ANNAPOLIS, MD (Friday, November 02, 2007) – Navy’s ice hockey team once again gave a league rival all it could handle for two periods but couldn’t find a way to break into the win column, falling to perennial powerhouse Penn State, 6-2, Friday night at the McMullen Hockey Arena in Annapolis.

 

Penn State scored four consecutive, unanswered goals -- three of those on power plays -- over a 26-minute span in the second and third periods to seal the victory.

 

With the loss, the #23 ranked Midshipmen fell to 5-7 overall this season and 0-7 in the new Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL).  Penn State’s #3 ranked Icers, meanwhile, improved to 9-1-2 overall and 7-0 in the league.

 

PSU took an early lead Friday night, getting a goal at 1:34 of the first period when junior Steve Peck redirected a pass from senior Nate Obringer past sophomore Navy netminder Eric Anderson while the teams were at equal strength.

 

The visiting Icers took a 2-0 lead later in the period, just after the Mids had successfully killed off a penalty, when senior Michael McMullen hit the back of the net following a nifty solo effort at the 14:39 mark  Senior Keith Jordan recorded the lone assist.

 

Navy cut the deficit in half just 22 seconds later when junior Nolan Anliker’s shot was stopped by Penn State goaltender Nick Signet, but senior Drew Stoner opportunistically knocked in the rebound at 15:01.  It was Stoner’s second tally of the season and ninth of his Naval Academy career.

 

The Midshipmen pulled even at 2-2 early in the second stanza when junior Jeff Martin converted a pass from classmate Anliker at 3:46, while Navy was on a power play.  It was Martin’s fourth goal of the season and 14th of his USNA career.  Anliker’s second assist of the night increased his team-leading season total to seven.

 

Penn State regained its one-goal advantage, 3-2, less than two minutes later when sophomore Dave Herel banged a rebound past Anderson at 5:26, the assists going to freshman Tim O’Brien and Jordan. The Icers went back up by two goals before the second period ended, 4-2, thanks to Jaime Zimmel’s tip-in of a Steve Thurston slap shot at 16:35 while Navy was a man down.

 

Enjoying a power play at the start of the third period, PSU capitalized when junior Kyle Mills slapped a rebound past Anderson just 37 seconds after the opening face-off, with assists going to Jordan and O’Brien.

 

The blue-and-white clad visitors closed out the scoring midway through the final stanza when O’Brien picked up a power play goal at 11:24, assisted by Brandon Rubeo and Mills.

 

Anderson had a busy night for the Midshipmen, recording 51 saves on 57 Penn State shots, while his counterpart Signet finished with 22 saves, as PSU outshot Navy by a 57-24 margin.  The Icers enjoyed a 27-9 shot advantage after the first period.

 

Navy and Penn State meet again Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at the McMullen Hockey Arena.

 

PUCK POINTS: Friday night’s game started with a moment of silence for 1998 Penn State graduate LT Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005 and was recently awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor…his story was captured in the book “Lone Survivor” that was written by former SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the only member of Murphy’s four-man team who survived that operation…sophomore defensemen Andrew Ochalek and Chandler Brewer were penciled into the starting lineup for the second consecutive game for the Mids…junior Matt Swezey and sophomore Nick Hinkley were back in uniform after missing last Saturday morning’s clash with the University of Rhode Island…former Navy defenseman and 2003 grad Jon Martha was spotted in Annapolis and on the Yard Thursday afternoon…Martha is currently stationed in the area…the McMullen Hockey Arena wall now sports banners from all six ESCHL teams…in another ESCHL game Friday night, the University of Delaware traveled to Rhode Island…those same two teams will meet on Saturday night, as well… Saturday night’s Navy-Penn State game will once again be broadcast on the TEAMLINE network, with Josh Martinelli handling the play-by-play and Peter Bourgeois taking care of the color commentary.

 

SCORING SUMMARY

 

Penn State                    2          2          2          -           6

NAVY                         1          1          0          -           2

 

First Period

PS – Peck 7 (Obringer) 1:34

PS – McMullen 3 (unassisted) 14:39

N – Stoner 2 (Anliker) 15:01

 

Second Period

N – Martin 4 (Anliker) 3:46 PP

PS – Herel 2 (O’Brien, Jordan) 5:26

PS – Zimmel 8 (Thurston) 16:36 PP

 

Third Period

PS – Mills 2 (Jordan, Cera) 0:37 PP

PS – O’Brien 6 (Cera, Mills) 11:24 PP

 

SAVES

Signet (Penn State)       8          4          10        -           22

Anderson (NAVY)       25        14        12        -           51

 

SHOTS

Penn State                    27        16        14        -           57

NAVY                         9          5          10        -           24