Michigan
Penn State
Michigan Scores Six on No. 6 Penn State; Mann Earns Fourth Shutout
1/17/2020 11:46:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Johnny Beecher and Jake Slaker each scored a pair of goals as part of the Wolverines' six-goal outburst.
» Strauss Mann picked up his fourth shutout of the season with his 31-save performance.
» The Pastujov brothers each scored and added an assist while recording a combined 12 shots on goal.
Site: State College, Pa. (Pegula Ice Arena)
Score: Michigan 6, #6 Penn State 0
Records: U-M (10-11-2, 5-7-1 B1G), PSU (16-7-0, 8-5-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 18 -- vs. No. 6 Penn State (State College, Pa.), 6 p.m.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Johnny Beecher and Jake Slaker scored two goals each and Strauss Mann stopped all 31 shots he faced to help lead the University of Michigan ice hockey team to a 6-0 win over No. 6-ranked Penn State on Friday night (Jan. 17) at Pegula Ice Arena.
The early minutes of the game were dominated by Michigan, continuing the fast-paced play from last weekend that earned the team two critical wins at then-ranked No. 14 Notre Dame. After winning the opening draw, defenseman Luke Martin gathered the puck and sent a breakout pass off the boards to initiate the first U-M rush of the game just seconds into the game.
The line of Will Lockwood, Beecher and Nick Granowicz was quick to cycle the puck down low behind the net before testing Penn State netminder Peyton Jones with several grade-A chances on their first shift. Halfway through the period, shots were 13-6 in Michigan's favor with the ice tilted toward the PSU end.
With 3:47 left in the first period, U-M's offensive effort was rewarded when Slaker was sprung on an abbreviated breakaway that resulted in his seventh goal of the year. After Luke Morgan got Slaker the puck, he broke toward the net from Jones' right and ripped a wrist shot short-side just inches above the goaltender's pad to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead. After 20 minutes, Michigan led in shots, 19-11.
Killing a minor penalty to start the middle period, Mann starred as the team's best penalty killer before an odd play brought the crowd to a standstill as the man advantage was ending. Jones skated out far away from his net to make a play on the puck at the top of the right circle. An energetic Lockwood seized the opportunity by lifting his stick, claiming the puck, and circling the net to deposit it past the retreating goaltender and appeared to double the U-M lead. After a long review stemming from a Penn State challenge, the goal was waived off for too many men on the ice, and the U-M lead was pared back to one.
More than seven minutes into the second stanza, Michael Pastujov led the Wolverine rush across the PSU blue line before noticing his older brother, Nick Pastujov, entering the zone a second later as a trailing option. The elder Pastujov received the pass, took an extra stride into the slot and sent a laser of a wrist shot into the back of the net to extend the U-M lead to two, 2-0, at 7:17 of the second period, with defenseman Nick Blankenburg also collecting an assist.
After two periods of play, the Wolverines maintained its two-goal lead with a 29-23 advantage in shots.
Tweet of the Game
Check out the highlights as Michigan drops 6?? on the 6th ranked Nittany Lions#GoBlue?? pic.twitter.com/bqQbG2y2jZ
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) January 18, 2020
The Nittany Lions threatened early in the final stanza when the puck popped out in front of the Michigan net, but Mann came up with a key pad save on the ensuing shot to turn away PSU's best opportunity of the game.
Looking to extend the lead to three, captain Lockwood made his way behind the Penn State net and skated out toward the left dot as his teammates got in position. Lockwood found Beecher open in the slot and the freshman sent a one-time blast past Jones to extend the U-M lead to 3-0 at the 6:00 mark of the third period. Blankenburg picked up his second assist of the game on Beecher's tally.
Fifty-nine seconds later, Slaker found the back of the net for his second multi-goal game in as many weeks to make the score 4-0. Morgan and Jimmy Lambert picked up helpers on Slaker's team-leading eighth goal of the season.
The scoring parade continued 63 seconds later when the Wolverines scored again off a clean draw win in the Penn State zone. Nick Pastujov won the faceoff back to Michael Pastujov, who was skating over from the right wing. Michael gathered the puck onto his blade and moved toward the slot before wiring a shot to the top corner of the net to make it 5-0 at 8:02.
Four minutes after Beecher's rocket gave U-M a three-goal lead and sparked the subsequent scoring spree, the freshman from Elmira, New York, secured his second two-goal game as a Wolverine when he capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play with just over 10 minutes left to make the score 6-0. After carrying the puck into the zone by himself on the two-man advantage, Beecher shelved an impressive short-side goal in a tiny window above the netminder's shoulder. Mann picked up his first collegiate point with an assist on Beecher's second goal of the contest.
With U-M up by six goals, PSU took a major penalty that marred the remainder of the contest. As time expired, the Wolverines mobbed their goaltender in celebration of the sophomore's second shutout in three games. U-M outshot the Nittany Lions, 47-31, while going 1-for-4 on the man-advantage and killing both of PSU's power-play chances.
With the win, Michigan extends its win streak to three games. The teams will face off again Saturday night (Jan. 18) at Pegula Ice Arena for their final meeting of the 2019-20 regular season. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
