ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The sixth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions couldn't get into a rhythm on Friday night and were defeated by Michigan, 4-1, in Big Ten Conference action at Yost Ice Arena.
Penn State falls to 11-5-0 on the year and 6-3-0 in Big Ten play with the setback while the Wolverines improve to 6-9-2 overall and 2-6-1-0 in conference action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Michigan opened the scoring with a shorthanded tally as Luke Morgan finished off a 2-on-0 rush after Garrett Van Wyhe's initial shot was stopped for the 1-0 lead at 6:10 of the first period. The shorthanded goal was the first allowed by the Nittany Lions this season.
- The Wolverines extended their lead midway through the second period with another 2-on-0 rush as this time it was Johnny Beecher slipping it through the five-hole of PSU senior net-minder Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) for the 2-0 advantage at 10:58 of the frame.
- Michigan pushed the margin to 3-0 early in the third period with a power-play goal as Cam York ripped in his own rebound at 2:35 of the final stanza.
- Jake Slaker added an empty net goal at 15:08 of the third period for the 4-0 score.
- Penn State added a late goal as junior Evan Bell (Livonia, Mich.) sprung classmate Alex Limoges (Winchester, Va.) on a partial breakaway and he found the back of the net for the 4-1 final at 17:49 of the final period.
GOALTENDING
- Jones falls to 10-4-0 on the year after making 25 saves over the first 42:35 of game play before being lifted in favor of sophomore Oskar Autio (Espoo, Finland) who stopped all 7 shots he faced in 13:44 of action.
- Michigan goaltender Strauss Mann improves to 6-8-2 on the year after making 34 saves.
NOTES
- Michigan held the slim 36-35 edge in shots on goal while going 1-for-5 on the power-play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
- The Nittany Lions are now without a first or second period goal at Yost over the last five games and are being outscored 44-9 during this current nine-game losing streak. Penn State is just 2-10-0 all-time at Michigan.
- Penn State failed to score at least one power-play goal for the first time in eight games.
- The Nittany Lions have now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
- Folkes and Barratt each see their season-long point streaks come to an end at seven games while Limoges extends his to eight with his third period tally.
NEXT UP
Both teams return to Yost tomorrow night to conclude the weekend series with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.
For more information on the 2019-20 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: the Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.