Hockey Recap: Michigan salvages series with blowout win over Penn State

The Michigan hockey team got a much-needed win on Saturday, blowing out Penn State to secure a series split. Here’s a rundown of all the action from the ice in the series finale:

After dropping the series opener on Friday night , the Michigan Wolverines hockey team got a badly-needed win over Penn State on Saturday by a 7-3 final score. The win secured a series split for the weekend and continued Michigan’s trend of inconsistency in the second half of the season.

The Wolverines were the aggressor early on in the game and scored the first goal just eight minutes in, as T.J. Hughes fought through traffic in front of the net to bury a puck that Penn State goaltender Arsenii Sergeev couldn’t corral. Michigan would hold onto its 1-0 lead for the remainder of the first period despite two power play opportunities for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State came out of the locker room hot, scoring just 49 seconds into the second period to even the game at one apiece. Just four minutes later, though, Michigan was put on the power play thanks to a Penn State holding penalty. The Wolverines would take advantage, as Ethan Edwards found the back of the net to make it a 2-1 game. But the lead wouldn’t last long, as Charlie Cerrato scored 17 seconds later to tie the game once again.

Continuing the back-and-forth trend of the game, it was the Wolverines that got back on the board about 10 minutes into the period. This time, it was Michael Hage who buried a cross-ice pass from Will Horcoff to make it a 3-2 game. Michigan entered the break clinging to its one-goal lead.

The Wolverines got some insurance about eight minutes into the period thanks to William Whitelaw to push the lead to 4-2. Garrett Schifsky quickly scored 51 seconds later to make it a 5-2 game. Finally, Evan Werner scored a goal of his own shortly after to make it 6-2, putting the game seemingly out of reach.

Penn State wouldn’t go down without somewhat of a fight, as Aiden Fink scored at the 11:29 mark despite Michigan being on the power play at the time. Desperate for offense later in the period, Penn State pulled its goalie, but Michigan’s Will Horcoff scored on the empty net to push Michigan’s lead to 7-3.

Although Michigan continued its frustratingly inconsistent play, it picked up a win and generated some momentum heading into its series next weekend. The Wolverines will surely need the help going up against No. 3 Michigan State for a pair of games. Friday’s game will be played in East Lansing, but the teams will head to Little Caesar’s Arena on Saturday night to face off in the annual “Duel in the D.”