Michigan
8-2-1, 3-0-0
Penn State
4-6-0, 0-5-0
Pair of Hage Goals Propel Michigan Past Penn State
11/22/2024 11:12:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Michael Hage scored two goals, including the game-winner, in his first career multi-goal game.
» Garrett Schifsky paced the Wolverines in scoring with three points -- one goal and two assists.
» T.J. Hughes scored his first goal of the year off a redirect to tie the game early in the first period.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The fifth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team stormed out to a 4-1 lead on the road on Friday night (Nov. 22) at Penn State before things tightened up, as the Wolverines knocked off the Nittany Lions in a 6-5 decision inside Pegula Ice Arena to secure U-M's fifth straight win.
Fresh off of a bye week, Michigan started fast and kept the puck in Penn State's end for the first minute of the contest. With play still hemmed in down below the goal line, Josh Eernisse was whistled at 1:09 for boarding to give the home team an early power play.
Penn State opened the scoring and made it 1-0 just 21 seconds later with a power-play goal in transition following an impressive individual effort.
The Wolverines struck shortly thereafter when T.J. Hughes scored his first goal of the year at 2:33 by deflecting a point shot off the stick of freshman blueliner Will Felicio to tie the game, 1-1.
Just a few minutes later, Michael Hage extended his team lead in scoring by notching his sixth goal of the season at 5:59. He walked into the slot before wiring a wrist shot into the back of the net to make the score 2-1. Hage's linemates, Evan Werner and Garrett Schifsky, earned assists on the freshman's strike.
Building upon the success he had last year against PSU, William Whitelaw finished off a feed from Philippe Lapointe at 10:29 to make it a 3-1 game.
Jacob Truscott joined the scoring with 5:39 left in the first period, burying his second power-play goal of the campaign. Truscott's tally made it 4-1, Michigan.
Michigan appeared to score a fifth goal with 4:19 on the board after a previous shot on goal was deflected high up into the air above the Penn State crease and then batted down to the ice. Just as the Wolverines began to celebrate, the officials emphatically waved it off for a hand pass.
After one period of play, the Wolverines carried a commanding 4-1 lead into the locker room. U-M narrowly led in shots on goal (9-8), but made them count by shooting 44 percent. Penn State did have a clear advantage in the faceoff dot, winning 17 of 29 first-period faceoffs.
Logan Stein, who finished with 24 saves, made several key stops in the first half of the second period to preserve Michigan's three-goal lead. The score remained stagnant until Thomas Daskas was booked for interference at 7:42 to put the Nittany Lions back on the power play for the second time.
A bit over one minute later, Penn State capitalized on the power play for the second time in as many attempts with a wrist shot goal from the high slot to trim Michigan's lead to 4-2.
While PSU attempted to grapple with the speed of Jackson Hallum as the junior carved up the ice in transition, they were forced to take a penalty to put U-M on the power play with 6:21 left in the second frame.
Schifsky made the advantage count just 22 seconds later when he finished off a rebound from a point shot by crashing the blue paint with his stick on the ice. Truscott picked up the primary assist for putting the initial shot on goal while Whitelaw earned the secondary helper on Schifsky's sixth goal of the season.
PSU trimmed the deficit once again and made it a 5-3 contest at the 18-minute mark with a shot off a rush that found the top corner.
With 40 minutes in the books, Michigan maintained its 5-3 lead over Penn State.
Less than one minute into the third, PSU scored on a rebound to make it a one-goal game at 5-4. The Nittany Lions continued to ride a wave of momentum until they tied the game at 4:27.
Michigan's offense sputtered along for the bulk of the period with the score tied until Hage flexed his offensive muscle once again. The freshman stickhandled his way up the ice with his linemates flanking him on each wing. After dashing toward the right side of the cage and circling the net, Hage quickly tucked a wraparound effort between the pipe and the pad to put Michigan back in front, 6-5, with 6:32 left in regulation. Freshman defender Hunter Hady earned his first collegiate point with an assist while Schifsky locked up his third of the night with the secondary assist.
As PSU searched for a game-tying goal, Eernisse was called for his second penalty of the night with 23 seconds remaining. With the net empty and the Nittany Lions touting a 6-on-4 advantage, the Wolverines were able to bury the puck against the boards in the corner until the final buzzer rang to provide relief.
Michigan held on for the 6-5 win and earned three points in the conference standings to continue their win streak despite trailing PSU in both shots on goal (29-25) and faceoffs (43-26).
On Saturday night (Nov. 23), the teams face off once more at Pegula Ice Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
