Michigan
9-10-6, 5-6-4-2B1G
Penn State
14-10-2, 6-9-1-1B1G
Wolverines Unable to Come Back From Early Deficit Against Nittany Lions
1/26/2019 10:57:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Will Lockwood scored in his fourth consecutive game.
» Goaltender Strauss Mann stopped all 19 shots faced in relief of Hayden Lavigne.
» The Wolverines finished the night 0-for-4 on the power play.
Site: New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
Event: Big Ten Super Saturday
Score: #15 Penn State 5, Michigan 2
Records: U-M (9-10-6, 5-6-4-2 Big Ten), PSU (14-10-2, 6-9-1-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 1 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 8 p.m.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team fell, 5-2, to No. 15-ranked Penn State on Saturday night (Jan. 26) at Madison Square Garden in the Big Ten's annual "Super Saturday" matchup.
Despite early pressure and a wide shot advantage in Michigan's favor, the Nittany Lions opened up the scoring six minutes into the game when Evan Barratt intercepted a Wolverine pass from deep in the Michigan end. Barratt possessed the puck for only a moment before walking into the slot and beating junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne's blocker with a quick wrist shot at 5:52 in the first period to put Penn State up, 1-0.
Several minutes later with the Maize and Blue collecting themselves for a rush in the neutral zone, a Penn State forward stole the puck and saucered a pass ahead into the slot that Liam Folkes was able to skate into for a short breakaway opportunity. All alone and bearing down on Lavigne, Folkes deked several times before slipping the puck backhand past the sprawling pad of the Michigan goaltender to put the Nittany Lions up, 2-0, at the 10:54 mark of the opening period.
With shots still securely in Michigan's favor and the first period winding down, Penn State scored its third goal at 17:33, when Alec Marsh benefitted from a misguided no-look pass from the Wolverines near center ice. Marsh skated in on a breakaway and ripped a wrist shot that Lavigne could only get a piece of before the puck skittered into the net. At the end of one period, Penn State led, 3-0, despite being outshot by Michigan, 22-8.
Penn State added to its lead just 1:35 into the second, increasing the Nittany Lions' lead to 4-0 after an unfortunate deflection off senior defenseman Nicholas Boka's leg bounced right to a PSU forward who was waiting to slap the puck home into a yawning cage.
Just 1:16 later, the Wolverines got on the board when sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes stickhandled his way around the net and created a shot off of the Penn State netminder's chest that landed right in front of the net. Sophomore forward Luke Morgan was waiting on the doorstep and buried Hughes' rebound to open the scoring for Michigan to cut U-M's deficit to three, 4-1.
Halfway through the game, PSU extended its lead to 5-1 when the Michigan power-play unit turned the puck over in the neutral zone and Lavigne was unable to stop the third breakaway he faced in the contest.
With freshman goaltender Strauss Mann in to replace Lavigne, Michigan saw several Grade-A chances of their own turned away at the PSU end of the ice before Mann stood strong and made the stop on the fourth Penn State breakaway with under two minutes to play in the period. Through two periods, the Maize and Blue were 0-for-4 on the man advantage.
Just 3:27 into the final frame, junior forward Will Lockwood recorded a goal off of a slick feed from classmate Nick Pastujov. Lockwood snapped a one-time shot from the slot through the arm of the Nittany Lion goaltender to make it 5-2, and was Lockwood's fourth goal in as many games.
Mann was solid, stopping all 19 shots he faced in just under 30 minutes of ice time. The Wolverines had chances throughout the final period but were unable to mount a comeback.
The Wolverines will head out on the road next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 1-2), when they head to Minnesota for a pair of games against the Golden Gophers. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 8 p.m.
