No. 10 and three-seeded Penn State men’s hockey (21-13-2, 13-11-2 Big Ten) fell to the No. 1 and second-seeded Michigan (28-7-1, 18-6-1 Big Ten) 5-2 on Saturday evening at Yost Ice, ending the teams’ Big Ten championship hopes.

Gavin McKenna and Lev Katzin each tallied a goal, and Josh Fleming made 31 saves on 35 shots on goal, but the Nittany Lions were unable to convert on any of their six power play opportunities, and even gave up a short-handed goal along the way.

How It Happened

Reese Lauback won the opening faceoff, and after the Nittany Lions entered the offensive zone, Aiden Fink flicked a backhand pass to Gavin McKenna in the slot. He ripped a shot on net that was gloved by Wolverines goaltender Jack Ivankovic.

Minutes later, Nick Moldenhauer threw a puck towards the net that deflected off McKenna’s skate and then off the post, coming inches away from opening the scoring.

With 3:32 to go in the opening period, Garrett Schifsky’s shot was stopped at the goal line by Casey Aman’s stick. But after falling over, Aman’s hand knocked the puck over the goal line, and Schifsky was credited with the game’s first goal for Michigan.

Jayden Perron was sent to the box for hooking Cade Christenson, and one second after the power play expired, McKenna scored the equalizer. His wrister from near the point found its way through traffic and past Ivankovic to tie the game at 1-1. McKenna had been on the ice for the whole two-minute man advantage before scoring.

Who else, but Gavin McKenna!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/7lf97uJC1I

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

Perron, Kienan Draper, and Malcom Spence all took penalties within the first ten minutes of the second period, but instead of Penn State capitalizing, it was Schifsky with a short-handed goal, one-timing Moldenhauer’s pass into the back of the net to give Michigan a 2-1 advantage. Fleming seemed to have the puck initially, but the puck trickled through the crease and into the net at 6:53 of the second period.

The teams would skate four aside after Nolan Collins and Will Horcoff were sent to the penalty box for cross-checking. Cole McKinney added to Michigan’s lead on that four-on-four, tapping Moldenhauer’s pass by the sprawled-out Fleming on an odd-man rush with 7:46 to go in the middle period.

McKenna, Luke Misa, and Laubach all saw quality chances, back on the man-advantage in the final two minutes of the middle period, but Ivankovic stood tall to keep Penn State off the board on the power play.

Shea Van Olm started a scuffle after the buzzer expired at the end of the second period, resulting in a Michigan power play to start the third period. The teams would skate four-on-four for 52 seconds after Horcoff was called for interference, and it then turned into 1:08 of power-play time for Penn State, though the Nittany Lions weren’t able to score.

6:09 into the third period, Jackson Smith found a lane and threaded a pass cross-ice to Lev Katzin for the easy tap-in goal that Ivankovic could just watch, cutting the Nittany Lions’ deficit to one.

Great vision and pass from Smitty to Katzin and we have a one-goal game in Ann Arbor!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/HncdBpCb1Z

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

Laubach was given a two-minute penalty for goalie interference, and then Penn State would go down five-on-three after Nic Chin DeGraves was called for roughing. It took Hage only eight seconds to score, beating Fleming over the glove with 7:58 remaining to extend Michigan’s lead to 4-2.

Ivankovic attempted a goal with 45 seconds remaining, and Fleming pulled, but his attempt went inches wide of the net. Hughes did connect on the empty net, icing the game with 30 seconds remaining.

Takeaways

• Penn State went 0/6 on the man advantage and allowed a short-handed goal from Schifsky.
• Breakaways were a huge issue for the Nittany Lions. Spence, Hughes, and Schifsky — just to name a few — all found themselves behind the defense and one-on-one with Fleming.
• Schifsky scored the first goal of the game for Michigan, energizing Yost Arena and pushing Michigan out in front. McKenna scored to tie things at 1-1, but Schifsky potted his second of the period, taking back all of the momentum and running with it for the rest of the night.
• Nic Chin DeGraves’ penalty with 8:06 to play in the third period sent Michigan to the five-on-three, and Hughes scored immediately. Just as important as the timing, Chin DeGraves needs to realize the situation and stay disciplined in the moment.

What’s Next?

Penn State finds out where it will be seeded for the NCAA tournament on Sunday, March 22. Regional games will take place from March 26 to 29.