Men's Hockey Runs Unbeaten Streak to Six, Defeats No. 13/12 Michigan, 5-4Men's Hockey Runs Unbeaten Streak to Six, Defeats No. 13/12 Michigan, 5-4

Men's Hockey Runs Unbeaten Streak to Six, Defeats No. 13/12 Michigan, 5-4

Freshman JJ Wiebusch (Verona, Wis.) scored a late powerplay goal to lift Penn State past No. 13/12 Michigan, 5-4, in Big Ten Conference action from Yost Ice Arena on Friday evening.

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Freshman JJ Wiebusch (Verona, Wis.) scored a late powerplay goal to lift Penn State past No. 13/12 Michigan, 5-4, in Big Ten Conference action from Yost Ice Arena on Friday evening.

The Nittany Lions are now unbeaten in nine of their last 10 games and run their current unbeaten streak to six games while moving to 12-10-3 on the year and 3-9-3-1-1-2 in league play while the Wolverines fall to 14-11-2 overall and 8-8-1-4-0-1 in conference action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Wolverines opened the scoring early in the first period as a bad change for Penn State led to an odd-man rush and Evan Werner finished a feed from Jackson Hallum into a yawning net for the 1-0 edge at the 4:57 mark.
  • Michigan extended the lead to 2-0 late in the opening stanza as Will Felicio slipped in a rebound at the near post after TJ Hughes’ initial shot was turned aside at the 17:23 mark.
  • Penn State cut the deficit in half with just 67 ticks remaining in the first period as an senior Danny Dzhaniyev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) fed sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) during an odd-man rush and he rifled one into the net for the 2-1 score.
  • The Nittany Lions evened the score early in the middle stanza as graduate student Tyler Paquette (Collegeville, Pa.) skated in on a 2-on-1 rush before drawing the defender in and dragging the puck back before firing a wicked wrister into the far corner for the 2-2 score at the 4:05 mark.
  • The visitors came all the way back to take the lead midway through the second period with a powerplay tally as Fink sent the puck out front and it redirected off a Wolverine stick and into the back of the net for the 3-2 advantage at the 9:47 mark.
  • Another odd-man rush for Penn State resulted in the fourth-straight goal for the Nittany Lions as Dzhaniyev fed sophomore Reese Laubach (San Jose, Calif.) and he picked the far corner over the glove of Michigan net-minder Logan Stein for the 4-2 margin with just 37.1 seconds remaining in the second period.
  • Michigan cut the deficit back to a single goal midway through the final frame as Kienan Draper finished off a back-door feed from TJ Hughes for the 4-3 score at the 8:34 mark.
  • The Wolverines then pulled the game even with a man-advantage tally of their own as William Whitelaw found the back of the net for the 4-4 score at the 12:54 mark.
  • Penn State responded with another powerplay goal as a pair of freshmen connected as Charlie Cerrato (Fallston, Md.) fed JJ Wiebusch and the near post and he did a little dangle before roofing a backhanded flick under the crossbar for the 5-4 edge at 14:52 of the third period.

GOALTENDING

  • Junior Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) improves to 9-5-3 on the year after stopping 35 shots in the victory.
  • Cameron Korpi is the tough luck loser falling to 6-7-1 after coming on in relief of Stein in the third period and making seven saves.
  • Stein didn’t factor in the decision after stopping 20 shots over the opening 40 minutes.

NOTES

  • Michigan held the 39-32 advantage in shots on goal while going 1-for-2 on the man-advantage. Penn State was 2-for-5 on the powerplay in the game.
  • With a pair of goals, Fink secures his fourth multi-goal game of the season and the seventh of his career while also registering his 10th multi-point game of the season and the 19th of his career.
  • Fink’s 18 goals on the season are now tied for the sixth-most in a single-season in Penn State history while his 14 career powerplay tallies are a new program standard.
  • Dzhaniyev’s three assists are a new career best while tying his career-high in points and collecting his sixth multi-point game of the season and the 22nd of his career.
  • With one goal and one assist, Laubach secures his third-straight multi-point effort and his sixth of the season and the 11th of his career.
  • Paquette’s shorthanded goal is the fifth of the season for the Nittany Lions tying them with Arizona State and Boston College for the fourth-most in the nation.
  • The win is No. 394 for head coach Guy Gadowsky in his career moving him into a tie with former Colorado College and Wisconsin head man Bob Johnson for 31st all time as he continues to chase career win No. 400.
  • Wiebusch now has points in four-straight games tying his career high.
  • Penn State lost the faceoff battle for just the fifth time this season improving to 4-1-0 in such games.
  • The Nittany Lions remain perfect improving to 11-0-0 on the year when leading after two periods of play this season.

NEXT UP

Both teams return to Yost tomorrow evening to conclude the season series with a 6 p.m. puck drop. The game will be broadcast nationally on the B1G Network.

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.