Michigan
16-9-1, 8-8-0
Penn State
18-9-1, 8-9-1
Hughes' Four-Goal Outburst Sparks Michigan Comeback Win Over Penn State
1/28/2023 11:01:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Luke Hughes scored four goals, doubling his season total in one evening.
» Adam Fantilli chipped in a pair of assists to extend his team lead in total points with 39.
» Goalie Erik Portillo earned his 50th win as a Wolverine in his 71st start.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Luke Hughes made history by notching four goals on Saturday night (Jan. 28), as the seventh-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team battled back from a three-goal deficit to knock off sixth-ranked Penn State by a 5-4 score.
U-M's comeback win, after being down by three goals, was the first such victory for the Wolverines since Nov. 10, 2017, when the team battled back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Minnesota 5-4 in overtime.
Goaltender Erik Portillo started in net for the Wolverines, earning his 50th career win as a Wolverine by turning aside 32 of the 36 Nittany Lions shots he faced.
Penn State (18-9-1, 8-9-1 Big Ten) scored on their first two shots of the night, opening the scoring 38 seconds into the contest before redirecting a second shot into the back of the net six seconds later to make it 2-0.
Michigan (16-9-1, 8-8-0 Big Ten) received the first power play of the game at 4:08 but failed to register a goal despite creating a number of chances with slick in-zone passing plays. Later in the period, captain Nolan Moyle was whistled for indirect contact to the head, but Michigan's penalty-kill unit was up to the task and spoiled PSU's two-minute chance.
After one period of play, Penn State held a 2-0 lead on top of a 20-8 advantage in shots on goal.
Adam Fantilli scored a goal roughly six minutes into the second period to send Yost into a frenzy, but the officials decided to review the play for an unrelated contact to the head penalty that occurred before the play. After an extended review, the officials determined that the play warranted a five-minute major penalty, thus wiping away Fantilli's hard-earned marker.
Nearly halfway through the extended advantage, the Nittany Lions scored to make it 3-0 exactly nine minutes into the period.
From the blue line, Hughes sounded the siren for Michigan with 5:28 left by rocketing a shot that went bar-down to trigger the goal horn and reinvigorate the crowd. Keaton Pehrson and Mark Estapa picked up assists to get the Wolverines onto the scoreboard.
U-M started a power play with 1:52 remaining in the second stanza. Just 34 seconds later, Hughes buried his second consecutive marker from distance to make it a 3-2 game with 1:18 left in the period of the long change. T.J. Hughes and Gavin Brindley recorded assists on the goal.
After two periods, PSU held a narrow 3-2 lead despite dominating once again in shots on goal (29-13).
Behind the Scenes - go inside the locker room after tonight's comeback victory#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/MEUtQSswCT
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) January 29, 2023
Penn State scored 3:06 into the final period to make it 4-2 after a netfront scramble resulted in a yawning cage. Michigan challenged the play for goaltender interference after Portillo's stick was skated over by an attacking Nittany Lion, but the goal stood as it was called on the ice.
Luke Hughes altered the forecast and made it rain hats 5:06 into the third period, cutting the deficit to one goal when his long shot trickled through the wickets for a hat trick. Rutger McGroarty earned the primary assist on Hughes' third marker while Fantilli collected the secondary.
Hard-nosed forward Dylan Duke recorded his first point of the weekend with a momentous game-tying goal at 7:58. Luca Fantilli set up the play with an impressive stretch pass to assist on Duke's 13th of the season.
Continuing his incredible weekend run, Hughes dialed up one more bomb of a shot to claim his fourth goal of the night at 9:15. Adam Fantilli picked up the lone assist for his second point. Hughes' four-tally performance was the first for a Wolverine since Tony Calderone netted four against Wisconsin on March 2, 2018.
The final half of the third period featured strong defensive play by U-M and Portillo between the pipes as the maize-clad skaters put the finishing touches on a critical conference win and sweep.
Next week, the Wolverines will welcome Wisconsin to Ann Arbor for a two-game series on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 3-4) at Yost Ice Arena. Puck drop for each game is set for 7 p.m., and both contests will be streamed live on B1G+.
