STATE COLLEGE – The first eight minutes rarely decide a hockey game, or any sporting contest, really. But Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena, they did.
Penn State came out firing on all cylinders against visiting Sacred Heart in the first 20 minutes of play. It scored just under four minutes in when defenseman Luke Juha pounded a puck off Pioneer goalie Alex Vazzano’s blocker that trickled into the net, and then again at the 8:04 mark when forward Ricky DeRosa cleaned up a rebound to put State up by two. It outshot the visitors by a whopping 16-3 margin, and skated three times on the man advantage to Sacred Heart’s two.