Michigan
15-9-1, 7-8-0
Penn State
18-8-1, 8-8-1
Fantilli Brothers Lead Michigan to Win Over Penn State
1/27/2023 11:22:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Erik Portillo stood tall in net, turning aside 51 of 54 shots for a new career-high in saves.
» Adam Fantilli had a four-point night with two goals and two assists.
» Luca Fantilli scored his first career goal.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The seventh-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team racked up seven goals against sixth-ranked Penn State on Friday night inside a sold-out Yost Ice Arena for a 7-3 victory.
Manning the crease and earning the win for Michigan was junior netminder Erik Portillo. The Swede was outstanding for the Wolverines, setting a new career-high by making 51 saves on 54 shots that he faced from the highly-potent Penn State offense.
Freshman Jackson Hallum ripped a shot past Penn State goalkeeper Liam Souliere at 5:12, converting on Michigan's first shot on goal. Ethan Edwards flipped the puck in deep to kick off the chance, as Seamus Casey retrieved the puck and shrugged off a defender before sending a pass into a high-danger area that bounced off of a Nittany Lion's skate and onto the tape of a charging Hallum.
Michigan (15-9-1, 7-8-0) embarked on the game's first power play at 8:09 after drawing a tripping penalty. Shortly thereafter, Fantilli doubled the lead with a power-play strike from the right dot. Luke Hughes had taken the puck out of Penn State's zone to regroup, but found space as he re-entered the offensive zone and turned on the jets in hopes of driving to the net. As he cut toward the blue paint, he dished the puck over to Fantilli for a quick shot that banged in off the goalie's pads. Gavin Brindley earned the secondary assist on Fantilli's 15th goal of the season. Portillo kept the 2-0 lead intact with three big saves as the last two minutes of the first period came to a close.
Hard-nosed defenseman Jay Keranen was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct at 1:56 in the second period after he checked a Nittany Lion at top-speed while backchecking in the defensive-zone. Penn State converted just six seconds into the power play to make it 2-1, but the Michigan penalty kill unit stiffened up for the remaining 4:54 to keep the one-goal lead intact.
Rutger McGroarty tacked on his tenth goal of the season to put the Wolverines up 3-1 with a rip from the slot. Casey got his second point of the game with the primary assist and Fantilli earned the secondary assist.Â
Feeding off the momentum, Philippe Lapointe deposited another goal into the net from Fantilli at 10:33 in the second period. The back-to-back goals resulted in a goalie change for the Nittany Lions (18-8-1, 8-8-1).
Penn State scored its second goal of the night with 5:34 left in the second period, making it 4-2 after a miscommunication behind the U-M cage resulted in an easy goal for the visitors. Going into the second intermission, the Wolverines led the Nittany Lions 4-2 and but trailed in shots, 38-19.Â
With Michigan up by two goals, the Nittany Lions pulled their goalie in the third period for the extra skater in an attempt to chip away at the score. After another Portillo save, however, the Wolverines worked to get the puck out with Hughes pushing it over to Keaton Pehrson who found Fantilli in stride for the empty-net goal.
Hughes wasn't done as he launched the puck all the way down the ice to tally an empty-net goal and expand the Wolverine lead to 6-2, with Nolan Moyle and Mark Estapa on the assist.
The last 48 seconds of play saw matching 10-minute misconducts and two-minute majors assessed, and with 41.8 seconds left in regulation, PSU banged in a goal amidst the chaos to make it 6-3.
Capping off the scoring was an empty-net goal from Luca Fantilli, the first goal of his career. Lapointe and Nick Granowicz picked up helpers on the final goal of the night.
The Wolverines and the Nittany Lions will conclude the series tomorrow night (Saturday, Jan. 28). Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network.Â
