Michigan
6-5-0, 2-2-0-0B1G
Penn State
9-2-0, 1-1-0-0B1G
Wolverines Score Four Times in Third Period, but Suffer OT Loss at Penn State
11/17/2018 10:55:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Will Lockwood and Nick Pastujov each recorded two-goal games.
» Quinn Hughes tallied three assists for the second time in his Michigan career.
» Six Wolverines recorded multi-point games, a season-high.
Site: State College, Pa. (Pegula Ice Arena)
Score: #5 Penn State 7, #16 Michigan 6 (OT)
Records: U-M (6-5-0, 2-2-0Â Big Ten), PSUÂ (9-2-0, 1-1-0Â Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 23 -- vs Wisconsin (Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena), 7:30 p.m.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team dropped a high-scoring, 7-6 overtime battle against No. 5-ranked Penn State on Saturday night (Nov. 17) at Pegula Ice Arena to close out the Wolverines' second conference series of the season.
Penn State jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, finding the back of the net twice within the first four minutes of the opening period. The Nittany Lions capitalized on a power play 1:20 into the contest off the stick of Evan Barratt after a Michigan slashing penalty 38 seconds into the game. The hosts doubled their lead two minutes later at 3:20 off an Aarne Talvitie wrister.
Junior forward Nick Pastujov cut the deficit in half 10:03 into the first period when he buried a rebound that popped out of Penn State goaltender Peyton Jones' glove off a Jack Becker shot. The goal was Pastujov's second in as many nights and his sixth of the season.
The Maize and Blue evened the score at 2, 15:53 into the opening stanza when junior forward Will Lockwood's pass deflected off a Nittany Lion defender's stick and over the blocker of PSU netminder Peyton Jones. With the goal, Lockwood is riding a career-high six-game point streak. His goal also marked the third two-goal deficit of the weekend that the Wolverines erased.
Penn State's Barratt scored his second goal of the night on a four-on-four opportunity, 10:34 into the second period. Nearly five minutes later, it was Barratt once again finding the back of the net to secure a hat trick at 14:33. Alex Limoges found him wide open in front of the net and the sophomore forward waited out Strauss Mann's cross-crease push to deposit the puck thhrough the five-hole to give PSU a 4-2 advantage.
Down two goals to start the third period, the Wolverines cycled the puck to Dakota Raabe who received a feed in the slot from Quinn Hughes and did not waste any time before zipping it past Jones to bring the Wolverines within one, 4-3, at the 3:05 mark of the third. Captain Joseph Cecconi also picked up an assist on the goal, his team-leading 10th of the season
The Maize and Blue sustained pressure in the PSU end, and the puck barely missed a yawning cage, dribbling just inches wide. Penn State picked up the puck and advanced it to Nate Sucese up the ice. Sucese stickhandled into the Wolverines' end on a rush and beat Mann on his backhand to put the Nittany Lions ahead, 5-3. Almost three minutes later, it was Pastujov again with a beautiful deflection goal. Becker and senior defenseman Nicholas Boka picked up assists on the tally.
The Nittany Lions who would find the scoresheet next to reinstate their two-goal lead. Pressuring down low, near a sprawling Mann, Sucese found Brandon Biro to put PSU ahead, 6-4. As they have all weekend, the Wolverines fought back and minutes later, freshman forward Garrett Van Wyhe sniped the puck top-shelf past Jones on the short side. With Mann pulled in favor an extra attacker and 1:05 left in regulation, Michigan tied the game at 6 when Josh Norris ripped a shot toward the front of the net that was deflected past the Penn State goaltender off a Nittany Lion defender.
But just six seconds into overtime, Nikita Pavlychev led a rush down the center of the ice and chipped the puck over to his teammate, Sam Sternschein, who put the puck past Mann to end the game.
Next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 23-24), Michigan will return home to Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena to host a two-game series against the Wisconsin Badgers. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
