State College ice hockey finishes strong in 5-1 victory over Hollidaysburg

State College and Hollidaysburg are known as the two more physical teams in the Laurel Mountain Hockey League.

With players hitting the glass, and State College captain Rees Engel and Hollidaysburg’s Ty Burket getting tangled up and thrown out with 8:57 left in the third period, Thursday’s matchup was no different. The Little Lions (9-3) got the better of the Golden Tigers (12-3) with Ben Lee scoring two goals to lead the team to a 5-1 victory.

Hollidaysburg and State College have tangoed before on Oct. 28 with the Golden Tigers standing tall for a 6-3 victory. The loss set in the back of the mind of head coach David Lee, who vowed to his team that they would win the next matchup.

“We took a loss to them in our first game,” David Lee said. “They really put it to us and I think that it’s nice to see that we’ve gotten better in this part of the year. It’s still a lot more to do, but it’s good for the kids. They worked really hard in practice and it’s about them. If they’re pleased with their effort, I’m pleased with their effort.”

Ben Lee broke the scoreless drought by both teams in the second period with 10:24 minutes remaining, receiving a pass from Peyton Hendrick and finishing on a wraparound shot. His second goal came in the third period when he took on a pass from Sam Palmer and Alex McGuire, splitting the defense and taking on Hollidaysburg goalie Tyler Duey one-on-one for a goal (10:07) for a 3-1 lead.

“We wanted a fast start,” Ben Lee said. “They’re (Hollidaysburg) a great team over there, we have the same styles. I knew we had to get that first goal to get everything moving fast and get our breakouts going and get our forecheck going. That really helped throughout the game.”

Zander Faust was State College’s second goal scorer. Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of luck — with an errant pass from a Hollidaysburg player that bounced off of Faust’s foot for a goal.

“I think it really helped with Ben’s first goal,” Faust said. “It really got us up quick in the game. That one set the pace. When I got the second one in, I want to be honest, it was pretty lucky. Just the biggest thing is getting pucks on net. Their goalie is pretty good, but he let off a lot of rebounds and was having trouble tracking the puck. So, once we got that second goal in, we were set for the night.”

The Little Lions scored two final goals in the third period. Colin Wilbe went low on an unassisted goal under the pads of Duey with 5:21 left in the game. Luke Janac followed up with another unassisted goal (2:38) for the 5-1 lead.

Hollidaysburg’s lone goal was in the second period with Burket assisting Zack Dunlap with 1:04 remaining to trail 2-1.

State College goalie John Olsen consistently set up his defensemen with precision and had to make a number of saves to keep Hollidaysburg off the board for the remainder of the game. After allowing five goals in a 5-0 loss to Westmont-Hilltop on Jan. 13, Olsen has made a point to trust in his teammates.

“The defense played well,” Olsen said. “The past couple of games against Westmont and Bishop McCourt, I probably put a little too much blame on the defense, but they came out today and played really well. This is probably the best game that they’ve played honestly. They were getting pucks out of the zone.”

State College 5, Hollidaysburg 1

1 2 3

State College 0 2 3

Hollidaysburg 0 1 0

2nd Period Summary

State College — Ben Lee, assisted by Peyton Hendrick (10:24)

State College — Zander Faust, unassisted (6:09)

Hollidaysburg — Zack Dunlap, assisted by Ty Burket (1:04)

3rd Period Summary

State College — Ben Lee, assited by Alex McGuire and Sam Palmer (10:07)

State College — Colin Wible, unassisted (5:21)

State College — Luke Janac, unassisted (2:38)