UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 5 Michigan used six powerplay goals to come all the way back from an early deficit and defeat Penn State, 10-6, in Big Ten Conference action on Saturday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State drops to 4-7-0 on the year and 0-6-0-0-1-0 in Big Ten play with the loss while the Wolverines move to 9-2-1 overall and 4-0-0-1-0-0 in conference action with the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State started fast with two goals in just over a minute to open the game as sophomore Dane Dowiak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored a pair of rebound goals over a 22-second span for the 2-0 lead at the 1:05 mark of the first period. The first came after classmate Reese Laubach’s (San Jose, Calif.) initial shot was turned aside and the second was generated by a point shot from freshman Cade Christenson (Edmonton, Alberta).
- The Nittany Lions pushed the lead to 3-0 with a powerplay tally midway through the period as Laubach ripped home a rebound at the near post after classmate Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) drove to the net and had his shot turned aside at the 12:16 mark.
- Michigan answered with a goal against the run of play as William Whitelaw hit a yawning net after PSU junior net-minder Noah Grannan (Germantown, Wis.) was caught out of position for the 3-1 score at the 13:32 mark.
- Fink then turned defense into offense as he intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and skated into the right dot before lacing a wrister over the glove of Wolverine goaltender Cameron Korpi for the 4-1 edge at the 15:20 mark of the opening stanza. That goal marked the end of the night for Korpi who was replaced by Friday night starter Logan Stein.
- Michigan clawed back into the game heading into the first intermission with a pair of man-advantage tallies just 54 ticks apart as Jacob Truscott sent a shot through traffic from the high slot that beat Grannan at 17:18 before Evan Werner sent a one-timer to the twine for the 4-3 deficit at the 18:12 mark.
- The visitors evened the score midway through the second period with their fourth-straight goal as Tyler Duke skated into the zone and let loose from the high-slot beating Grannan over the blocker for the 4-4 score at the 9:42 mark.
- The Wolverines then grabbed their first lead of the contest with their third powerplay tally as T.J. Hughes redirected a shot in the low slot for the 5-4 margin at the 11:31 mark.
- Freshman JJ Wiebusch (Verona, Wis.) pulled the hosts back even as he collected an errant pass just outside the offensive zone and skated down the near side slipping the puck through Stein’s five-hole for the 5-5 score at 16:06 of the second stanza.
- Michigan regained the lead shortly after as Philippe Lapointe found a loose puck in front of the crease and lifted it over Grannan’s pad for the 6-5 advantage just 33 ticks later.
- The Wolverines pushed the lead to a pair early in the third period as Hughes went coast-to-coast for an unassisted tally as he beat Grannan clean past the glove from the right dot for the 7-5 edge at the 3:23 mark. Following the goal Grannan was relieved by junior John Seithfarth (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
- Fink got the hosts within a single-goal again with his second tally of the night, this time on the powerplay, as he fired shortside high from the right circle for the 6-5 deficit at 11:19 of the third period.
- Michigan took advantage of a late five-minute major and extended 5-on-3 time to push the game out of reach with three powerplay scores. Michael Hage sandwiched a 5-on-3 tally between a pair of goals from T.J. Hughes to account for the 10-6 final.
GOALTENDING
- Grannan drops to 0-3-0 on the year with the loss after making 12 saves on 19 shots over the opening 43:06 of game action before being relieved by Seifarth who collected eight saves over the final 16:36.
- Stein earns the win in relief improving to 6-1-0 after stopping 22 shots over the final 44:23 after coming in for Korpi who doesn’t factor in the decision following an 11-save effort.
NOTES
- Penn State held the 39-30 edge in shots on goal while going 2-for-5 on the man-advantage. Michigan went 6-for-9 on the powerplay, the six man-advantage tallies are the most surrendered by Penn State in program history.
- The 10 goals allowed by Penn State are the most ever allowed in a single-game and are the most scored by an opponent since Wisconsin scored eight on December 1, 2018.
- The 11 goals scored by Penn State are the most in a Big Ten series since also potting 11 in a series sweep against Wisconsin on January 21-22, 2022.
- Dowiak collects the second multi-point effort of his career and his first this season while his three points mark a new career-best.
- Dowiak’s two goals in 22 seconds is a new program standard for fastest back-to-back goals by a single player breaking Casey Bailey’s record of 1:09 set against Ohio State on January 9, 2015.
- Fink tied his career-high with four points on two goals and two assists, it’s his second four-point game this season and the third of his career while marking his first multi-goal game of the season and the fourth of his career. The four points also mark his fifth multi-point effort, second-straight and third in his last four games, of the season and the 14th of his career.
- With one goal and three assists, Laubach sets a new career high in points and assists while collecting his second multi-point game of the season and the seventh of his career.
- With one assist senior Simon Mack (Brockville, Ontario) breaks a tie with Paul DeNaples ’23 for ninth on the Penn State all-time assist list for defensemen with 35 for his career while pulling even with DeNaples for ninth on the all-time defenseman point list with 44 for his career.
- Penn State again controlled the dot winning 53.4 percent (39-for-73) of the draws in the game paced by freshman Charlie Cerrato who was 15-for-25 (60 percent).
- The four goals by Michigan’s T.J. Hughes mark the first time an opponent has scored four goals against the Nittany Lions since Luke Hughes accomplished the same feat for Michigan on January 28, 2023.
- Entering the weekend Penn State had only two losses all-time when scoring five or more goals as they did in each game this weekend as the double that number falling to 107-4-2 all-time in such contests.
NEXT UP
- Penn State has a quick turnaround as they welcome Colgate for a pre-Thanksgiving non-conference series on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Tickets for both games are still available HERE.
For more information on the 2024-25 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.