No. 18 Penn State Men’s Hockey Stuns No. 1 Michigan State 3-2
No. 18 Penn State men’s hockey (17-11-4, 8-10-4 Big Ten) defeated No. 1 Michigan State (22-6-4, 13-5-4 Big Ten) in the second game of its two-game series in East Lansing.
Once again, Arsenii Sergeev stole the show as the Russian netminder made 41 saves and allowed just two goals in the win. The Nittany Lions scored two goals on their first two shots of the evening and never looked back, as Aiden Fink added a goal to reclaim his spot atop the national points-scored leaderboard.
With the win, Penn State sits just one point back of hosting a first-round series in the Big Ten conference tournament.
How It Happened
Just 59 seconds into the game, Dane Dowiak and Cerrato skated up ice on a two-on-one, where Dowiak opted to dish a pass to Cerrato. The freshman centerman then slid a backhander between the pads of Trey Augustine to put Penn State ahead 1-0 early.
Not even one minute later, Penn State struck again. This time, it was JJ Wiebusch who beat Augustine with a slick one-timer from the slot off of a Michigan State turnover to double his team’s lead just two minutes into the game.
JJ LOVES PIZZA!!
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) February 22, 2025#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/MoZDii978c
As the period approached its five-minute mark, Danny Dzhaniyev entered the Michigan State zone with Nicklas Andrews draped all over him. Instead of allowing Dzhaniyev a free run at the net, Andrews opted to take a two-minute minor that sent Penn State to the power play.
Michigan State easily killed the power play, and Wiebusch took a slashing just seconds after the successful kill to send Michigan State to the man advantage. With nine seconds remaining on the power play, the teams took coincidental minors after some extracurriculars ensued after the whistle. After the penalties were assessed and play continued, Penn State killed the remainder of the penalty.
At the 12-minute mark, Isaac Howard and Aiden Fink traded scoring chances at both ends of the ice, but Augustine and Sergeev kept the star skaters at bay.
The Spartans began to get their legs as the period drew to a close, but some strong defensive play by the Nittany Lions and a handful of saves by Sergeev, including one on a breakaway, kept them off the board.
With 21 seconds left in the period, Patrick Geary was sent to the box for slashing Sergeev after the defenseman attempted to poke away at a dead puck that was trapped under Sergeev. Penn State did not score in the opening seconds but had 1:39 of carry-over time on the power play.
Having opened the period on the power play, Penn State capitalized on the man advantage. Casey Aman dished an accurate pass to Fink, who was all alone in the left faceoff circle, and the forward slapped a one-timer over the glove of Augustine to put Penn State ahead 3-0 at 1:27.
A FINK BOMB!!
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) February 22, 2025#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/IhDs8PF5Hf
With just over seven minutes elapsed in the middle frame, Simon Mack took a defensive zone-tripping penalty to send the Spartans to the power play. The Spartans totaled eight shots with the advantage, but Sergeev stopped each one to keep Penn State’s lead at three goals.
Michigan State dominated play out of the media timeout halfway through the period, but Sergeev continued to make some strong saves to keep the Spartans off of the board.
Joey Larson sat for high-sticking at 14:02 and sent Penn State to its third power play of the evening. The power play had a few good looks, but the Nittany Lions could not capitalize on Augustine being caught out of position.
After periods of back-and-forth hockey, Ben Schoen took a defensive zone-tripping penalty at 19:14 to send the Spartans to the power play. Penn State killed the initial wave of the power play but faced just over a minute of carry-over time to open the final frame.
Penn State killed the remainder of the Schoen penalty, and the teams returned to full strength. But just after the successful kill, Carter Schade was sent to the box for a defensive zone-tripping penalty. With some more strong penalty-killing by Penn State, there was no harm, no foul on the Schade penalty.
With 10:06 remaining in regulation, Penn State headed to the power play after Daniel Russell cross-checked Reese Laubach. Thirty-nine seconds into the five-on-four power play, David Gucciardi was sent to the box for hitting from behind, meaning Penn State had 1:21 of a five-on-three power play.
The Spartans killed the five-on-three and immediately went down the ice to capitalize on an odd-man rush at five-on-four. Karsen Dorwart dished the puck to Tommi Mannisto, who fired a quick wrist shot past Sergeev at 12:02. After the goal, the Spartans killed the remainder of the power play.
After a bunch of extracurriculars after the whistle, two players on each team were given coincidental minor penalties for roughing with just over five minutes to play in regulation.
With 3:07 remaining in regulation, Michigan State opted to pull Augustine for an extra skater in an attempt to tie the game. Penn State called a timeout with 2:26 left in the period just before Michigan State won an offensive zone faceoff to challenge for a potential major penalty. However, upon review, officials determined no major penalty was needed.
Upon play resuming, Michigan State got one back courtesy of Dorwart with nine seconds left but could not secure the final goal, and Penn State got the upset it desperately needed.
Takeaways
- Penn State has improved upon its previous issue of getting off to slow starts, and tonight was the proverbial cherry on top. Facing one of the best goalies in the nation, on the road, against the best team in the country is not a recipe for success. However, Penn State scored on its first two shots of the evening and never looked back.
- Another game, another incredible performance from Sergeev. The backbone of this improbable run Penn State has gone on since the turn of the calendar, Sergeev turned in another fantastic performance in the upset as the netminder made 41 saves on 43 shots.
- With the win, Penn State sits just one point behind Michigan for the coveted fourth seed and home-ice advantage for the first round of the Big 10 tournament. Once an improbability, there is a real chance the Nittany Lions host a home playoff round.
What’s Next?
Penn State returns to Pegula Ice Arena for its annual Wear White game against No. 5 Minnesota. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. on Friday, February 28.
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