The Wolverines lost again in blowout fashion, falling to Penn State 5-1. Jack LaFontaine started in net for Michigan after Zach Nagelvoort let in four goals on 25 shots last night.
Penn State was able to open the scoring at 3:49 in the first period when James Robinson put the puck in the back of the net. Zach Saar and Vince Pedrie supplied the assists on the games opening goal.
Michigan was able to answer when Cutler Martin beat Peyton Jones at 4:50 to level the game at 1-1.
Penn State closed the first period strong with Trevor Hamilton scoring at 17:03 with Denis Smirnov adding a breakaway goal just before intermission. The Nittany Lions went into the break leading 3-1 with a 24-10 advantage in shots on goal.
The Maize and Blue came out stronger in the second period brining more pressure which lead to some chances. Nikita Pavlychev was called for hooking at 6:23 giving Michigan the man advantage but they were unable to capitalize on that opportunity.
Penn State was able to kill another penalty after after Dylan Richard was called for kneeing and the Wolverines moved to 0-2 on the power play. Shortly after that power play at 19:15, Max Stuart was called for called for roughing when he hit the Penn State goalie which then lead to big a scrum out at the blue line.
After the players were separated Nolan De Jong and Cutler Martin joined Shuart in the box, both were called for roughing after the whistle. Zach Saar and Nikita Pavlychev were also called for roughing after the whistle for Penn State.
After all the calls were made PSU had a power play, LaFontaine froze the puck and Griffin Luce took another penalty for Michigan at 19:56. He was called for roughing after the whistle when he made completely unnecessary hit giving the Nittany Lions a two man advantage.
The Penn State power play carried over into the start of the third period and they were able to capitalize on the advantage when Andrew Sturtz scored making it 4-1.
Brandon Biro added to the PSU lead again making it 5-1 at 4:39 in the third period. Dexter Dancs was called for a 10 minute misconduct after the goal was scored for shooting the puck down the rink.
Shortly after the goal and the Dancs misconduct, Griffin Luce was called for boarding but Michigan was able to kill off the penalty.
Michigan got its third power play of the night when James Robinson took a tripping penalty for Penn State. The Wolverines highlight of that man advantage was a LaFontaine save on a short handed opportunity for the Nittany Lions.
There would be a few more back and forth rushes for both teams in the third period but the game would end 5-1. Jack LaFontaine finished with 53 saves as Penn State outshot Michigan 58-23.
The Wolverines look to bounce back next week against Wisconsin as they return home to Yost Ice Arena. The first game of the series is Friday December 9th at 7:30pm on ESPNEWS.