Last year, the Michigan hockey team played Penn State five times — a litany of thrilling encounters, culminating in the Wolverines sending the Nittany Lions home in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. And it’s first two encounters this season got off to a similar explosive start, as Michigan rained goals galore in a home sweep.
Game One
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It took the Wolverines less than two minutes to open the fireworks, as defensemen Ben Robertson and Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen set up forward Jack Nesbitt for the first goal of the game. Less than two minutes later, defenseman Drew Schock got on the board, and by just the sixth minute of the first period, forward Malcolm Spence put Michigan up 3-0 on a power play. Two minutes later, forward Justin Poirier pulled one back on a Penn State power play.
In the second period, things briefly got interesting. A few minutes in, forward Shea Busch pulled another back for the Nittany Lions to get within a goal. But forward Aidan Park drove in a fourth for insurance, to put the Wolverines up 4-2 by the end of the second.
About four minutes into the third, Penn State ran back the script, when forward Reese Laubach gave the Nittany Lions a third goal. But with two to go, forward Nick Moldenhauer drove in the dagger, and Robertson’s empty netted called game.
Final score: Michigan 6, Penn State 3
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Game Two
Night two was largely much less complicated for the Wolverines — it was an outright pummeling.
The first period was somewhat restrained, with a power play goal from forward Jayden Perron and another from forward J.P. Hurlbert being all that was worth writing about.
In the second, though, Michigan’s advantage exploded, thanks in part to a penalty-riddled outing from the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines rained down four power play goals — two from Perron, one from forward Michael Hage, and another from Schock. Penn State chipped in in similar fashion in the dying seconds of the period, with Busch adding a power play goal of his own.
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Four goals followed in the third, two a piece…and you might be able to guess where they all came from. Spence and Hurlbert added two for Michigan either side of a Poirier effort for the Nittany Lions, and defenseman Mac Gadowsky added a consolation goal in the dying seconds of the third.
All on the power play. Very fitting
Final score: Michigan 8, Penn State 3
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
