“I think that's something we try and pride ourselves in, is getting on teams early,” senior forward Charlie Stramel said. “Playing north, playing simple and hard, and I think it worked in our favor tonight.” 

Stramel led the Spartans offensively earning the team’s first goal of the game, ending the night with four points (2-2–4). 

Junior netminder Trey Augustine allowed just one goal on 61 shots this weekend, earning 36 saves on route to his ninth career shutout.

A stark contrast to last night’s matchup, MSU saw early scoring opportunities off crisp passes and an aggressive forecheck. 

"We talked to our guys about, ‘Hey, this is not about the scoreboard,'" MSU head coach Adam Nightingale said. ""The standard is the standard. And so, we got to try to get better here and play better than we did on Friday.' I was excited when I saw that out of our guys. I could tell right off the bat that they knew we got another level that we can get to."

Just over two minutes into the game the first line capitalized for the Spartans with Stramel taking the puck himself from beyond the circles, firing one straight past Penn State’s goaltender Josh Fleming to get MSU on the board early, 1-0. 

Shortly after the Spartans found themselves shorthanded and it looked like forward Gavin McKenna was going to sneak one past Augustine, but the shot deflected off the post.

Five minutes into play, MSU went on the power play and nearly converted as a flurry of shots tested Fleming — but the officials waved it off. With pieces of a broken stick scattered around the net, the Spartans fired seven shots on goal but couldn’t extend their lead.

"That's a little bit of being a good power play," Nightingale said. "It's not always, you're not always going to score, but can you create momentum for your team."

Penn State saw its best scoring opportunities on the power play from McKenna and forward Luke Misa, but McKenna hit the post and Misa’s was snuffed by Augustine. 

MSU extended its lead during a line change when freshman forward Ryker Lee found Stramel streaking down the middle. Stramel fed freshman forward Porter Martone, who buried the puck for the go-ahead goal, putting the Spartans up 2-0 with about a minute left in the first period.

The Spartans’ momentum carried over into the second as the team continued to get good looks — and the Nittany Lions kept hitting the pipe. 

Each team continued to receive penalties, but the score held, until 11:56 when sophomore defenseman Colin Ralph sent a shot from beyond the left circle to give MSU a 3-0 lead. 

Penn State responded quickly as defenseman Jackson Smith fired a shot that went straight into Augustine’s pads.

In the final minute of the second period, Penn State saw multiple scoring opportunities, starting with consecutive shots from forward Matt DiMarsico, but Augustine stood tall. With five seconds left Misa fired one at the netminder, who saved it with his chest. After the shot forward Lev Katzin earned a 10-minute misconduct, setting the scene for the final period. 

Penn State put up a fight in the first 10 minutes of the third period, forcing Augustine to record nine saves. While both teams saw scoring opportunities, neither could find the net. 

With just under six minutes to play, freshman forward Eric Nilson fired a shot, and Lee tried to jam in the rebound, but Fleming was ready for the save. The sequence turned chippy, with bodies flying in front of the net, until both Lee and defenseman Jarod Crespo were assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that canceled each other out. Nilson was also sent to the box for two minutes for roughing.

Down 3-0 with four minutes left in regulation Penn State opted to pull its goalie — and paid the price. 

The Nittany Lions had the puck in the offensive zone but lost it, allowing freshman defenseman Sean Barnhill to find senior forward Daniel Russell in the neutral zone. Russell sent it ahead to Stramel streaking down the middle who brought in the empty-netter goal, extending the lead to 4-0. 

The penalties kept coming, and MSU capitalized on a five-on-three opportunity thanks to another assist from Russell — this time threading a pass-through traffic to freshman forward Anthony Romani, who buried the shot for the Spartans’ final goal of the night.

In the final seconds MSU possessed the puck from behind the net, watching the clock run out as it earned the 5-0 shutout. 

"I thought we were good yesterday," Stramel said. “I thought we didn't really play a full 60, though we had our good spurts throughout the game. And I thought tonight, right from the puck drop, we were kind of all over them, sticking to our game. And I thought we played a complete 60 tonight."

Seven Spartans earned points throughout the night, with Stramel (2-2–4), Russell (0-3–3) and senior defenseman Matt Basgall (0-2–2) earning multiple. 

With the series sweep, MSU improved to 7-1-0 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play. The Spartans also evened their all-time series against the Nittany Lions at 22-22-8 since the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 25, 2013.

Next up on MSU’s schedule is a road series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. EST and Saturday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. EST.