No. 15 Penn State men’s hockey defeated No. 11 Michigan 5-2 in game two of the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals Saturday night in Ann Arbor and punched its ticket to the next round.
After going down a goal early, the Nittany Lions immediately responded with a goal of their own and jumped out to two separate two-goal leads. Coming off of a hat trick in game one, JJ Wiebusch again found the back of the net with Nicholas DeGraves, Ben Schoen, Carson Dyck and Charlie Cerrato also scoring.
How It Happened
From the opening faceoff, Michigan dominated play and opened the scoring just 1:23 into play. Nick Moldenhauer forced a turnover in the neutral zone and skated in tight on Arsenii Sergeev, where the forward fired the puck into the back of the net to give Michigan an early 1-0 lead.
Just 15 seconds later, DeGraves responded with a goal of his own to shift the momentum back to Penn State. Dylan Lugris forced a turnover in Michigan’s defensive zone, and fired a pass to Schoen near the crease. Logan Stein saved Schoen’s initial shot, but the rebound popped out to DeGraves at the front of the net and he beat Michigan’s netminder to tie the game at 1-1.
Penn State continued to buzz after the goal, with its top line leading the way with multiple scoring chances that nearly gave Penn State the lead. At the other end, William Whitelaw forced a turnover and broke out a nifty move to go on a breakaway, but a strong chest save by Sergeev kept the score even.
With just under four minutes left in the period, Penn State headed to the first power play of the evening as Philippe Lapointe sat for interference. After a few close calls, Penn State finally broke through with the man advantage just before the penalty expired. Stein made the initial save on a wrist shot by Reese Laubach, but the rebound kicked out to Schoen and the forward fired the puck into a wide open net giving Penn State a 2-1 lead.
In the final seconds of the first period, Michael Hage delivered a big hit on Tyler Paquette near the Penn State blue line and was called for a penalty. However, a review determined the hit was not penalty-worthy, and the teams began the second period at five-on-five.
The two teams opened the middle period of regulation with five minutes of back-and-forth hockey, as neither team managed to establish its offensive zone. The first true scoring chance came off the stick of Kienan Draper after the forward forced a turnover, but Sergeev came up with a shoulder save to keep Penn State ahead.
At 10:45, Penn State finally doubled its lead. DeGraves rushed through neutral ice and into the Michigan zone, where he fired a backhanded pass to Lugris, and the forward tipped the puck to a wide open Dyck at the far post. Dyck promptly tapped the puck into the open net for his first goal of the season and gave Penn State the 3-1 lead.
Just under one minute later, Michigan headed to its first power play as Jarod Crespo sat for a tripping penalty. Not even 20 seconds into the Wolverines’ man advantage, Whitelaw cut Penn State’s lead in half after the forward smashed a one-timer past Sergeev from the left circle.
Coming off of a hattrick and the game-winning goal in game one, JJ Wiebusch again found the back of the net at 17:32. Carter Schade walked a Michigan defender before dishing a pass to Wiebusch, who fired the puck into an open net and doubled Penn State’s lead. Michigan challenged the goal for goaltender interference, but officials upheld the call on the ice and the goal stood.
With under one minute to play in the period, Michigan again headed to the power play as Dane Dowiak sat for roughing. Michigan could not capitalize before the final horn, but began the final period of regulation with 1:05 left on its power play.
Penn State killed the remainder of Dowiak’s penalty after the teams filed onto the ice for the start of the period, but Michigan tilted the ice for the opening minutes. A few strong saves by Sergeev kept his team ahead by a pair of goals.
At 5:07, Michigan went back to the power play as Cerrato sat for charging after the forward crashed into Stein. The Wolverines notched some dangerous scoring chances with the advantage, but the Nittany Lions held and killed the penalty.
After the final media timeout, Penn State began to get its legs offensively and nearly secured a much-needed insurance goal. Stein and Michigan held strong, however, and thwarted each Penn State scoring opportunity.
With under three minutes to go in regulation, Cerrato was sprung on a breakaway and drew a penalty shot after Ethan Edwards slashed the forward on the shot attempt. On the ensuing shot, Cerrato slowly skated in on Stein and beat the goaltender top shelf to seal the game for Penn State. The forward waved goodbye to the Michigan faithful, and as a result, was thrown out of the game.
At 17:11, Michigan pulled Stein as it searched for a miracle. But Penn State held and secured the sweep.
Takeaways
- Despite a quiet night from the NCAA’s leading scorer in Aiden Fink, Penn State found ways to score thanks to a continued run of good play from its secondary pieces. Five different Nittany Lions found the scoresheet, including Wiebusch, who notched his fourth goal of the weekend.
- Penn State dominated the first two periods of play, as it jumped out to a 4-2 lead and a huge advantage in shots on goal through two periods. With its tournament hopes on the line, Michigan flipped the script in the final period of regulation with dominant play, but Penn State withstood the onslaught to secure the victory.
- After a shaky performance by Sergeev in game one, Penn State’s star goalie bounced back in a big way in game two. The netminder made 30 saves on 32 shots faced, and came up with multiple big saves in the final period.
What’s Next?
With other results pending, Penn State awaits its opponent for the semifinals. Regardless of opponent, the game is set for Saturday, March 15, with a time for puck drop yet to be announced.
