Romani's Hat Trick Gets MSU Hockey Road Win at Penn State
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Michigan State hockey's Big Ten title hopes just got a nice boost.
The second-ranked Spartans are on the road and handled No. 5 Penn State, 6-3, on Friday night. A dominant first period made the difference in the game, as MSU got to enter the first intermission with a 3-0 advantage. Anthony Romani also had a hat trick, also tallying an assist for a four-point game.
This regulation victory gives Michigan State three needed points in the Big Ten standings. It propels the Spartans ahead of the Nittany Lions, with MSU now holding 33 points in 15 conference games to Penn State's 31.
Michigan State now stands at 20-5-0 overall and 11-4-0 during Big Ten play. PSU dropped to 18-7-0 and 10-5-0, respectively. The Spartans are still one point behind top-ranked Michigan for first place in the Big Ten.
Game Recap
The first period was ruled by Romani. He scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season during the game's opening period to help open up that big lead at the first intermission. Romani's first came after a nice stretch pass from Maxim Strbak led to him being 1-on-1 with Penn State's goalie. Some stick-handling moves from Romani opened up the right side of the net (from Romani's perspective), and he easily deposited into the net for the game's opening goal about four minutes in.
The first period's middle goal went to Owen West, whose wrist shot from the Big Ten logo in front of the blue line in the center of the ice found its way in. Michigan State was also the beneficiary of a power play for that one.
Romani then struck again while the Spartans had a 5-on-3 advantage. He received a nice feed from Cayden Lindstrom while crashing towards the net to make it 3-zip.
Penn State brought it to 3-1 a little more than halfway through the second period on the power play, but Michigan State's top goal-scorer, Porter Martone, made it a three-goal difference again a few minutes later on an unassisted goal. The 4-1 MSU lead held into the third period.
The Nittany Lions got back on the board about three minutes into the final period. They then scored again a few minutes later, suddenly drawing within one. But MSU buckled down at the end, tallying a pair of empty-net goals to finalize the deal at 6-3. Romani tallied the fifth goal for the hat trick.
Tomorrow is the showcase game of this series, though, as the contest will be held outdoors, inside Beaver Stadium. Penn State can move right back in front of the Spartans with a regulation win.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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