Friday night’s showdown between No. 2 Michigan and No. 6 Penn State was everything you could have imagined from two up-tempo, highly-skilled, penalty-prone teams. The Wolverines (23-5-1, 14-4-1 Big Ten, 39 points) took the seesaw contest in a shootout, 5-4, over the Nittany Lions (18-8-1, 10-6-1 Big Ten, 32 points).
It was the first game for Penn State superstar Gavin McKenna since his aggravated assault felony. Those charges were dropped, but the Yost faithful made sure to welcome him with animosity
every time he touched the puck. Amidst that raucous, it was the Nittany Lions who struck first, as JJ Wiebusch drew a crowd and hit Reese Laubach backdoor just 59 seconds after puck drop.
Michigan had its forecheck going, despite not being able to generate many quality chances, and freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic came up with a big-time stop on McKenna to preserve the 1-0 deficit. Five minutes later, the Wolverines leveled the score at 1-1, as freshman defenseman Drew Schock made a nifty move at the high circle and junior forward Garrett Schifsky buried the loose change.
However, each team continued to trade jabs and body blows, as Jackson Smith retook the lead for Penn State on a low-angle wrister that Ivankovic simply has to save. He looks to be re-acclimating to his starting role, though perhaps not all the rust has worn off just yet.
Naturally, Michigan scored less than three minutes later on captain senior forward T.J. Hughes’ power play one-timer from sophomore forward Michael Hage. It was the first of Hughes’ two goals on the night — the second giving the Wolverines a 4-3 lead midway through the third period — and the second of Hage’s three-assist outburst.
Speaking of penalties, the vaunted Michigan unit converted only one of its nine opportunities, while the Nittany Lions were 1-for-7. There were several occasions where those power plays were cut short due to penalties, but it was still a bizarre night of extracurricular activities, mini-melées and some good old-fashioned Big Ten hockey.
The Wolverines were down a man late in the first when Wiebusch was dismissed for butt-ending. But even with this lethal five-forward top group, the Wolverines managed zero goals on nearly four straight minutes of power play time that carried into the second frame.
Midway through the second, freshman defenseman Asher Barnett thought he was hitting sophomore forward Will Horcoff on a breakout, but there was a miscommunication. Penn State took advantage, and suddenly Nic Chin-DeGraves’ tally gave it a 3-2 lead.
Barnett would redeem himself a few minutes after with a sizzling one-timer courtesy of a gorgeous Hage drive along the goal line and backdoor feed. The aforementioned Hughes goal then made it 4-3, and as the clock wound down, Michigan appeared to have a solid shutdown defensive game going.
Yet, senior forward Josh Eernisse earned two roughing penalties (one of which offset with the Nittany Lions’ Matt DiMarsico) while trying to protect Ivankovic, who took a bump after the whistle. Smith struck again from the high slot, the clock finally hit triple zeros, and they headed to overtime.
Both teams had their share of chances as Hughes was denied in tight, Ivankovic stopped McKenna on a two-on-one, Hage hit junior forward Nick Moldenhauer for a good one-timer look that would not go, Ivankovic made another big save, Hughes and co. could not finish a three-on-one and, after all that, Ivankovic needed to make another several stops to send this wild game into a shootout — the Wolverines’ first of the campaign.
Ivankovic stayed hot with a kick save, Hage had a filthy deke and tuck, Ivankovic made another save and junior forward Jayden Perron did not score.
Up 1-0, there was no more fitting ending than Ivankovic vs. McKenna. McKenna came down the left wing, curled into the slot and Ivankovic calmly blocked it away, giving Michigan a dramatic 5-4 win and a potentially crucial point in the Big Ten standings.
