Page 15 The Lion’s Eye -— E - : si . pp ESHER rts Penn State Football Update: Nittany Lions Pick Up Two Wins In a season that was labeled from the start as a”transition year” for Penn State, they seem to be tak- ing strides into finding their identity. Although it might not have been seen while the team was getting pounded by Alabama, the team is getting there. The offensive line is holding up as expected, and the defense is starting to come together as one unit. Young quarterback, Robert Bolden, is devel- oping and beginning to look better By Justin Park - Lion 5s Eye Editor in Chief - jrp5321@psu.edu against a struggling defense and con- tinues to prove that he is “the guy” not only for this year but for the remainder of his time at Penn State. Aside from the offense looking strong, the defense forced two turnovers and kept Kent State off of the scoreboard for the entire sixty minutes. : Recap: Penn State vs. Temple (All U Day) Having not winning on “All U Day” in reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. Hartnell, who has a di- sastrous regular season, came alive and went on to record 17 points (8 goals 9 assists) after being pair with Briere and Leino. Briere, who had a good season finishing 4th on the team in points, exploded in the playoffs netting 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points. He led both the Flyers and the NHL in playoff points and in the minds of many was robbed of the Conn Smythe Trophy for MVP of the playoffs. Speaking of exploding in the playoffs, Ville Leino, who was slated to be a healthy scratch before Carter and Gange went down with injures, went on tie the NHL record for most points by a rookie (21) joining NHL Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli. His 7 goals and 14 assists were a very pleasant and exciting surprise. I look for big things for this line for the upcoming season. tough and playmaking forwards. James van Riemsdyk (Left Wing) - Jeff Carter (Center) - Claude Giroux (Right Wing) Much like the aforementioned line of Zherdev, Richards and Guerin, I look for the Flyers to pair the shot taking machine Jeff Carter with a couple of play makers and crisp passers in van Riemsdyk and Giroux. JVR will look to build off a disappointing season last year where he struggled much of the year after a strong start. He will do well using his big size to be the grinder for the speed and finesse pair of Carter and Giroux. Speaking of Carter and Giroux, they look to have another strong season, coming off a year where they finished second and fifth in points on the team respectively. Dan Carcillo (Left Winger) - Darroll Powe along the way. The team is playing a few years, Penn State had as much to smart football and is the nation’s play for as the up and coming Temple leader in average penalty minutes per Owls. With over a hundred thousand game. With a current 3-1 record, the fans on hand to support the blue and Penn State Nittany Lions’ offense, white, the Nittany Lions looked to defense and special teams are all get- extend their winning streak against the ting better with each game. Temple Owls to 28 games and counting. The offense is generally It wasn’t pretty but they did just that. good at moving the ball, but strug- Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions walk off of the field following their Early on, Penn State could not move gles when reaching the red zone only 24-0 win over Kent State (Photo courtesy of sports.yahoo.com) the football on offense and could not managing six touchdowns in fifteen ce = Ste prevent the Heisman Trophy candidate oppertunities. Robert Bolden is ef- providing the offense with great field positioning much of Bernard Price, from rushing into the end fectively spreading the ball around to his receivers and the time. zone twice in the opening quarter. Luckily, place kicker senior tailback, Evan Royster, recorded a career best 182 Collin Wagner and the special teams were able to keep rushing yards against Temple last week. The offensive Recap: Penn State vs. Kent State the team in it heading into half time, trailing just 13-6. line is doing a fine job of supporting Bolden; however, A week removed from a disappointing loss to During the ensuing half time, Penn State was losing right tackle, Lou Eliades, for the rest of the season {OP ranked Alabama hosted unranked Kent State. In able to put its game face on and came out in the second will undoubtedly leave a void to be filled. Whenever their last meeting, Penn State took advantage ofa below. half ready to win. The defense held Temple's offense at there is a new signal caller, especially a true freshman, average football team and picked uD the easy win. The bay and kept them from scoring another point for the rest there needs to be time for the offense to adjust. Nittany Lions looked to do just that again. of the game. Evan Royster went on to a career best in Penn State’s defense is supporting the transi- In the opening quarter, Penn State took control rushing yards with 187 in 26 rushes and Robert Bolden tioning offense. The Nittany Lions are not letting up big ~~ {fom the get-go and intercepted Kent State’s Spencer threw for 223 yards, but it was still the special teams that plays and always keeping the team in the game. They Keith on just the third play of the game. The offense took a5 putting points on the board for the Nittany Lions. are beginning to force turnovers and younger players are advantage of the turnover and scored on a Robert Bolden lin Wagner successfully kicked two more field goals beginning to find their game. With two fantastic games one yard sneak. The offense added another touchdown in the third quarter, which tied a school record. Running against Kent State and Temple, the Penn State success courtesy of a three yard run by Evan Royster to put Penn 4,01 Michael Zordich, did find the end zone late in the “hinges on the defense. State up 14-0 at the end of the first. game to secure the 22-13 win for Penn State. » As far as special teams goes, Penn State looks Following a third quarter field goal and a 48 With the win, Penn State is now ranked at #22 fantastic. Kicker Collin Wagner is helping out with the yard touchdown pass from Robert Bolden to Devon and will play Iowa next Saturday at 8:05pm . offense’s struggles in the red zone, making ten field goals Smith, Penn State went on to defeat Kent State 24-0. in his twelve attempts. Also, the Nittany Lions are getting Robert Bolden went 17-27 for 217 yards accompanied solid kickoff and punt returners from special team players with one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown and two interceptions. He was able to build his confidence ® ® ® ® Philadelphia Flyers Update: Putting the Pieces Together By David Hoffer - Lion’s Eye Sports Editor- deh5081@psu.edu ‘Thanks to new signings and a couple of trades, Nikolai Zherdev (Left Wing) - Mike Richards (Center) - Ian Laperriére (Right Wing) the Philadelphia Flyers will enter this season armed with (Center) - Bill Guerin (Right Wing) Forming the final line may be difficult. We know of the most potent and potentially dominating lineups in I will go out on a limb and predict the Flyers that winger Blair Betts will not be ready for the season, the team’s 43 year existence. As the Flyers begin their will sign free agent winger Bill Guerin. The 39 year old is as he is still recovering from summer shoulder surgery. 44th season in the NHL, let us take a look at the potential a proven winner with 2 Stanley Cups to his resume with We know fan favorite, penalty killing and shot block- line combinations Coach Peter Laviolette may form to the most recent one coming with the Pittsburgh Penguins ing extraordinaire Ian Laperri¢re will take his place on run roughshod over the Atlantic division. in 2009. He will sign a cheap deal to play for a winner the right side. I look for Darroll Powe, who played well On offense: and his signing would be a win-win situation. Guerin’s on the penalty kill last year, to be the final center for the Scott Hartnell (Left Wing) - Danny Briere (Cen- veteran play and leadership could do wonders for Flyers Flyers. This leaves the final spot on offense up for grabs ter) - Ville Leino (Right Wing) captain Mike Richards, both on the ice and in the locker between Dan Carcillo and newcomer enforcer Jody Shel- Assuming Ville Leino will start the season room. Richards looks to have another strong season after ley. Carcillo had a good season last year finishing with 22 healthy, after recovering from offseason surgery on his finishing first on the team in points last year. To round off points, mostly coming when paired with Mike Richards left hip, there is no reason this line should not enter the the line, I will look for Nikolai Zherdev to be matched on the first line. Shelley, who was brought to Philly to season intact. Formed during last year’s remarkable with Guerin and Richards. Zherdev is a sniper and an replace the now retired Riley Cote as the number one playoff run, this line was very instrumental to the Flyers ~~ amazing puck handler who will benefit from two smart, enforcer, contributes little offensively but brings a lot of a toughness. I see Carcillo and Shelley rotating in and out of the lineup much of the year. On Defense: I foresee Chris Pronger reunited with Matt Carle as the top pair for the Flyers. For the second pair, look for veteran Kimmo Timonen to be paired with newcomer An- drej Meszaro§, who has had great success when matched with veteran defensemen (Zdeno Chara) in the past. Rounding out the defense I’ll go with Braydon Coburn, who had a great postseason last year, most likely being paired with newly signed veteran Sean O’Donnell. This leaves Oskars Bartulis and Matt Walker as backups. Overall, the Flyers defense is the deepest in the NHL and big reason the duo of Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher should have a strong season.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers