Michigan
Penn State
U-M to Open B1G Play against Penn State Friday and Saturday at Yost
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Upcoming Games
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Michigan vs. Penn State
Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Mich.
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» Complete Game Notes (PDF) | Parking Notice
» Red Berenson Interview 
| Weekend Preview
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- This weekend, the University of Michigan ice hockey team (4-5-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten) will begin conference play with a series against Penn State (6-2-2, 0-0-0 Big Ten) at Yost Ice Arena, starting with Friday night's (Nov. 21) 7:35 p.m. contest. In the inaugural season of Big Ten hockey, Michigan finished third in the conference with a 10-8-2 record. The Wolverines opened Big Ten play last season with a home-and-home sweep against Ohio State on Nov. 29 and Dec. 2, 2013. Penn State finished sixth at 3-16-1 in Big Ten play last year, with two of its three wins in conference coming against the Wolverines. The Nittany Lions are off to a great start in 2014-15, with an overall record of 6-2-2, including a 4-1 win at No. 4 UMass-Lowell last Saturday in their most-recent action.
• On Saturday night (Nov. 15) in a 6-3 win against AIC, Travis Lynch notched his first career two-goal game, Zach Hyman and Alex Kile each had a goal and an assist, and Zach Werenski added two assists as U-M scored two power-play goals to snap an 0-for-18 skid on the man advantage. Michigan outshot AIC, 46-24, on the night, and Zach Nagelvoort made 21 saves to pick up his second straight win in net.
• With just one senior on last year's team, the Nittany Lions return the most experienced squad in the Big Ten. Taylor Holstrom has been on a tear up front, with 16 points (3G, 13A) in nine games. Defenseman Luke Juha was named a Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch and leads the defense along with senior captain Patrick Koudys. Junior goaltender Matthew Skoff (5-2-2, 2.32 GAA, .919 Save%) has appeared in nine of 10 contests.
• The last time the two schools met, Michigan earned the No. 3 seed in the inaugural Big Ten Tournament but fell, 2-1, to No. 6 seed Penn State in the first game of the tournament on March 20, 2014. Trailing 1-0 in the third period, Phil Di Giuseppe scored Michigan's lone goal with 8:54 remaining in the game to send the game to overtime. Penn State's Zach Saar scored the game-winning goal with 8:13 left in the second overtime period to lift the Nittany Lions to victory. In his postseason debut, freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort set a new school single-game record with 63 saves, breaking Robbie Moore's previous record of 61 saves set on Feb. 17, 1973, against Minnesota. At 92:47, Michigan played its longest game since falling to Maine, 4-3, in triple overtime on March 30, 1995, in an NCAA semifinal contest in Providence, R.I.
• In 17 games against Guy Gadowsky-coached teams, Michigan is 10-7, including a 2-3 record against the Nittany Lions last season. Gadowsky was the head coach at former CCHA foe Alaska-Fairbanks from 1999-2004 before moving on to become the head coach at Princeton.
• Four different Michigan defensemen (Zach Werenski - 2, Michael Downing - 1, Cutler Martin - 1, Kevin Lohan - 1) have combined for five goals so far in nine games this season. In 2013-14, three Michigan defensemen combined for eight goals in 35 games.
• Michigan's freshman class has had an immediate impact through nine games this season, as a freshman has recorded a point in every game. Freshman forward Dylan Larkin leads the way with eight points (2G, 6A) along with defenseman Zach Werenski, who also has eight points (2G, 6A). Forwards Dexter Dancs (G, 2A) and Tony Calderone (A) as well as defensemen Cutler Martin (G, A) and Sam Piazza (A) have also had early contributions.
• Junior forward Andrew Copp was named Big Ten Second Star of the Week on Tuesday (Nov. 18). Copp led Michigan with four points (3G, A) in a weekend sweep against American International College. On Friday night, he matched a career high with three points (2G, A) to help Michigan earn a 5-2 win over the Yellow Jackets. His last three-point game came against Boston College on Oct. 10, 2013. Copp extended his goal-scoring streak to three games on Saturday night with his team-leading fourth goal of the season on the power play to help Michigan earn a 6-3 win over AIC.. He is the third Wolverine honored with a Big Ten weekly award, joining Dylan Larkin (2nd Star, Oct. 28) and Steve Racine (Third Star, Oct. 21).
