskies and Nittany Lions each had numerous chances in the first 15 minutes of overtime, but it was Penn State who struck first, winning the game. Cerrato hit a behind-the-back pass to Dimarsico who passed the blocker of the UConn goalie.
Dimarsico threw his stick into the crowd before celebrating with his teammates. The celebration and goal were chosen by ESPN as the top play of the day.
Penn State will now take on Hockey East foe Boston University in the Frozen Four at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri on Thursday, April 10, at 8:30 p.m.
Boston University is 23-13-2 on the season and 2-2 against Big Ten opponents this year. Their path to the Frozen Four included wins against Ohio State and Cornell.
