After huge win over Michigan, Penn State men’s hockey set to take on a new No. 1

Taking four out of six points against any team is a solid weekend of hockey, but doing it against the No. 1 team in the nation is superb.

That’s exactly what No. 13 Penn State men’s hockey and head coach Guy Gadowsky did last weekend when facing off against top-ranked Michigan in Pegula Ice Arena. Now, the No. 8 Nittany Lions are set to take on the new No. 1 team, Minnesota, on Thursday and Friday.

Entering with a perfect 8-0 record, the best start in program history, the blue and white dominated all 60 minutes of Friday’s Game 1 against Michigan. Led by a second consecutive shutout by junior starting goalie Liam Souliere, the Nittany Lions secured a 3-0 upset victory to remain unbeaten.

While Game 2 was much more of an emotional roller coaster, with the home squad falling 4-3 in overtime after an intense third-frame comeback, Penn State walked away with the majority of the conference standings points.

“I just think last night we started the fight, tonight we kind of took a while to get into it,” senior forward Kevin Wall said Saturday. “We knew they were gonna come out with a push, which they did. We just took too long to get going.”

While Penn State had to dig and claw to get back into the second matchup, there’s no doubt it took the fight to the Wolverines on the first night.

Downing the top team in the nation is a very difficult thing to do, but doing it in the manner the blue and white did Friday was undeniably improbable. Not only did it control the pace of the game on both ends, but the team also shut out the most prolific scoring offense in collegiate hockey.

Averaging 5.25 goals per game entering the series, the Wolverines scored just four total across two games, with every one of them coming in Game 2. Despite surrendering those four tallies in the second contest, Souliere was one of the best players on the ice during the entirety of the two-game matchup.

After entering the series as statistically the best goaltender in the conference, the Canadian showed his numbers were not just a product of playing lesser competition to start the year — boasting a .907 combined save percentage against one of the most talented rosters in the nation.

“He’s an interesting cat,” Gadowsky said of Souliere on Friday. “He has that air about him that he’s in control.”

Outside of Souliere, junior forward Xander Lamppa’s performance stood out among the rest for Penn State. Lamppa had few expectations going into the 2022-23 campaign, but a position change has facilitated a career year for the Nittany Lion.

After switching from wing to center this year, the third-year forward showed up against Michigan in multiple different ways. Finishing a solid 8-for-17 in the faceoff circle, Lamppa added two goals and an assist in the series.

While scoring a goal in a third consecutive game, the Rochester, Minnesota, native set a new career mark for goals in a season, surpassing his previous high of two in 19 less games.

With six points in his last four games, this is undoubtedly the best stretch of Lamppa’s career and should comfortably fuel his pursuit of career-high marks in every statistical category.

“Yeah, it feels great,” Lamppa said. “I mean, it also comes with the team success.”

In what was likely one of biggest moments of his career, Lamppa scored the game-tying goal in the third period of Game 2 to bring Penn State all the way back — from what looked to be an insurmountable lead early in the frame.

Michigan controlled the pace for nearly the entire contest, holding the nation’s top shooting team to just 21 shots through two periods, but something flipped around five minutes into the third.

A barrage of shots and several consecutive faceoff wins led to a pressure-filled few minutes that shifted the feel of the game. But the blue and white still couldn’t find the back of the net just yet.

It took until just under the 12-minute mark for Penn State to finally find the board, with junior Tyler Paquette picking up the tally.

The horn blared and fans cheered. In the moment, though, it felt like the tally served as a consolation prize scored in garbage time to avoid a shutout. However, just over a minute later, Penn State found another off the stick of senior forward Kevin Wall and the feel completely shifted.

Penn State had the momentum and time in its favor, needing just one goal to tie the contest.

The blue and white picked up that goal less than three minutes after its second, tallying its third score in 3:59 of game time.

Pegula Ice Arena was deafening following the game-tying goal, with most of the building in pure shock while jubilantly celebrating.

Penn State’s ultimate underdog registered the score on an outstanding net-front pass from fellow junior forward Christian Sarlo. He shared how the run was observed from his own perspective, following the game.

“Just electric, I mean it was like we had all the momentum,” Lamppa said. “It was almost like you blacked out for like six minutes and then the scores tied. That’s how it felt.”

Despite falling just short of a spectacular comeback victory, after surrendering a quick overtime goal to the Wolverines, it’s hard not to consider the series a success for the blue and white, especially when considering how the two teams fared against one another last year.

In four games during the 2021-22 campaign, Michigan swept the Nittany Lions, outscoring them 11-3 in Hockey Valley before sweeping two close games in Ann Arbor over two months later.

Taking Game 1 was huge, but could’ve been looked at as a fluke had the Nittany Lions not made their third-period comeback in the second matchup. Picking up that extra point in Game 2 showed the home team was one to be reckoned with this year.

With its second straight series against the top-ranked team in the nation on Thursday and Friday, a matchup with No. 1 Minnesota in Minneapolis, now-No. 8 Penn State will have to maintain its high level of play in pursuit of more Big Ten standings points.

“It’s a very successful weekend, because I thought it’s pretty well-defined on the information and what we do well and what we don’t,” Gadowsky said Saturday. “I think we learned a lot. Last night and the last half of this period we learned — that we can — how to be really good. We also learned that when we don’t focus on the right things that we are not very good.”

The Thursday and Friday games will both start at 8 p.m., with fans able to follow along at gopsusports.com/coverage.