Michigan
24-5-1, 15-4-1
Penn State
18-9-1, 10-7-1
U-M Overpowers No. 6 PSU to Take Five of Six Points
2/14/2026 8:48:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Nick Moldenhauer had a two-goal, three-point performance to pace the U-M offense.
» Michael Hage chipped in two assists to bring his total to five helpers on the weekend.
» T.J. Hughes notched his second-straight two-point game with a pair of assists.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A pair of power-play goals and a return to form for goaltender Jack Ivankovic helped propel the second-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team past the sixth-ranked Penn State, 6-3, at Yost Ice Arena on Saturday (Feb. 14) in front of a sold-out crowd on Valentine's Day.
Ivankovic delivered another strong performance in net for the Wolverines, turning aside 30 of 33 shots against a shorthanded Penn State squad. Despite surrendering two late goals that tightened the final box score, the freshman backstopped U-M to a three-point regulation victory.
Michigan (24-5-1, 15-4-1 Big Ten) struck first for the first time in four games at the 7:34 mark of the opening period. Freshman Cole McKinney lifted a point shot from Luca Fantilli over the goaltender's glove to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead, with fellow freshman Aidan Park picking up the secondary assist on McKinney's sixth tally of the season.
Still searching for his first goal as a Wolverine, defenseman Ben Robertson collected a pass from T.J. Hughes in the offensive zone and carved around the perimeter as part of a counter-clockwise cycle. As he approached the goal line, he broke in toward the slot while protecting the puck and got in position to put a shot on goal. With a defender pressuring Robertson, Nick Moldenhauer swooped in to finish the job and put Michigan up 2-0 at 11:29.
The marker was Moldenhauer's fifth in as many games and his 11th on the season. That's the same amount of goals as he scored across both his freshman and sophomore seasons combined.
Just under one minute later, Penn State (18-9-1, 10-7-1 Big Ten) halved the deficit with a low slot shot.
After one period of matinee action, Michigan took a 2–1 lead into the dressing room despite Penn State holding an 11–6 edge in shots on goal. The Wolverines continued to excel in the faceoff circle, building a 12–5 advantage in draws.
The middle frame opened with both teams testing the opposing netminders before Adam Valentini drew a slashing penalty while driving hard through the middle of the ice.
Nearly one minute later, with the Wolverines pressuring in PSU's zone, Jayden Perron forced a hard shot through the wickets to make it a 3-1 game at 13:27. Malcolm Spence and Moldenhauer each notched assists on Perron's 13th goal.
Michigan owned the two-goal advantage through 40 minutes of action. PSU still claimed a 22-17 edge in shots on goal, but U-M's advantage in the faceoff dot expanded to 25-17 after the period of the long change.
The Nittany Lions returned to the power play for their second opportunity at 7:46 of the third period when a Wolverine was banished for a hooking minor. It was cut short at 8:36 when PSU was nabbed for a slashing infraction of its own.
Once the Wolverines began a short advantage of their own, they wasted little time before Will Horcoff jammed a shot through traffic from the right circle to make it 4-1 at 9:32. Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen and Hage assisted on Horcoff's goal that pushed the U-M power-play unit to a perfect 2-for-2 on the day.
Michigan added an even-strength goal at 13:27 to break it open at 5-1 when Valentini buried from just a few feet outside the blue paint following an offensive-zone faceoff win. Spence and Hage picked up the assists to make it an all-Ontario scoring line.
PSU made it interesting late by adding a power-play goal at 16:20 before following it up with a successful redirection from the slot with 1:51 remaining to make it 5-3.
Moldenhauer sprinted down the ice to negate an icing call and pound the puck into the empty net with a one-timer off the end wall to close it out at 6-3 with just over one minute remaining. Perron and Asher Barnett racked up the assists on the junior's second of the game.
The Wolverines closed out the weekend series with five of a possible six points, moving into the top spot in the league standings for the week. Penn State held a 33-26 advantage in shots on goal, but U-M remained defensively solid, outblocking the Nittany Lions 26-13 and controlling the faceoff circle, 38-32, when it mattered most.
Next week, Michigan will hit the road to take on the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisc. The series will be played Friday and Saturday (Feb. 20-21), with puck drop set for 7 p.m. CT for the first contest and 6 p.m. CT for the finale. Big Ten Network is slated to broadcast both games live from Wisconsin's capital.
