Michigan too much for Penn State hockey

The three of them may have only played 11 games together, but Michigan’s top line is as good as advertised.

The Penn State men’s hockey team had no answer.

Kyle Connor, JT Compher and Tyler Motte combined for five goals and six assists in the No. 6 Wolverines’ 7-4 win over the No. 15 Nittany Lions on Thursday night at Pegula Ice Arena.

Motte had two goals and three assists and Connor had two goals and two assists for Michigan (15-3-4, 6-1-2-1), which took over second place in the Big Ten.

“We’ve just got to be at our best to beat a good team like that,” captain David Glen said. “That’s a good program. They’ve been here for 100 years and obviously proved themselves.”

The teams complete the week’s series at 7 p.m. Saturday at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Chase Berger, Vince Pedrie, Tommy Olczyk and Luke Juha scored for the Nittany Lions (16-6-3, 6-3). Matthew Skoff made 41 saves before he was chased in the third period, with Chris Funkey playing in relief.

Compher, Niko Porikos and Alex Kile also scored Michigan goals and Steve Racine made 46 saves for the resounding win after Penn State had taken six of the first nine meetings between the teams.

“I don’t know if it’s something we owe them,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “I think they’ve earned a lot of respect around the Big Ten Conference, particularly with us the way they’ve handled us. I think our team knew coming into this game we had to have an ‘A’ game ready otherwise it wasn’t going to be good enough.”

The top Wolverine line was united for the first time Dec. 4 and has been electrifying, accounting for more than half the team’s 64 goals since then.

“We’re not worried about putting up points, but we have to help our team find a way to win,” Motte said. “It’s not really our focus point. Coach stresses the (defensive) zone and that’s where we focus and a lot of our opportunities come from that.”

For the season they are all among the nation’s leaders in scoring, with 20 goals each for Motte and Connor.

“This line is every bit as good or better,” Berenson said, when asked to compare them to stars of years past. “They’re a good two-way line. They’re not just scorers.”

A three-goal flurry by the line in the second period swung the game solidly toward the Wolverines.

Early on, Motte sent the puck ahead to Connor for a breakaway, Motte then set up Compher for a goal just past the midpoint of the second, with Compher redirecting the puck in, and Motte knocked in a rebound a little later to extend the margin to three.

“We obviously didn’t do a good job of (stopping the line) tonight,” Glen said. “We gave them too much time and space, especially in the neutral zone. They’re obviously dangerous off the rush.”

The Nittany Lions got a little momentum back when Matt Mendelson dropped the puck to Olczyk on a rush up the ice and the senior found the corner over Racine’s shoulder with about four minutes left in the period, but the momentum didn’t carry over to the third.

The Wolverines scored first when Motte hammered in a rebound.

Berger tied it about five minutes later. Connor Varley swooped up the left side and fired a tight angle shot that Racine deflected, with the puck bouncing to an open Berger on the opposite side for the tap-in and the freshman’s 11th goal of the season.

Porikos put Michigan ahead again 37 seconds later, beating Skoff after teammate Evan Allen won a draw in the Penn State end.

It looked like the Nittany Lions had momentum at the first intermission, however, after a crazy goal with just over a minute left. The Wolverines had just cleared the puck from their zone that Erik Autio snared, sent over to Pedrie and the freshman defenseman fired it from just over the red line fluttering at Racine. The goalie was handcuffed, juggled it twice and it bounced over his shoulder into the net.

“We needed something to get going,” Glen said. “The first period wasn’t bad at all. It was nice to get a lucky one like that.”

Kile converted during a third-period 5 on 3 power play by sending the puck top shelf, and Motte netted his second on a break to chase Skoff.

Juha finished the night with a blast from the high slot midway through the third.

The teams combined for 99 shots along with the 11 goals and plenty of end-to-end action.

“I think it’s fun hockey to watch,” coach Guy Gadowsky said. “I think it’s high-level hockey. I’ve got to be honest, I really enjoy, I respect the way they play, I love the fact they score a lot of goals — we do too. We like that.”

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Michigan too much for Penn State hockey."