Michigan (5-6-0) came away with a dominating 8-1 win in the second game of its weekend series against Penn State (7-3-2). Last night’s 3-2 Nittany Lion win served as motivation for the Wolverines, who avenged the loss in a big way.

Just like last night’s game, the early first period was dominated by Michigan. The Wolverines came out swinging with last night’s loss clearly on their mind, but Penn State goaltender Eamon McAdam was up to the task. His steady play held off Michigan’s early efforts.

Momentum began shifting at the 6:18 mark of the period, as Michigan’s JT Compher was sent off on a holding call. The ensuing power play didn’t result in any goals, but it did see Jonathan Milley ring a shot off of the iron, nearly breaking the tie. He would go on to shoot another off of the post later in the period, just missing out on two goals in the frame.

Both teams were then held without significant chances until halfway through the period, when Curtis Loik found himself on a breakaway. Unfortunately, he couldn’t maintain a handle on the puck right in front of Michigan goalie Zach Nagelvoort, and slid the puck wide.

At the 15 minute mark, a massive scrum saw McAdam surrender a huge rebound as was shoved out of his net. After multiple quality chances and an equal amount of blocked shots, the game remained scoreless as the Nittany Lions found a way to clear the puck.

Neither side could beat the other’s netminder, as the first period came to a merciful goalless end.

The shutout looked to be over one minute into the second period, when there was controversy on the ice as Scott Conway appeared to tap the puck in on a wraparound. The referees declared Nagelvoort covered it up with his blocker, and with no conclusive evidence, no goal was called.

The ruling gave the Wolverines the momentum they were looking for, as Cristoval Nieves danced around Erik Autio before sending a backhand top shelf. His team took a 1-0 lead, finally breaking the game’s shutout.

At the 10:05 mark, Michigan doubled its lead when McAdam left his post, allowing an easy tap-in from Tyler Motte. Ricky DeRosa took a holding call a minute later as the Nittany Lion’s ugly period continued. Nieves found a wide open Alex Kile in the slot, but the latter shot the puck onto the post, barely missing out on an early dagger for the Wolverines.

Consecutive penalties on Milley and Mike Williamson set up a 5-on-3 powerplay for Michigan. Both were killed off, but the remaining pressure was too much for Penn State. Michigan went up 3-0 after Zach Hyman scored his fifth goal of the year.

With 2:39 left in the period, Michigan defenseman Brennan Serville was sent off for his second penalty of the night. Kevin Lohan was sent off soon after, and the 5-on-3 advantage was what Penn State needed. With 31 seconds remaining in the period, Taylor Holstrom put a rebound home to break Nagelvoort’s shutout and narrow the score to 3-1.

The period from Hell came to a close with no more drama. Michigan outshot Penn State substantially in the stanza and outscored it 3-1.

The referees set the Nittany Lions up with an early penalty as the third period started, but Curtis Loik committed one of his own to even the ice. Penn State dominated the 4-on-4 play, but couldn’t capitalize.

With 15:16 remaining in the game, Motte gave Penn State yet another powerplay chance. Michigan’s penalty killers looked dangerous all night, and sure enough, captain Andrew Copp buried a shorthanded goal to put his team ahead 4-1, and the game began to unravel.

Michigan took its foot off of the gas for seven minutes to focus on its defensive play, but Compher wound up for a one-timer in the slot and beat McAdam for his team’s fifth goal of the night.

Soon after, Penn State saw its second waved-off goal of the game. Again, the no-goal call resulted in Michigan momentum, as Alex Kile drifted into the slot and put his team ahead 6-1. With four minutes left, Compher buried his second goal of the game. Less than a minute later, Michael Downing lofted a point shot through McAdam on the softest goal of the night. The two teams played out the rest of the game as a formality, and Penn State left with an 8-1 loss.

Coach Guy Gadowsky likely won’t draw many positives from this game. His team lost by seven and was outshot 45-41, while the emerging McAdam tallied a disappointing .822 save percentage. Taylor Holstrom registered another point, building on his Big Ten-leading total, but no other statistics went Penn State’s way.

Penn State is back in action Saturday, November 29, as it takes on Cornell at Madison Square Garden.