No. 5 Penn State Men’s Hockey Defeats No. 2 Michigan 4-2 To Secure Series Split
No. 5 Penn State men’s hockey (10-4-0, 3-3-0 Big Ten) rebounded from a rough defeat to open the series, taking down No. 2 Michigan (11-3-0, 4-2-0 Big Ten) on Saturday night at Pegula Ice Arena, 4-2.
Penn State opened the game with the first three goals, but was put on its heels after a pair of third-period goals by Michigan. After several missed attempts, Nic Chin-DeGraves deposited an empty netter in the dying seconds to secure the split and end the three-game losing streak.
How It Happened
Josh Fleming got the start in net, continuing the platoon that Guy Gadowsky has used all season, and he faced the first shot attempt of the night, when Adam Valentini sent it wide just over a minute in.
On the other end, Jackson Smith capitalized on a turnover and sprung a 2-on-1, delivering an excellent pass to a wide-open Shea Van Olm in front of the net, but his open breakaway was stuffed by Jack Ivankovic.
The first penalty of the game came shortly after, when Michigan’s Aidan Park went off for tripping at 2:35 to give the Nittany Lions an early power play. The Nittany Lions got a good chance on a shot by Charlie Cerrato, but Michigan did a good job sweeping away the rebound. Reese Laubach got a deflection at 3:56 that sailed over the net and out of play, as well.
After Michigan killed off the penalty, they got their first shot on net at 5:13 on a clean look by Jayden Perron that was stopped. The game took a more physical turn from there, as both teams unleashed thunderous hits.
Most of the offense in the early going was by the Nittany Lions, as Ivankovic had to fight off multiple slapshots that generated juicy rebounds, but the Michigan defenders walled off any potential second chance.
Michigan took yet another penalty at 8:57, when Will Horcoff cross-checked Lev Katzin just outside the crease. Matt DiMarsico had a shot just miss JJ Wiebusch’s stick for a deflection, and Cerrato had a clean look saved, but it was another unsuccessful power play for Penn State.
Shortly after the kill, Michigan spent an entire minute in the offensive zone, getting three shots on net and preventing a change until Fleming finally froze it. After the whistle at 13:39, both Katzin and Horcoff got mixed up again and got sent off for dueling roughings, leading to an ensuing 4-on-4.
Both teams were missing passes in the offensive zone that would have led to high-danger chances. Michigan got its best chance of the game to that point at 15:08, when Asher Barnett hit the crossbar.
The Wolverines got their first power play at 15:08 when Casey Aman took a slashing penalty. After some early zone time, Nolan Collins made a diving play to break up a pass and clear it. Aside from a Cole McKinney shot that deflected wide, it was an emphatic kill for Penn State.
At the end of the power play, DiMarsico pushed shorthanded before appearing to be taken down in the left faceoff dot, but there was no call. The period ended with little more action, but Dane Dowiak and Carter Schade got mixed up with several Wolverines after the buzzer in the first big scrum of the night.
The opening minute of the second period saw Penn State break into the offensive zone with nifty passing, but the shot from Luke Misa in the middle was blocked. At 2:47, a shot from Garrett Schifsky squeaked through the legs of Fleming and barely went wide of the net.
After a missed opportunity by Wiebusch and Gavin McKenna on an odd-man rush, another post-whistle scrum put the Nittany Lions back on the power play, when McKinney went off for unsportsmanlike conduct.
A long shot from McKenna early in the power play got all the way through to Ivankovic, but Michigan controlled the rebound. A 2-on-1 formed the other way, but the centering pass was smothered by Mac Gadowsky. Ivankovic would make two saves on another Michigan kill.
Both teams would trade possession in the offensive zone, but neither seriously threatened for the next few minutes as both teams got increasingly physical on the boards.
At the nine-minute mark, Penn State broke into the offensive zone and Van Olm delivered a wicked one-timer that went wide. As the crowd recovered from the big chance, the puck bounced onto the stick of Misa, who buried it into the wide-open net to open the scoring at 9:00 of the second period. Misa’s second of the season, assisted by Van Olm and Ben Schoen, made it 1-0 Penn State.
Right after the goal, the Wolverines flipped play and put a considerable amount of pressure on Fleming. While the Montreal native kept all four shots out of the net, Cerrato took a hooking penalty at 10:33 to send Michigan to the power play.
Some great stick work by the defense and a pair of great saves by Fleming in the first minute kept Michigan off the scoreboard, but Nick Fascia took an ill-advised roughing penalty at 11:30 to give Michigan an extended 5-on-3 power play.
The Wolverines were crisp with their passes for much of the 5-on-3, but Fleming kept every shot out of the net. The first penalty expired, Pegula Ice Arena grew louder and louder with each save, and after five saves by Fleming, the Nittany Lions were at full strength, and the crowd exploded in support of their Nittany Lions.
The pressure stayed on Fleming for several minutes after the penalty expired, with Michigan getting ten consecutive shots on net at one point, with several other shots going wide or deflecting off a stick. The Penn State goaltender stayed stout, however, stopping 14 shots in the period.
After ten minutes of playing on their heels, Penn State was finally able to break out, and it was courtesy of the Behind the Back Boys, as DiMarsico carried play, passed back to Cerrato, dropped it off to Fascia for a thunderous one-timer that got past Ivankovic at 18:54 for the first goal of his collegiate career to make it 2-0 Nittany Lions.
Michigan would get the last shot of the period, but Penn State would head into the locker room with a 2-0 lead.
To open the third period, the two teams exchanged possession for the first two minutes. A takeaway in center ice saw McKenna and Dowiak enter the offensive zone and McKenna teed up Dowiak for a one-timer in front of the net, but it was blocked by Barnett.
The action continued to move back and forth, with the crowd oohing and ahhing with every Nittany Lions shot attempt. A dangerous shot by Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen at 6:40 was deflected into the netting to stop the constant action that had been ongoing for nearly five minutes.
At the eight-minute mark, Michigan capitalized on a late change by Penn State, but Valentini rang it off the crossbar. The immediate aftermath saw the puck go the other way on an odd-man rush, where Katzin passed it up to Dowiak, who dangled and fed an open Laubach, fresh off the bench, for his second goal of the season at 8:27 to put the Nittany Lions up 3-0.
A now desperate Michigan team re-entered the offensive zone and got a few more shots on net, but Fleming stayed stout initially. Unfortunately, at the midway point of the period, a long shot from the point by Luca Fantilli found the stick of Horcoff, who deflected it into the net to break up the shutout at 10:01 with his 13th goal of the season and make it 3-1.
Suddenly invigorated by their first goal, the Wolverines stayed on the attack and drew a penalty on Schoen for hooking at 11:38 on an open streak towards the net. Penn State continued its aggressive penalty-killing, as Nic Chin-DeGraves was able to muscle Perron off the puck for an early clear.
After the puck was pinned on the wall for almost 30 seconds, Michigan got a shot on net from TJ Hughes, but it was stopped by Fleming. A blocked shot in the crease in the dying seconds of the power play finished off the critical penalty kill.
After some added pressure by the Wolverines, Penn State sprung a partial breakaway for Misa, but he rang it off the pipe with five minutes to go. Soon after, a defensive zone giveaway gave Michigan numbers in the offensive zone, but the shot from Hughes at 15:37 was snagged by Fleming.
With under four minutes to go, Perron broke into the offensive zone, dangled around a pair of Nittany Lions, and deposited one over the shoulder of Fleming at 16:12. All of a sudden, it was a 3-2 game.
The sloppiness continued for Penn State, as an ill-advised play on the puck by Fleming led to a wide-open shot in the crease by Nick Moldenhauer, but Fleming recovered to stop it. As time continued to come off the clock, Penn State got a pair of shots on net for DiMarsico and Wiebusch.
An icing with 1:30 to go led to Michigan pulling Ivankovic for an extra skater. Despite all the momentum on their side, the Wolverines got extremely sloppy in open ice and nearly surrendered an empty net goal on three different occasions.
Despite a comical amount of missed opportunities, the Nittany Lions finally deposited the game-clinching goal with 6.2 seconds to go, as Chin-DeGraves scored his second goal of the season to ice the game.
Takeaways
- After a disastrous opening period on Friday night, Penn State came out with poise and outplayed Michigan in the opening 20. Even if it didn’t yield a goal, it was great to see after last night.
- Josh Fleming, take a bow. After being left out to dry in his first collegiate loss in East Lansing last weekend, the freshman rebounded with a 32-save beauty. While Gadowsky was sympathetic towards Reidler’s lack of support on Friday night, this performance might tip the scales for the goalie tandem.
- Penn State did not lead a single time during its three-game losing streak, but led for most of the game Saturday night. They were definitely more comfortable playing in front tonight.
- For the better part of ten minutes in the second period, it was deafening inside of Pegula. All 6,584 fans made it feel like a White Out.
- After Guy Gadowsky shook up the lines on Friday, the Behind-the-Back Boys were reunited on Saturday night, and they delivered, setting up the second goal. The line went completely scoreless against Michigan State.
Up Next
The men’s hockey team concludes the first half of its season on the road, traveling to face Minnesota at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 21. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
Your ad blocker is on.
Please choose an option below.
Purchase a Subscription!
About the Author
Penn State Men’s Volleyball Head Coach Mark Pavlik To Retire Following 2026 Season
Pavlik is going into his 32nd season with the Nittany Lions.
The W’REC’king Crew: Penn State Volleyball’s Famous Student Section
The student group’s mission is to build community and foster a love for volleyball on campus.
OS Debates: Should Penn State Opt Out Of The Bowl Game?
Would the bowl game just be a distraction from the chaos surrounding the football program?
Two Penn State Football Offensive Players Named To All-Big Ten First Team
Kaytron Allen is the first Nittany Lion running back to be on the All-Big Ten First Team since Saquon Barkley in 2017.