Romani's hat trick ignited a dominant offensive performance, securing Michigan State a crucial 6-3 victory against a formidable Penn State squad.
Anthony Romani netted a hat trick as Michigan State took game one of its series with Penn State, 6–3, on Friday night in State College.
There aren’t many games left in the Spartans’ season, and when a team is winning, the year tends to fly by. For Michigan State fans, this season has moved at full speed — more Ricky Bobby than slow Sunday drive.
Friday night marked the start of the final five series of the regular season, and none will come easy. The first two may be the toughest of all.
Michigan State traveled east to face a red-hot Penn State team that had won eight of its last nine games. The Spartans entered the matchup looking to protect their No. 2 ranking ahead of next week’s showdown with top-ranked Michigan.
The two teams had already met twice earlier this season, both Spartan wins, including a 5–0 shutout that sent Penn State home frustrated. This time, however, the Nittany Lions were expected to come out aggressively on home ice — especially with an outdoor rematch looming Saturday.
Instead, it was Michigan State that struck first and often.
Anthony Romani opened the scoring just four minutes into the game with his 10th goal of the season. After Trey Augustine made a sharp kick save, the puck found Maxim Strbak, whose pass split two Penn State defenders and sent Romani in alone. Romani made a smooth move to his right and slid the puck past the goal line to give MSU a 1–0 lead.
Penn State responded with pressure, piling up shots early, but Augustine stood tall, including a highlight-reel stop to keep the Spartans ahead.
As the first period wound down, Owen West picked up the puck at the blue line and fired a wrist shot through traffic for his second goal of the season, making it 2–0.
Then, with 94 seconds left in the period and the power play winding down, Cayden Lindstrom sent a backhanded pass to the middle of the ice where Romani buried a one-timer for his second of the night and 11th of the season. Michigan State carried a commanding 3–0 lead into the first intermission.
Penn State finally broke through in the second period when Jackson Smith scored his eighth goal of the season, ending Augustine’s shutout bid and injecting life back into the building.
That momentum didn’t last long.
Porter Martone answered with his team-leading 15th goal of the season, cleaning up a loose puck in front of Joshua Flemming after a scramble of sticks in the crease. The goal restored MSU’s three-goal cushion at 4–1.
The third period brought another Penn State push. Reese Laubach cut the lead to two early, and five minutes later Matt DiMarsico’s 15th goal of the season made it a one-shot game with just over 11 minutes remaining.
Penn State pressed for the equalizer, but Augustine shut the door down the stretch.
Romani sealed the win with an empty-net goal to complete his hat trick, and Daniel Russell added another late empty-netter to put the game away for good as Michigan State claimed a 6–3 victory.
Game two of the series will be played outdoors Saturday at Beaver Stadium at 1 p.m. EST, with the Spartans looking to complete a 4–0 season sweep of the Nittany Lions.