» Nick Moldenhauer turned in a strong two-way performance while adding two assists.
» Michigan finished the night 6-for-6 on the penalty kill to tie a Big Ten Tournament record.
» U-M improves to 12-0 all-time as the Big Ten’s No. 2 seed; three prior occasions ended with titles.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Home-ice advantage and an outstanding performance by the penalty kill unit helped the No. 1-ranked, second-seeded University of Michigan ice hockey team defeat No. 10 Penn State, the tournament’s third seed, 5-2 on Saturday evening (March 14) at Yost Ice Arena in Big Ten Tournament semifinal action.
With the win, Michigan improves to 12-0 all-time as the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will play for its fourth conference championship.
Freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic made his second collegiate playoff start and stopped 27 of 29 shots from Penn State to backstop the Wolverines to victory and punch the team’s ticket to next weekend’s Big Ten championship game.
Michigan (28-7-1) opened the scoring at 16:28 when Kienan Draper finished a netfront chance when he poked in a Garrett Schifsky shot, as a sprawling Penn State defender attempted to clear the puck. Josh Eernisse earned the secondary assist after working the puck along the boards below the goal line before threading a pass to Schifsky at the netfront.
Penn State (21-13-2) answered two and a half minutes later with an even-strength goal shortly after its first power play ended. A long-range shot from the point slipped through traffic and beat Ivankovic to tie the game with 1:01 remaining in the opening period.
The game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of semifinal action. Michigan held a 10-7 lead in shots on goal and a 15-10 edge in faceoffs.
Penn State went to its third power play of the night at 5:33 of the second period, but Michigan struck shorthanded. Nick Moldenhauer intercepted a puck in the defensive zone and carried it up ice before slipping a pass to Schifsky, who finished from the slot to give the Wolverines a 2-1 lead. The goal marked Schifsky’s fifth career multi-goal game.
Michigan extended the lead at 12:14 while skating 4-on-4 after another Penn State turnover created a rush opportunity. Moldenhauer pushed the puck up ice and fed Cole McKinney, who finished past a sliding goaltender to make it 3-1.
The Wolverines killed off their fifth penalty late in the period and carried a 3-1 lead into the second intermission despite trailing 23-21 in shots on goal.
Michigan’s first power play came after the second-period buzzer when a Penn State skater was called for roughing, but the advantage ended at 1:08 of the third period when U-M was whistled for interference, creating a 4-on-4 situation.
Michigan’s penalty killers remained perfect when Penn State returned to the power play, improving to 6-for-6 on the night.
Penn State cut the deficit to 3-2 at 6:09 of the third period with a backdoor finish.
At 11:25, a collision with Ivankovic resulted in a goaltender interference penalty on Penn State. Twenty-nine seconds later, the Nittany Lions were assessed another penalty for cross-checking to give Michigan a two-man advantage.
After a faceoff win from T.J. Hughes, Michael Hage and Jayden Perron exchanged passes while setting up the 5-on-3. Eight seconds into the advantage, Hage fired a shot from the top of the zone that slipped through traffic and into the net at 12:02 to extend Michigan’s lead to 4-2. Perron and Hughes assisted on the goal, which was Hage’s first since Jan. 16 and his 50th point of the season.
Penn State pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker with 2:06 remaining. Ivankovic attempted a long-range shot toward the empty net but missed wide, resulting in an icing call.
Michigan sealed the win at 19:30 when Hughes skated into the offensive zone and scored an empty-net goal to make it 5-2. McKinney recorded the assist on Hughes’ 66th career goal.
Michigan finished with a 39-29 advantage in shots on goal.
Next Saturday evening (March 21), the Wolverines will play Ohio State for the program’s fourth Big Ten Tournament championship at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be played at Yost Ice Arena, following Ohio State’s win over Michigan State in Saturday’s other semifinal game. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. Tickets for the Big Ten Championship go on sale Tuesday at 9 a.m.
