Biro, Sucese, Talvitie line leads Penn State men’s hockey in high-energy performance against Minnesota
When Penn State needed its captain the most, Brandon Biro delivered.
The Nittany Lions trailed Minnesota 3-2 with just over five minutes left in regulation when Biro battled through three Minnesota players, got his stick on a bouncing puck and delivered the game-tying goal Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena.
The game officially ended as a 3-3 tie as neither team was able to get the game-winning goal, but Alex Limoges scored with 23 seconds left in the 3-on-3 overtime to give the Nittany Lions the crucial extra point.
Biro, who has dealt with injuries throughout the season, came through when Penn State needed him the most. He had three points with the goal and two assists.
“Aarne (Talvitie) won a battle in the first place, Nate (Sucese) got one to the net, and I think it was just bouncing on that D and somehow it just bounced through his legs, got a shot and both of their defenseman were kind of looking at the puck. So I was able to sneak behind them and get a stick on it,” Biro said on his game-tying goal. “It was just a good bounce and a good play by Nate and Aarne.”
But Biro’s performance was much more than just this goal, it was his effort, energy and tenacity throughout the game that made the difference.
“He did it in really good ways, not risky ways, he did it in a very mature captain-like way,” coach Guy Gadowksky said. “I mean he was just excellent and obviously just a great individual effort on that goal.”
And while Biro’s performance will be remembered for his timely goal, the rest of his line was just as productive.
Nate Sucese also had three points and Aarne Talvitie had a pair as the line was responsible for eight of Penn State’s nine points.
“I feel like things were just clicking for Nate, Aarne and I tonight,” Biro said. “I feel like anytime we made a play, the other guy was pretty much wide open for a chance.”
But according to Gadowsky, this massive performance from the line, all started with the play of Talvitie.
The New Jersey Devils prospect is finally returning to the player he was before he suffered a season-ending injury last year while captaining Finland in the World Juniors Championships.
And a healthy Talvite means a much improved Penn State.
“It makes us a much better team,” Gadowsky said. “He has just been coming and coming and coming. If there is one guy that’s been snake bitten on our team it’s been Aarne, whether it’s being alone in the slot and breaking his stick of hitting posts or just a goalie robbing him or whatever.
“He’s played a lot better than his statistics offensively will show.”
And while Talvitie was rewarded with his first goal on Friday since Dec. 13, it was the things that the Finland native was doing off the the puck that made his performance so special.
“I think Aarne was really good tonight and was really good at winning battles down low,” Biro said. “He was keeping pucks alive and we had some odd-man rushes right in front of the net because of what Aarne was doing. But I felt overall, the three of us played really well together and we saw each other tonight.”
This trio put together one of their biggest performances of the season when the Nittany Lions desperately needed it.
Penn State was able to earn two of the possible three Big Ten points on Friday night, which allowed them to gain a one-point lead at the top of the Big Ten standings, with just one more regular-season game remaining in Saturday’s contest with Minnesota.
All of the teams chasing the Nittany Lions, including Minnesota, have games in-hand, so Penn State knows how important every point is.
“We need every point we can get right now so it is playoff hockey right now so we’re playing Penn State hockey and we’re really focusing on managing our shifts, getting the pucks behind D, no turnovers so it’s a lot of fun,” Limoges said. “It was a different atmosphere when we all got to the rink and I think it showed on the ice.”
Limoges had a point, as Penn State dominated for much of the 60 minutes and held a 57-25 shot advantage over the Golden Gophers.
The chances still didn’t fall at times for the Nittany Lions on Friday night, and they know despite the high-energy performance on Friday, they can still finish anywhere from No. 1 to No. 6 in the Big Ten standings based on results around the conference.
But Penn State is focusing on itself, and letting the rest take care of itself.
“We really have to take advantage of this last game we have because we know teams are going to be playing next weekend,” Biro said. “As far as what we are focusing on, we want first in the Big Ten standings, and I think the national stuff will take care of itself if we take care of stuff here.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 1:04 AM.
