Saturday night may not have gone all that well for the Penn State football program, but it was quite a different story on the ice for the Penn State men’s hockey program. Penn State shocked No. 6 North Dakota in the 2021 US Hockey Hall of Fame game from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Few things can be considered a program-building block like a head-to-head victory over one of the true bluebloods of the college hockey world.
Clayton Phillip scored two goals to fuel the upset bid by Penn State. The loss is the first suffered by North Dakota this season.
Cleaning up the garbage in front of the net!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/4wBlEBAxk7
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 31, 2021
We don't appreciate the double bird, sir, but we do appreciate the double score!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/wyb3WbiNem
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 31, 2021
There is no question that this is a huge win for a Penn State program that is looking to continue to develop into one of the nation’s finest in the country. Two years removed from a Big Ten championship-destined season, the Nittany Lions can use this game to establish some momentum heading into the meat of their schedule.
Next up for the Penn State hockey program is a Big Ten matchup with Ohio State. Perhaps the Nittany Lions will do on the ice what they were unable to do on the football field this Friday night in Columbus.