No. 6 Penn State men’s hockey (18-9-1, 10-7-1 Big Ten) was defeated by No. 2 Michigan (21-5-1, 13-4-0 Big Ten) 6-3 at Yost Ice Arena Saturday evening.

Luke Misa slotted in as the top-line center for Dane Dowiak, who was scratched after getting injured last night. Dowiak was one of five injured Nittany Lions sidelined, and the team skated with only 18 players. Kevin Reider made the start in net and gave up five goals on 25 shots.

How It Happened

Penn State opened the game with four shots on goal, including one that came off the stick of Gavin McKenna after receiving the feed from Aiden Fink behind the net, but Jack Ivankovic stood tall.

Six minutes into the play, Shea Van Olm was set up at the point; he ripped a slapshot that rang off the crossbar, coming inches from breaking the ice. Shortly after, Reidler was tested by Jayden Perron and Nich Moldenhauer, making two saves and sending the game to its first TV timeout.

Out of the break, Cole McKinney won the faceoff, and the puck found Aidan Park. Park sent the feed over to Luca Fantilli, who put a shot on net. It was tipped in front by McKinney, beating Reidler 8:44 into play, giving the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.

Four minutes later, Ben Robertson took the puck at the blue line and skated down towards the goal, cut in hard to get around Van Olm, and put the puck past Reidler to extend the Michigan lead to 2-0.

It was answered 58 seconds later by Reese Laubach after receiving the drop-back feed from Casey Aman and letting go of a wrister from the slot to beat Ivankovic over the glove. The play started as a one-on-three, but developed after Matt DiMarsico won a battle in the corner to take possession.

A beauty from Laubs!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/k1SFXX1qgG

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) February 14, 2026

In the dying seconds of the period, Penn State kept the puck alive in the Penn State offensive zone and worked it over to Nic Chin-DeGraves, who found Fink near the net. Fink’s shot from just outside the crease was turned aside by Ivankovic, sending the teams to the locker room with Michigan up 2-1.

Two minutes into the second period, Asher Barnett received a feed in the slot all alone. One-on-one with Reidler, he took a shot that Reidler swallowed to keep it a one-goal game.

Penn State established pressure in the offensive zone after Misa won the draw, and Mac Gadowsky let go of a shot after picking up the puck of a blocked McKenna’s shot, but Ivankovic stuck out the pad to deny Gadowsky.

After play stopped, Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky challenged a hit that Josh Errnisse laid on Fink, but after review, the call on the ice stood, and the Nittany Lions lost their timeout.

Misa won the ensuing faceoff, but Hage took the puck and entered Michigan’s offensive zone. With Cade Christenson in front, Hage put the puck on his backhand and flipped a shot on net, trying to go top shelf, but Rediler made the save with his arm to send it over the net. Fantilli also took a shot from in close that Reidler denied before stopping play.

Eight minutes into the middle period, Perron nearly added to Michigan’s lead, but was met by the post just as he was in the first game of the series last night.

Michigan earned the game’s first penalty with 7:36 remaining in the second period after Laubach slashed Adam Valentini’s stick out of his hand. After an initial clear from Penn State, Michigan re-entered the zone with 1:18 of power play time. After receiving the cross-ice pass from TJ Hughes, Nick Moldenhauer sent the puck down to Malcolm Spence below the goal line. He hit Jayden Perron in the slot, who one-timed the puck past Reidler to extend the Wolverines’ lead to 3-1.

With under two minutes to go in the period, McKinney found himself one-on-one with Reidler and tried to sneak the puck five-hole, but Reidler squeezed the pads to make the save. Jackson Smith then drew a penalty on Valentini after getting held and falling to the ground. Smith hit the post trying to beat Ivankovic over the shoulder, and then DiMarsico’s shot was gloved to stop play.

The Nittany Lions won the faceoff, but couldn’t get off a last-second shot, so they ended the second period down 3-1 with 51 seconds of power play time to look forward to.

McKenna put a shot on net, but the Nittany Lions were unable to capitalize on the man-advantage to open the final regulation period.

Carter Schade almost scored five minutes into the third period after finding Nick Fascia’s rebound and putting a shot on net, but Ivankovic flashed the glove to rob Schade. On the other end, Perron walked into the crease and went backhand-forehand, but Reidler stayed strong to make the save.

Smith was on the receiving end of a big hit from Hughes, and after getting up, was pointing at his head to indicate a hit to the head, but Penn State decided not to challenge the play, as losing another challenge would result in a two-minute minor.

The Nittany Lions went back on the power play with 12:14 remaining in regulation after Laubach was hooked by Dakota Rhealume-Mullen. Michigan won the draw and cleared down the ice. Penn State was able to set up in the offensive zone, and Smith took a slapshot from the point, but JJ Weibusch was called for slashing to send the game to four-on-four for one minute.

Once Michigan went on the power play, Fink and Laubch skated down the ice two-one-one. Fink elected to take the shot, but Ivankovic made the save.

With eight seconds on the power play, Will Horcoff took a shot from just outside the right circle. The puck deflected off Nolan Collins’ skate and into the net, giving Michigan a three-goal cushion with 9:32 remaining in regulation.

Valentini put the puck in the back of the net after Michigan won the offensive zone faceoff. Spence poked the puck to him, then put a shot under the blocker of Reidler, blowing the game open.

Penn State would go back on the power play once more, and Laubach stuffed home his second goal of the game after taking the pass from Misa at the goal line and turning towards the net with the puck, but Penn State still trailed by three goals with under four minutes remaining.

In a last-ditch comeback effort, McKenna threw a shot on net that got deflected by Misa and beat Ivankoic to make it a two-goal game with 1:51 remaining. Penn State pulled Reidler, and Moldenhauer sealed the game with 1:01 to play, putting the puck into the empty net.

Smith received a game misconduct with 14.1 seconds remaining in the game, along with a plethora of other penalties being dished out after a scuffle, and Michigan closed out the final seconds to pull away with a 6-3 win.

Takeaways

• Despite winning more draws and taking more shots in the period, Michigan blew the game open in the third period, getting goals from Horcoff and Valentini to make it 5-1 at one point. Penn State did show some resilience in a late comeback effort, but then surrendered an empty net to put the game away.
• Even though Penn State was unable to leave Ann Arbor with a win, Reese Laubach scored the first two goals for the Nittany Lions in game two and recorded four points on the weekend, posting his best series of the season.
• With five players sidelined, Penn State dressed just 18 skaters, forcing players to step up and play elevated roles against one of the nation’s best teams. Michigan’s depth showed over 60 minutes, with NHL-caliber players throughout their roster, and Hage was at the center of it all. He drove Michigan’s play throughout the whole weekend, always finding himself in scoring situations.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will be back at Pegula Ice Arena to host Ohio State. The first game is set for 8:30 p.m. on Friday, February 20.