Michigan
6-5-2, 2-3-2
Penn State
5-4-3, 0-2-3
Injuries Mar Michigan's Win Over No. 18 Penn State
11/17/2023 10:58:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Frank Nazar III scored and added an assist in addition to winning 16 of 21 draws that he took.
» Garrett Schifsky also notched one goal and one assist for a multi-point game.
» Gavin Brindley scored the first penalty shot goal for Michigan since 2013.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Emotions ran high inside Yost Ice Arena on Friday night (Nov. 17), as the 12th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team outlasted the 18th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions by a 6-4 score to earn three points in the Big Ten standings while losing a number of players to injury throughout the contest.
Jake Barczewski earned the win while making his 3,000th career save early in the first period. After a 33-save performance, he is one win shy of reaching the 50-win marker.
Early on, senior forward Philippe Lapointe opened the scoring at 2:02 off an assist from Kienan Draper to give Red Wings fans in the Wolverine State a familiar-sounding scoring line. Lapointe's first tally of the season capped off a stellar 122-second start for the home team.
Gavin Brindley earned a penalty shot when he broke in on the Penn State crease with 12:12 remaining in the first and was taken down by a backchecking Nittany Lion. The arena's eyes turned to Brindley at center ice, and the diminutive forward broke in slowly and looked like he was going to shoot before coolly bringing the puck back to his forehand and tucking it in the tiny opening between the goaltender's blade and the post. Brindley's team-leading 10th goal of the season made it 2-0.
The penalty shot marked the team's first since Brindley was denied against Western Michigan on Oct. 29, 2022. U-M (6-5-2, 2-3-2) had failed to convert eight straight penalty shots before Brindley's goal -- making it the first successful attempt for the Wolverines since Alex Guptill notched one on Oct. 25, 2013 against Boston University.Â
Penn State (5-4-3, 0-2-3) trimmed the deficit to one with 3:51 left in the opening period when a flubbed pass from a forward in Michigan's defensive zone was intercepted by a Nittany Lion and turned into a quick odd-man rush that was forced across the goal line to make it 2-1.
Frank Nazar III re-established a two-goal lead for the Maize and Blue at 1:39 of the second period when he finished off a chaotic sequence by pulling the puck away from trouble in the blue paint and onto his backhand and flipping it into a yawning cage to make it 3-1. Garrett Schifsky and Seamus Casey collected the helpers by funneling the puck toward open ice for Nazar to capitalize.
Luca Fantilli was hooked at 8:32 behind Barczewski's net to give U-M its third power-play chance of the night. After Michigan buzzed around the zone for over a minute, Jacob Truscott collected a pass in the slot from Nazar and dialed up a wrist shot that clanked off the junction of the crossbar and into the net and made it 4-1. Nazar earned the primary assist for his impressive possession and distribution of the puck while freshman Nick Moldenhauer picked up the secondary.
Truscott's goal -- his first of the year -- marked Michigan's 21st this year on the power play, most in all of college hockey.
The Nittany Lions scored their second of the night at 12:14 and made it 4-2 when a shot from the blue line picked the top corner of the net on a zone entry to reinvigorate the visitors.
U-M was penalized with 5:59 left when Lapointe was tagged with a two-minute minor for cross-checking. PSU embarked on its second man-advantage of the contest and pressured the Michigan cage before netting a goal with 4:12 remaining to bump the score to 4-3.
Junior alternate captain Dylan Duke took matters into his own hands and reestablished Michigan's two-goal lead at 17:19 with a swift wraparound effort that made it 5-3. Marshall Warren earned the lone assist on the play for helping to retrieve the puck following a Penn State turnover.
Michigan carried a 5-3 lead as well as a 34-25 edge in shots on goal into the dressing room after two periods of play. Each side had added a power-play goal in the middle frame while PSU narrowed the deficit in the faceoff department to cut into Michigan's advantage, 30-21.
Shortly after younger brother Tyler Duke rang a shot off the post during a dangerous Michigan possession, Dylan was hit in the defensive zone and stayed down on the ice at 8:03. After he was helped off the ice, the officials reviewed and changed the original call of a two-minute minor penalty for interference to a five-minute major infraction for contact to the head. The Wolverines piled on additional possession time but never seriously threatened on the extended advantage.Â
Rutger McGroarty was helped off the ice after being propelled into the end wall and hitting his back on the side board. The play was not reviewed and McGroarty left on a stretcher. Minutes later, Josh Eernisse was immediately penalized for a heavy hit with 2:09 left in regulation. Officials reviewed the play and determined it was a five-minute major and game misconduct, which gave PSU an extended advantage to close out the night.
Penn State snuck a shot through to make it 5-4 while playing at 6x4 with 1:48 remaining after Barczewski had kicked out the initial two attempts.
With the game in question, Michigan's skaters tightened their collective resolve and stood tall to keep the puck out of the net despite Penn State playing with an extra attacker. The Wolverines ended up icing the game with an empty-net goal from Schifsky with 18 seconds left to put the finishing touches on a 6-4 win.
Dylan Duke, McGroarty, and Mark Estapa all exited the game with injuries during the course of the night. Tomorrow evening, the Wolverines will finish off the two-game series with Penn State to close out the weekend. Puck drop at Yost Ice Arena is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be streamed live on B1G+.
