No. 13 Penn State Men’s Hockey (9-1) dropped the second and final game of a two-game series to No. 1 Michigan (8-2) 4-3.

A late third-period surge by Penn State proved not enough as Michigan escapes Pegula Ice Arena with a win to split the series.

How It Happened

After shutting out Michigan on Friday night, head coach Guy Gadowsky stayed with the hot hand and elected to start Liam Souliere in net.

Junior goaltenderNoah West got the start for the Wolverines for the second straight night.

Starters for game 2 vs. No. 1 Michigan. pic.twitter.com/E6fU0xiLdJ

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) November 5, 2022

Both Penn State and Michigan struggled out of the gates in this one as the two teams combined for just five shots in the first seven minutes.

Danny Dzhaniyev was sent to the box for hooking to give Michigan the first power play of the game with just over 12 minutes left in the first period. The Wolverines scored 52 seconds into the man advantage to grab the early 1-0 lead. Sophomore Mackie Samoskevich beat Souliere from the slot for his seventh of the season.

Shortly after Michigan scored in its first power play opportunity, the Nittany Lions went on the man advantage thanks to a cross-checking penalty by defenseman Luca Fantilli.

The Wolverines killed off the penalty and on their first offensive possession since getting back to even strength they scored to double their lead. Freshman T.J. Hughes scored his sixth of the season on the assist from Phillippe Lapointe.

With all the momentum on its side, Michigan returned to the power play up two following a roughing penalty on Ben Schoen. A holding penalty on Michigan defenseman Seamus Casey gave Penn State 1:41 of power play time following a 19-second 4-on-4. Michigan killed off the penalty but following a scrum in front of West, Christian Sarlo and Nolan Moyle were given coincidental minor penalties.

The second period came to end with Michigan leading 2-0 while outshooting Penn State 11-8.

Ashton Calder and Philippe Lapointe were both given penalties just 25 seconds into the second period. Neither team had any great scoring chances as the game returned to 5-on-5 hockey.

Despite the puck ending up in the back of the net, the officials quickly waved off a goal by Dylan Duke because of a high stick.

After nearly 18 minutes of minimal offense, the Wolverines scored to push their lead to three. Freshman phenom Adam Fantilli scored his ninth of the season.

Penn State was gifted a golden opportunity at the end of the second as the Wolverines committed two penalties in a row to give the Nittany Lions a good amount of 5-on-3 time. Adam Fantilli and Jacob Truscott were given the penalties. The second period came to an end with Michigan now up 3-0 despite being outshot 23-21.

Penn State failed to convert on the man advantage as the game returned to even strength with 18 minutes remaining in regulation.

Tyler Paquette scored his third of the season to put the Nittany Lions on the scoresheet with just over seven minutes remaining. Xander Lampa and Carter Schade were credited with the assists.

Senior Kevin Wall scored just over a minute later to push Penn State within one. After not scoring in the first two and a half periods the Nittany Lions scored two in just over one minute to bring them within one.

The Nittany Lions miraculously tied the game at three thanks to Xander Lamppa’s third of the season. Lamppa’s goal sent Pegula Ice Arena into a frenzy as Penn State did the nearly impossible to come back from down 3-0 to force overtime.

GOODBYE ROOF! pic.twitter.com/zkFk9a6xxd

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) November 6, 2022

Michigan scored just 24 seconds into overtime to escape with the win. Adam Fantilli’s second of the game ended it as the Wolverines won 4-3 in overtime.

Takeaways

• After getting outplayed on Friday night, Michigan looked faster and more aggressive in game two. Wolverines interim head coach Brandon Naurato preached that his team lost the races and battles in game one but the team looked locked in from the start in Saturday’s game.
• The Nittany Lions showed a lot of fight to push the game to overtime. Penn State scored three goals in just over four minutes to tie the game at three. After looking unbeatable through two and half periods, Noah West surrendered the lead in what felt like an instant.
• The power play struggled again for Penn State on Saturday night. The big missed opportunity came when the Nittany Lions failed to convert on a 5-on-3 in the early moments of the third period.

What’s Next?

Penn State will travel to St. Paul to take on No. 3 Minnesota for a two-game series beginning at 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 10.