Michigan
18-6-1, 9-5-0
Penn State
12-12-0, 3-11-0
Three Straight Goals Lift Michigan Past Penn State, to Sweep of Nittany Lions
1/15/2022 10:31:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Brendan Brisson notched his fifth game-winning goal with a perfect third-period snipe.
» Erik Portillo set a new career high with 44 saves on 47 shots faced to clinch his 18th win.
» Michigan has killed off 23 consecutive penalties, dating back to Dec. 11 against Ohio State.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Yost Ice Arena)
Score: #4 Michigan 4, Penn State 3
Records: U-M (18-6-1, 8-3-0-0-2 B1G), PSU (12-12-0, 2-10-0-1-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Jan. 21 -- at #8 Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 8 p.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The fourth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team scored the final three goals of the game on Saturday evening (Jan. 15) to knock off the pesky Penn State Nittany Lions 4-3 on Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena.
With the win, Michigan secures both the weekend and season series sweep against Penn State. The Wolverines went 4-0 against the Nittany Lions this season, winning four games by a combined score of 18-8.
Erik Portillo, making his 25th start of the season, set a new personal best with 44 saves against PSU while allowing three goals to bump his record up to 18-6-1 this year.
Early on, the visitors controlled the majority of play while the Wolverines produced sporadic chances on the rush and in transition to test Oskar Autio in net for PSU. Neither side took a penalty in the opening 20 minutes, but the intensity ratcheted up between the conference foes as U-M settled into the game. Freshman forward Mark Estapa was a constant source of energy, giving the fans cause to cheer after nearly checking an opposing player into their bench.
After one period, PSU held an 11-7 lead in shots on goal and an 11-8 edge in the faceoff dot.
Michigan took advantage of a turnover from the PSU netminder to open the scoring 4:13 into the second period. Autio skated out of his crease to clear a puck, but his attempt was co-opted by Jimmy Lambert in the neutral zone. Lambert broke into Penn State's end on the left with Nolan Moyle to his right on a two-man breakaway, passing the puck back and forth while closing in on the blue paint. Feet away from the goal line, Lambert made one last pass back across the crease to Moyle, who smashed a shot off of the goalie's pad and into the net to put Michigan up 1-0.
Penn State received the first power play of the contest 3:21 into the middle period when Michael Pastujov was assessed a minor penalty for high-sticking, but U-M killed it off in short order.
Back at even strength, Matty Beniers had a fantastic look from the top of the crease off a great backdoor feed from Pastujov, but Autio made the stop with 13:45 left in the second period.
On their next trip down the ice, the Nittany Lions got the puck on net before pounding away at Portillo's pad, pinned against the left post. After several seconds of effort with no whistles, PSU was rewarded when the puck rolled across the goal line to tie the game at 1 apiece. Head coach Mel Pearson challenged the play for offsides, but the goal was confirmed after a video review.
Several minutes later, just after the halfway point of the game, Penn State scored on a rebound in the slot to take a 2-1 lead with 9:45 left before the second intermission.
With 5:14 left in the second, the Nittany Lions scored with a low shot to go ahead, 3-1.
Michigan was sent to its first power play of the game with 3:18 remaining in the second stanza and Penn State up by two, with the opponents holding a sizable advantage in shots on goal.
Three seconds after Penn State returned to full strength and killing off the U-M power play, a Luke Hughes shot from above the faceoff dot was redirected in front by Beniers, sending a trickling puck across the goal line to cut the deficit to 3-2. Brendan Brisson received the secondary assist for moving the puck across the zone to Hughes on the right flank.
The Wolverines threatened to tie the game on a pair of chances from the netfront area with 11 seconds left, but the home side failed to beat Autio again before the buzzer sounded.
After two periods, Penn State had built a 3-2 lead with a 31-18 advantage in shots on goal.
Less than a minute into the third period, Hughes found an equalizer when he finished off a rush that he himself had started with a breakout pass to Beniers. Beniers dashed down the ice as Hughes caught up, received a pass, and accelerated through the Penn State defense.
Defenseman Jack Summers took a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for contact to the head at 1:53 of the final frame to give Penn State a lengthy man advantage with the game tied at 3. Garrett Van Wyhe, Moyle, Portillo and a host of other penalty killers turned in an excellent effort to kill off the team's 22nd consecutive penalty, dating back to December.
Michigan's maize-clad skaters reclaimed the lead with 11:51 left to play. Mackie Samoskevich carried the puck into the zone before dishing it to Bordeleau in the slot. Brisson followed behind Bordeleau in support before pouncing on a loose puck and wiring a perfect shot from the top of the right circle to the top-left corner of the net, announcing the go-ahead goal by ringing off the iron and in. PSU head coach Guy Gadowsky decided to challenge the play for too many men on the ice, but the goal was confirmed after an official review and the Nittany Lions lost their timeout.
Penn State's attack grew more desperate as time wound down, and they pulled their netminder for an extra attacker. With 53 seconds left in regulation, Pastujov received his second penalty of the night to give the Nittany Lions a power play to close out the game.
The visiting side poured shots at the Michigan net with a two-man advantage until the final buzzer, adding shots to their tab until a last-second dump by the red-hot Michigan penalty kill unit dismissed the visitors for good after allowing a season-high 47 shots on Portillo.
With the win, the Wolverines are atop the Big Ten standings with 29 points, but have two games in hand over second-place Minnesota.
Next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 21-22), the Wolverines will hit the road for a key two-game series against the eighth-ranked Minnesota. Friday night's (Jan. 21) contest will start at 8 p.m. CST, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. On Saturday evening (Jan. 22), puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. CST and Big Ten Network will broadcast the game live.
