STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The No. 10 Michigan Wolverines didn’t forget to bring their high-powered offense with them as they handed Penn State its ninth loss in Big Ten conference play, 7-3, on FRiday night.
The win gives Red Berenson his 784th win, making him the fourth winningest coach in NCAA Division I history.
The longest tenured coach in the Big Ten said that all the wins “just means I’m getting old.”
Berenson added that the score didn’t necessarily reflect the type of game it was.
“That was not a 7-3 game at ice level,” Berenson said. “I thought [Penn State] outplayed us for the first five or six minutes.”
The Nittany Lions did manage to outshoot the Wolverines by a 36-28 margin for the game, but could not prevent five different players from lighting the lamp.
Two first-period goals from J.T. Compher at 6:05 and Alex Guptill at 9:53 made it look like Michigan could handle whatever Penn State threw their way.
That all changed when Casey Bailey opened up the Lions’ account at 2:59 of the second period.
With his fourth goal of the season, Baily said he feels like he his starting to get back to his form from last season after leading the team in points.
It didn’t take long after the sense of optimism was restored by Bailey’s goal of the season when Eric Scheid evened the score when he capitalized on a rebound left by Michigan goalie Zach Nagelvoort at 4:00.
For a moment, it even appeared that Penn State had scored three unanswered goals to start the second frame, but after a puck took a deflection off the post close to the goal line, a lengthy review by the officials determined that the puck did not cross the goal line.
Just seconds later, the Wolverines took the lead back after Andrew Copp scored his 11th of the season at 5:52.
Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky decided that was the time to make a goalie change as junior P.J. Musico replaced starter Eamon McAdam despite just a one-goal deficit.
The move left many in the Pegula Ice Arena scratching their heads, but Gadowsky felt momentum was on his team’s side and knew exactly what he wanted to do.
“We just wanted to make a change and see what we could get going,” Gadowsky said.
But the decision immediately backfired when Michigan’s first shot at Musico got by him as Zach Hyman got his third goal of the season at 5:52 on a breakaway.
The furry of goals subsided for the rest of the period.
It wasn’t until 7:07 of the third period when Michael Downing scored his second of the year for Michigan.
Even with a three-goal lead, the Wolverines kept their foot down, but couldn’t convert on several chances. Like they have in previous games, the Lions didn’t let up their offensive zone pressure and got a third goal as result.
Nagelvoort denied Jonathan Milley’s shot, but Zach Saar hammered the ensuing rebound home for his third goal of the season.
Gadowsky pulled Musico for the extra attacker shortly thereafter, but once again, the decision went against his team as Hyman scored his second goal of the game with an empty-netter at 17:53.
Michigan managed to score again, this time with Musico back in net, as Copp added his second tally of the night at 18:43 of the third.
While the Wolverines extend their unbeaten streak to five games, the loss means the Nittany Lions are still without a win in the Big Ten so far this season.
“Once we get it, it will be a huge weight off our shoulders,” Bailey said.
