UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State squared off with Michigan in a marquee top-five Big Ten matchup at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday, Nov. 14, and Saturday, Nov. 15.
The Wolverines set the tone in the first game, flexing their firepower in a commanding 7–1 victory. But the Nittany Lions bounced back with authority the following night, delivering a strong 4–2 win to earn a hard-fought series split.
Michigan started out hot and never looked back on Friday night. The Wolverines had three first period goals. The first goal came with 12:45 left in the first period when Josh Eernisee found the back of the net.
Will Horcoff kept the scoring going for Michigan with 5:17 left in the first period. The last goal came from Nick Moldenhauer for the Wolverines with 2:07 left in the first.
The scoring continued in the second period, with both teams finding the net. Garrett Schifsky extended Michigan’s lead to 4–0 midway through the frame, finishing a chance with 15:40 left. Penn State finally broke through in the closing seconds, as Shea Van Olm buried a late goal with 24 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 4–1 heading into the third.
Michigan closed out the night the same way it began with an offensive showcase. Adam Valentini struck less than a minute into the third period to push the lead to 5–1, and T.J. Hughes followed up just fewer than five minutes later, continuing the Wolverines’ performance. With 2:25 remaining, Cole McKinney added one more to seal a dominant 7–1 victory for Michigan.
Saturday night’s game started with a defensive clinic from both teams which did not allow either team to get on the board early. Penn State finally broke through midway through the frame when freshman Luke Misa buried the game’s first goal off setups from Shea Van Olm and Ben Schoen. With 1:06 left in the second Nick Fascia would score again for the Nittany Lions, making the score 2-0 after two periods.
Penn State and Michigan both scored two more goals in the third period. Penn State struck first, as Reese Laubach extended the lead to 3–0 with 11:33 remaining. Michigan answered with a push of its own, getting back-to-back goals from Will Horcoff and Jayden Perron to tighten the contest.
But the Nittany Lions sealed it in the final seconds, when Nicholas Chin-DeGraves scored with just six seconds left. Penn State pulled out a crucial 4–2 victory, securing a much-needed win.
The Nittany Lions are now 10-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Penn State will now travel to Minneapolis with another two-game series against Minnesota.
