Michigan
9-9-6, 5-5-4-2B1G
Penn State
8-10-6, 5-9-1-1B1G
Four-Goal Barrage in Second Period Helps U-M Knock Off No. 15 Penn State
1/24/2019 11:35:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Michigan scored four unanswered goals in the second period, with three of them coming over a span of 52 seconds.
» Jimmy Lambert registered two assists, his fourth and fifth of the season.
» Will Lockwood scored his ninth goal of the season and his third in the past three games.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena)
Score: Michigan 5, #15 Penn State 1
Records: U-M (9-9-6, 5-5-4-2 Big Ten), PSU (13-10-2, 5-9-1-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 26 -- vs Penn State (New York, N.Y.), 7 p.m.
• Kornacki: Three Goals in an "Ann Arbor Minute"
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team scored four unanswered goals in the second period to defeat No. 15-ranked Penn State, 5-1, Thursday night (Jan. 24) at Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena.
"We had a week off where we focused on our details, defense and a few special teams," said junior forward Jake Slaker. "We are taking it game-by-game right now. We got this one out of the way, now we're worried about Saturday's game at MSG, and we're looking forward to it."
Junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne was tested early and often by the Nittany Lions, who outshot the Wolverines, 15-7, in the first period. Michigan was able to kill off a crucial penalty midway through the opening period and took a scoreless tie into the first intermission.
Michigan began the second-period scoring barrage 3:10 into the period, when freshman forward Jimmy Lambert launched a long pass to Dakota Raabe. The sophomore forward carried the puck in on a breakaway and beat the Penn State goalie five-hole for his fourth goal of the season and third career goal against the Nittany Lions.
With six minutes remaining in the second period and Michigan on a power play, Slaker buried a shot after Lambert found him wide open on the far post to put U-M ahead, 2-0.
Less than 10 seconds later, freshman defenseman Nick Blankenburg found the puck after a Penn State turnover following a faceoff. He fired a shot on net that created a rebound that was corralled by senior defenseman Nicholas Boka, who scored to put the Maize and Blue ahead, 3-0, at the 13:35 mark.
The Wolverines found the back of the net again when, 38 seconds later, junior forward Will Lockwood found the back of the net for his ninth goal of the season -- and 50th career point -- to cap an exciting four-goal period for Michigan.
With just over nine minutes to play in the third period, Penn State was awarded a power play. Seconds after the penalty expired, Penn State's Ludvig Larsson ended the Wolverines shutout bid with a goal assisted by Denis Smirnov and Cole Hults to get the Nittany Lions on the board and cut the U-M lead to 4-1.
Later in the third, Michigan was again tasked with holding off the Nittany Lions on a power play. After PSU pulled its goalie, freshman forward Garrett Van Wyhe scored a shorthanded empty-net goal after a Raabe blocked shot, putting the Wolverines back up by four goals and solidifying a victory for the Maize and Blue.
"Three goals that quickly is always a good confidence booster for sure. I think after that, we stuck with it and tried not to play cheating for the puck," said Raabe. "We played good defense and we played it out through the rest of the second. We used that going into the third period."
The Wolverines will close out their series with Penn State Saturday evening (Jan. 26) at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the annual B1G Super Saturday game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on Big Ten Network.
