A pair of Hage goals propel Michigan past Penn State

» Michael Hage scored two goals, including the game-winner, in his first career multi-goal game.
» Garrett Schifsky paced the Wolverines in scoring with three points – a goal and two assists.
» TJ Hughes scored his first goal of the year on a rebound to tie the game early in the first period.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The fifth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team stormed out to a 4-1 lead on the road Friday night (Nov. 22) at Penn State before things tightened up as the Wolverines knocked off the Nittany Lions in a 6-5 decision inside the Pegula Ice Arena to secure UM’s fifth straight victory.

Coming off a bye week, Michigan started fast and kept the puck in Penn State’s end for the first minute of the contest. With the game still tied below the goal line, Josh Eernisse was whistled at 1:09 for boarding to give the home team an early power play.

Penn State opened the scoring and made it 1-0 just 21 seconds later with a power play goal in transition after an impressive individual effort.

The Wolverines struck shortly thereafter, then TJ Hughes scored his first goal of the year at 2:33 by deflecting a point shot off the stick of the freshman blueliner Will Felicio tie the game, 1-1.

Just a few minutes later, Michael Hage extended his team’s scoring lead by recording his sixth goal of the season at 5:59. He went inside the slot before getting a wrist shot into the net to make it 2-1. Hage’s linemates, Evan Werner and Garrett Schifskyearned assists on the freshman’s strikeout.

Building on the success he had last year against PSU, William Whitelaw completed a feed from Philippe Lapointe 10:29 to make it a 3-1 game.

Jacob Truscott joined the scoring with 5:39 left in the first period, burying his second power-play goal of the campaign. Truscott’s tally made it 4-1, Michigan.

Michigan appeared to score a fifth goal with 4:19 on the board after an earlier shot on goal was deflected high into the air over the Penn State crease and then knocked down to the ice. Just as the Wolverines began to celebrate, the officials emphatically waved it off for a hand pass.

After one period of play, the Wolverines took a commanding 4-1 lead into the locker room. UM narrowly led in shots on goal (9-8), but made them count by shooting 44 percent. Penn State had a clear advantage in the faceoff dot, winning 17 of 29 faceoffs in the first period.

Logan Steinwho finished with 24 saves, made several key stops in the first half of the second period to preserve Michigan’s three-goal lead. The score remained stagnant until Thomas Daskas was booked for interference at 7:42 to put the Nittany Lions back on the power play for the second time.

Just over a minute later, Penn State capitalized on the power play for the second time in as many attempts with a wrist shot goal from the high slot to trim Michigan’s lead to 4-2.

While PSU tried to fight with the speed of Jackson Hallum as the juniors carved up the ice in transition, they were forced to take a penalty kick to put UM on the power play with 6:21 left in the second frame.

Schifsky made the advantage count just 22 seconds later when he finished a rebound off a point shot by crashing the blue paint with his stick onto the ice. Truscott picked up the primary assist to set up the initial shot on goal, while Whitelaw got the secondary helper on Schifsky’s sixth goal of the season.

PSU trimmed the deficit once again and made it a 5-3 contest after 18 minutes with a shot off a rush that found the top corner.

With 40 minutes in the books, Michigan maintained its 5-3 lead over Penn State.

Less than a minute into the third, PSU scored on a rebound to make it a one-goal game, 5-4. The Nittany Lions continued to ride a wave of momentum until they tied the game at 4:27.

Michigan’s offense sputtered along for most of the period with the score tied until Hage flexed his offensive muscle again. The freshman stick-handled his way up the ice with his linemates flanking him on each wing. After crashing toward the right side of the cage and circling the net, Hage quickly put a wraparound effort between the pipe and the pad to put Michigan back in front, 6-5, with 6:32 left in regulation. Freshman defender Hunter Hady earned his first collegiate point with an assist, while Schifsky locked in his third of the night with the secondary assist.

With PSU searching for a game-tying goal, Eernisse was called for its second penalty of the night with 23 seconds remaining. With the net empty and the Nittany Lions claiming a 6-on-4 advantage, the Wolverines were able to bury the puck against the boards in the corner until the final buzzer rang to provide relief.

Michigan held on for the 6-5 win and earned three points in the conference standings to continue their winning streak despite trailing PSU in both shots on goal (29-25) and faceoffs (43-26).

On Saturday night (November 23), the teams meet once again at the Pegula Ice Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 19:30 and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.