Michigan
9-2-1, 4-0-0
Penn State
4-7-0, 0-6-0
Michigan Scores 10 in Wild Win to Clinch Sweep Over Penn State
11/23/2024 11:11:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» T.J. Hughes scored four goals and added an assist for a five-point performance.
» Michael Hage notched one goal and four assists to match Hughes with five points.
» The two-game set with Penn State featured the most goals (27) in a U-M series since 1986.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – There were goals galore between conference foes on Saturday night (Nov. 23) inside Pegula Ice Arena, as the fifth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team overwhelmed the Penn State Nittany Lions in a 10-6 barnburner to earn a series sweep and extend the team's win streak to six games.
The 27 total goals scored in the series marked the most collective offense in a two-game weekend series for the U-M hockey program since the team combined with RPI to score 34 goals in a non-conference series split at Yost Ice Arena in January 1986.
Penn State jumped out to a 4-1 lead before Michigan scored four unanswered to take the lead 5-4 midway through the second. The teams traded goals to end the middle frame and to start the final period before Michigan tacked on three power-play goals, taking advantage of Penn State penalties. In all, Michigan went six-for-10 on the power play.
Penn State responded to Michigan's win on Friday by executing a nearly perfect start to Saturday's game, when the Nittany Lions scored a pair of goals in a 22-second span to take a 2-0 lead just over one minute into the contest.
The ice continued to slant in PSU's favor as the home team drew the first penalty of the game to earn a power play at 7:02, but Michigan's penalty killers stood strong to stymie the power play.
PSU's power-play unit was reactivated five minutes later when Tanner Rowe was tagged with a minor penalty for cross-checking while chasing a puck in the offensive zone. On their second advantage of the early-going, the Nittany Lions cashed in on a rebound opportunity while crashing the net to make it a 3-0 game with 7:44 left in the first period.
Michigan took their first dent out of the lead at 13:32 when a shot attempt off the stick of Mark Estapa drove the PSU goalie out of his crease. A subsequent rebound opportunity found the stick of William Whitelaw off to the side of the net, and the sophomore buried it into the yawning cage for his third tally of the season.
Shortly thereafter, Penn State struck back to reclaim a three-goal lead and make it 4-1 at 15:20. With that, Cameron Korpi was relieved in favor of Logan Stein after facing 15 shots in an early barrage.
On the following shift, a post-whistle scrum near the Michigan net resulted in a pair of penalties for the home team compared to just one for the Wolverines. The ensuing advantage was a productive one, as Jacob Truscott scored a power-play goal for U-M from the blue line for the second night in a row. The captain's strike at 17:18 made it a 4-2 game; Michael Hage and Evan Werner recorded the assists.
With 2:04 remaining in the first period, Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen was taken down by a hook to draw another power play for the visitors.
As three Nittany Lions were caught up high in the zone on the kill, a trio of Wolverines descended upon the PSU net against a single defender. After stickhandling his way down low en route to the right post, T.J. Hughes sauced a pass through the slot to a crashing Werner, who converted the backdoor feed to make it a 4-3 game with 1:48 left in the opening period. Hage recorded the secondary assist on Werner's marker.
The teams retreated to their locker rooms after a chaotic, action-packed period. Despite scoring the final two goals of the frame, Michigan still trailed 4-3. Penn State also held a lead in shots on goal (18-9) and faceoffs (14-9).
The second period began without incident until a pair of Wolverines were sent off with minor penalties at 3:19 to hand Penn State a 5x3 power play. Michigan's penalty killers came up clutch for the visitors, with Stein serving as the backbone for the unit as they denied the opportunity.
U-M defender Tyler Duke flew into the offensive zone after the puck popped out from a scrum in the neutral zone. The junior blueliner unleashed a wrist shot that bounced past the netminder to even things at 4-4.
On the ensuing power play, Hughes notched his second goal from the bumper position by sinking low in the slot and redirecting a hard shot to make it a 5-4 game at 11:31.
Michigan received another power play at 12:46 after a Nittany Lion was penalized for slashing. The U-M power play returned to the ice with three power-play goals already under their belt, but Penn State stood tall to force play to return to even-strength.
PSU capitalized on a U-M turnover to tie the game at 5-5 with 3:54 left in the second period.
The pendulum swung back just 33 seconds later when Lapointe went hard to the net and finished off a loose puck in the blue paint to make it 6-5 in Michigan's favor. His linemate, Estapa, worked behind the net to retain possession and slide the puck into the blue paint for Lapointe to finish, while Whitelaw earned the secondary assist.
With one period left in the weekend series, Michigan carried a 6-5 lead into the second intermission despite continuing to trail in shots on goal (32-18) and faceoffs (26-21).
Hughes continued his strong weekend at 3:23 of the final frame when he rifled a shot from the top of the circle that found the back of the net to put Michigan up, 7-5.
Nearing the midpoint of the third period, a Nittany Lion was taken down in the neutral zone to earn a power play for the home team. Penn State made it count by notching a power-play goal at 11:19 to make it a one-goal game once again at 7-6 in Michigan's favor.
With Michigan on a power play several minutes later, Whitelaw was sent into the boards from behind to draw a penalty on a Nittany Lion. Following an official review with 6:15 left in regulation, it was called a major penalty to give U-M a five-minute power play.
Hughes secured his hat trick 30 seconds later with his fourth goal of the weekend to make it 8-6. Assists went to Hage and Truscott.
Penn State took another penalty with five minutes remaining. After a timely review, it was judged to be a two-minute minor penalty, and the Wolverines embarked upon a 5x3 advantage.
Not long after, Michigan went up three when Hage slammed home a one-timer with 3:52 left. Jackson Hallum and Truscott assisted on the freshman's third point of the night, securing a four-point night for Truscott on the blue line.
Hughes scored his fourth of the night to make it 10-6 with 1:24 left in the series. Werner and Hage notched the assists on the final tally of the contest to clinch career-bests with four and five points, respectively.
When the final buzzer rang, Michigan celebrated the sweep by mobbing Stein, who finished with 22 saves in relief. The team ended the contest with 10 goals on 30 shots to extend the active win streak to six games while dropping Penn State to 0-6 in the conference standings. The U-M power-play unit finished the night at 6-for-10 to help propel the Wolverines to the dominant offensive performance.
Next week, the Wolverines will return to the state of Michigan for a home-and-home series with the Western Michigan. Puck drop for both games is set for 7:00 p.m., with Friday's contest streaming on NCHC.tv and Saturday's on B1G +.
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