Michigan
18-14-3, 12-11-2
Penn State
19-12-4, 10-11-4
U-M Opens B1G Tournament Quarterfinal Series With OT Loss to No. 15 Penn State
3/7/2025 11:59:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Forward Jackson Hallum scored two goals to lead the Michigan offense.
» Will Horcoff netted one goal and added an assist for a two-point game.
» Mark Estapa scored and won 12 of 15 faceoffs.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The postseason began on a sour note for the 11th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team on Friday night (March 7) as the Wolverines took a 6-5 overtime loss to 15th-ranked Penn State in the first meeting of a best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series at Yost Ice Arena.
Early in the game, Penn State (19-12-4) opened the scoring at 5:26 to get the marathon going.
Michigan (18-14-3) answered back immediately when Mark Estapa buried an equalizer 16 seconds later. The senior forward won a board battle behind the net before spinning and passing the puck to William Whitelaw in the slot. The sophomore leaned into a low shot that sat in the crease, where a crashing Estapa finished it off while diving through the crease.
The pendulum immediately swung back for the Nittany Lions when a centering attempt in transition led to a shot being slipped through Logan Stein's five-hole to make it 2-1 in PSU's favor at 8:05.
Penn State claimed a two-goal lead with 59 seconds left in the first period when a forward skated in on net from the right circle and slipped a perfect shot into a small opening near the top corner of the net to make it 3-1.
After one period, Michigan trailed by two goals in addition to narrowly lagging behind in shots on goal (11-10). U-M won nine of 14 faceoffs in the opening frame.
With the teams playing 4-on-4 following a spirited post-whistle scrum in front of the Penn State crease, Jackson Hallum cut the deficit in half for the home team. Skating around the zone, Hallum attempted a wraparound that was sticked aside before continuing undeterred to a perch at the top of the zone. When he received the puck once again, he dished off a quick pass to Tyler Duke at the other point before raising his stick and calling for an immediate one-timer. As soon as Duke dished it back, Hallum clapped a low shot through traffic that found twine to make it 3-2 at 13:19.
The Wolverines sat one goal back, 3-2, after two periods of play. Penn State extended its edge in shots on goal to 22-14 while the faceoff advantage for U-M sat at 21-17.
The visitors took their second penalty 55 seconds into the final frame to give Michigan a power play. After putting together another possession-heavy sequence, Will Horcoff went to the net and finished off a goal to tie it up at three. Veteran skaters T.J. Hughes and Jacob Truscott notched the helpers on Horcoff's power-play marker.
Shortly thereafter, Josh Eernisse was banished to the box at 6:12 for interference to give the Nittany Lions a turn on the power play. Less than a minute later, PSU capitalized by slamming a cross-crease pass into the back of the net to regain a 4-3 lead with 13:08 left in regulation.
Penn State followed up its power-play goal with a fifth tally off of a rebound that fluttered high into the air above Stein before dropping down into the crease for another PSU skater to smash across the line at 8:57 and make it 5-3.
With Michigan in search of an equalizer, Ethan Edwards collected a pass in the Michigan end and streaked down the left side of the ice past multiple layers of defense. After he got the edge on the last man back, Edwards carved in toward the net but chose to dash behind the cage instead to lose his man. Just as he dipped behind the net, the blueliner curled a pass backward into the slot in perfect position for an oncoming Hallum. The junior accepted the feed onto his blade and quickly dispersed it back into the net to tie the game at 5-5 with 4:28 left and send Yost into a frenzy. Freshman forward Hunter Hady earned the secondary assist on the play.
Late in regulation, Edwards was called for slashing with 57 seconds remaining. The Wolverines killed off the first half of the infraction, forced the game to OT, and stood strong as the overtime period began, killing off the remaining 1:03 of penalty time.
At even strength, U-M looked to churn up a sixth goal to claim the first game of the series. However, its efforts were impeded by another infraction levied at 4:26 into the extra frame, this time on freshman blueliner Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen for tripping.
Thirty-four seconds later, Penn State walked it off with a fancy power-play goal between the legs from the side of the blue paint. The visitors also ended the night with a 36-26 advantage in shots as Stein finished with 30 saves.
Saturday night (March 8), the teams will meet once again at Yost Ice Arena for the second game of the series. Michigan will look to tie it up to force a third game on Sunday. Game two puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
