Penn State Men’s Hockey Blows It Against No. 5 Michigan 10-6
Penn State men’s hockey (4-7, 0-6 Big Ten) blew a three-goal lead to No. 5 Michigan (9-2-1, 4-0 Big Ten) in the second game of its weekend series against the Wolverines.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to that three-goal lead early on in a reversal from game one but had zero answer for Michigan past that. The Wolverines outscored Penn State 9-2 in their comeback.
Noah Grannan struggled in net, allowing seven goals before head coach Guy Gadowsky pulled him for John Seifarth in the third period. Aiden Fink and Dane Dowiak turned in multi-goal performances, and two other Nittany Lions found the back of the net in the loss.
How It Happened
Penn State came out of the gates firing, and the Nittany Lions were rewarded for their efforts not even one minute into the opening period. Fink took the puck away from a Michigan defender along the boards in the Penn State zone and fired a pass to Reese Laubach. Cameron Korpi saved the wrister off Laubach’s stick, but the rebound kicked out to Dowiak, who found twine and gave Penn State an early 1-0 lead.
Just 22 seconds later, Dowiak struck again. Cade Christenson fired a long wrist shot from the blue line that Korpi saved but once again, Dowiak was alone in front of the net to clean up the rebound and double Penn State’s lead.
Penn State continued to dominate play in the opening half of the period and was awarded a power play as it searched to extend its lead. With Ethan Edwards in the box for cross-checking at 7:02, the Michigan penalty kill was strong, clogging the middle of the ice to keep Penn State off the board.
The Nittany Lions returned to the power play with just under eight minutes to go in the first period, as Tanner Rowe was sent to the box for cross-checking. Just 12 seconds into the man-advantage, the Nittany Lions appeared to increase their lead to three.
Fink rushed to the net and fired a backhander that Korpi saved, but the rebound kicked out to Laubach, and the center found the back of the net. Michigan challenged the play, alleging Korpi was interfered with. Upon review, Laubach’s goal was confirmed, and the Nittany Lions led 3-0.
After it surrendered the power play goal, Michigan began to get its skating legs and put in a good shift in its offensive zone where the Wolverines would get on the scoreboard for the first time. Mark Estapa fired a long wrist shot from the point that Grannan saved, but the rebound kicked to a wide-open William Whitelaw, who fired the puck into the back of the net to cut Penn State’s lead to two.
Having recorded an assist on two of Penn State’s three goals, Fink joined the goal-scoring party. The forward intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and skated down the left side of the ice, where he unleashed a wicked wrist shot over the glove of Korpi. After surrendering his fourth goal of the period, Korpi was pulled, as Logan Stein took his place in between the pipes.
Defense
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Charlie Cerrato was at the center of some after-the-whistle extracurriculars and was sent to the box for both roughing and tripping at 16:05. Tyler Duke also sat for roughing because of the scrum.
Michigan scored on the ensuing power play to cut the Penn State lead back to two goals. Jacob Truscott and Michael Hage played catch at the blue line, with Truscott eventually firing a wrist shot through traffic and past a screened Grannan. Hage and Evan Werner recorded the assists on the Truscott goal.
Just 40 seconds after it surrendered the power play goal, Penn State headed back to the penalty kill as Danny Dzhaniyev was sent to the box for tripping at 17:56. The Wolverines capitalized and cut the Penn State lead to 4-3. TJ Hughes scooped up a loose puck and skated into the right circle where he fired a cross-ice pass to a wide-open Werner, who slapped a one-timer past Grannan.
With 20 seconds remaining in the period, Dzhaniyev was sprung on a breakaway, but Stein came up with a huge save on both Dzhaniyev and a follow-up attempt from Carter Schade. After the pair of stops, Michigan cleared the zone, and the final horn sounded, signaling the end of the period.
After it withstood an onslaught of Michigan pressure in the opening minutes of the period, Penn State was awarded its second power play of the game, this time of the five-on-three variety. Hage was sent to the box after taking an offensive zone interference penalty, and Werner followed him for unsportsmanlike conduct at 3:19.
Despite Penn State having a handful of scoring chances with the advantage, Stein and the Wolverines survived the five-on-three, and the teams returned to full strength.
Michigan continued to hem Penn State in its zone as the teams approached the halfway point of the middle period, and the Wolverines finally broke through. Duke skated into the Penn State zone unopposed and fired a wrist shot from the top of the slot past Grannan to make it a 4-4 game. Christian Humphreys had the lone assist on Duke’s goal.
One minute after it tied the game, Michigan headed back to the power play as Dzhaniyev was sent to the box for a second time, this time for roughing at 10:39. The Wolverines scored quickly on the ensuing power play, with Werner firing a shot from the left circle that Hage deflected past Grannan. Truscott recorded the secondary assist on the goal.
As soon as it was off the power kill, Penn State was back down a man. This time, it was Ben Schoen heading to the box for slashing. The Nittany Lions turned in an improved effort on this penalty kill, as Michigan never threatened Grannan, and the teams returned to full strength.
With Penn State reeling, it needed a spark, and JJ Wiebusch provided just that. The freshman skated down the right side to get in tight on Stein and fired a quick snap shot past the goaltender and into the back of the net to tie the game at 16:06 of the period.
Michigan immediately responded with a goal of its own, as Philippe Lapointe added his name to the scoresheet. Parked in front of the net as the puck appeared stuck at the far post, Lapointe scooped up the eventual loose puck and fired it behind Grannan to put Michigan back up by one goal.
The Nittany Lions nearly got the goal right back as the period came to a close, but Michigan held strong to keep its leading headed into the final period of regulation.
Michigan dominated the opening minutes of the third period and tacked on another goal to extend its lead. Hughes skated into the zone all alone and unleashed a wrist shot from the right circle past the glove of Grannan to extend the Wolverines’ lead to 7-5 at 3:23. After the goal, Seifarth relieved Grannan in net.
Needing two goals to tie, Penn State was awarded a power play after Hunter Hady was sent to the box for holding. Once again, Michigan held and allowed just one Penn State shot on the successful penalty kill.
Penn State again headed to the power play after Garrett Schifsky was sent to the box for tripping with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. The Nittany Lions finally solved the stout Wolverine penalty kill thanks to Fink, who fired a wrist shot from the right circle past Stein to get Penn State within one.
Just as the Nittany Lions appeared to have momentum, Michigan headed to the man advantage with Matt DiMarsico sitting for roughing at 12:05. With just 20 seconds remaining in the penalty to DiMarsico, Laubach was called for a hit from behind that triggered an official review for a major penalty. Upon review, the call on the ice was confirmed and Michigan was awarded a five-minute power play.
Michigan took advantage of its extended power play early, as Hughes finished off a hat trick to put the Wolverines back up by two goals. Hage and Truscott had the assists on the goal.
Wiebusch was called for another penalty at 14:46, and a second official review for head contact confirmed Wiebusch would sit for two minutes with Michigan having a two-man advantage. Hage converted for Michigan, as the forward slapped a one-timer from the slot past Seifarth to extend the lead to three.
Hughes scored his fourth goal of the game with under two minutes to play as he one-timed a shot from the left circle into the back of the net. The final horn sounded shortly after, and Michigan finished its sweep of Penn State.
Takeaways
- Penn State had been plagued by first-period struggles in nearly every game it has played and on Saturday, that changed until it didn’t. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 4-1 lead with under five minutes to play in the opening period but surrendered a pair of power-play goals before the final horn and headed to the locker room on their heels.
- It was another rough outing for Grannan, as the backup continues to start in place of the injured Arsenii Sergeev. Grannan surrendered seven goals on just 19 shots and was pulled from the game early in the third period.
- Penn State’s once herculean penalty kill looked human tonight. The Wolverines scored five goals with the man advantage, including two in the final minutes of the opening period to spark their comeback.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will return to Pegula Ice Arena for a midweek series against Colgate, with game one taking place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26.
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