Ann Arbor, MI — No. 5 (NCAA Percentage Index — NPI) Penn State was shorthanded once again, missing captain Dane Dowiak, who exited during the second period of Friday night’s 4–4 shootout loss. The Nittany Lions were forced to shift Casey Aman from defense to forward to maintain a full rotation.
No. 2 Michigan capitalized, dominating the depleted Nittany Lions in a 6–3 victory Saturday afternoon at Yost Ice Arena.
Michigan erased its recent trend of slow starts when forward Cole McKinney buried his sixth goal of the season off a setup from Aidan Park and Luca Fantilli.
Midway through the first period, Michigan extended its lead to 2–0 as T.J. Hughes and defenseman Ben Robertson set up Nick Moldenhauer for his 11th goal of the season.
Penn State responded a minute later when Aman and Matt DiMarsico connected with Reese Laubach for his eighth goal of the year and his second consecutive game scoring the Nittany Lions’ first goal.
In the second period, both teams exchanged chances. A controversial hit by Michigan’s Josh Eernisse on Aiden Fink was reviewed after head coach Guy Gadowsky challenged for a major penalty, but officials ruled the play clean, costing Penn State its timeout.
Later, Jayden Perron struck the post behind Kevin Reidler as Michigan controlled play, winning 21 of the first 30 faceoffs.
Late in the period, Laubach was assessed a slashing penalty, and Michigan’s top-ranked Big Ten power play capitalized when Perron scored to make it 3–1.
Midway through the third, a questionable hit by Hughes left Penn State defenseman Jackson Smith down on the ice, but without a timeout, the Nittany Lions could not challenge.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Michigan sealed the game later in the period on another power play, as Will Horcoff redirected a puck off Nolan Collins’ skate for his 21st goal and a 4–1 lead.
Late in the third period, Michigan continued to pour it on as Adam Valentini scored his ninth goal of the season off an assist from Michael Hage with his nation-leading 30th assist of the year.
Penn State battled until the final buzzer, with Reese Laubach netting his second goal of the night on the power play to cut the deficit to 5–2. The goal marked Laubach’s 11th career tally against Michigan.
A minute later, Gavin McKenna set up Luke Misa for his third multi-point game of the season, bringing Penn State within two.
After Penn State pulled goaltender Kevin Reidler for an extra attacker, Michigan’s Nick Moldenhauer scored his second goal of the game into the empty net.
With 14.1 seconds remaining, emotions boiled over as Asher Barnett and Matt DiMarsico dropped the gloves that led to a pair of roughing minors. Jackson Smith was assessed a 10-minute misconduct for cross-checking Josh Eernisse, while Eernisse and Kienan Draper each received two-minute roughing minors.
Despite being outplayed for much of the contest, Penn State managed to outshoot Michigan 33–26.
Penn State will look to rebound next weekend with a two-game series against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Pegula Ice Arena.
