No. 15 M. Hockey Trounces Michigan 4-1 to Advance to Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
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No. 15 M. Hockey Trounces Michigan 4-1 to Advance to Big Ten Tournament Semifinals

After a difficult regular season series against Michigan this past week, No. 15 M. Hockey (22-11-1, 10-9-1) avenged the Wolverines by trouncing them 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament this past Thursday in Detroit, Michigan.

The Blue and White came out hungry for a victory and a chance to continue on in what will be the team’s first bid at the Big Ten Tournament in program history.

The first period was dominated by Penn State, who came out firing on all cylinders.

Freshman Liam Folkes (Scarborough, Ontario) used a power-play to his advantage after receiving a well-placed pass from fellow first year Brandon Biro (Sherwood Park, Alberta) across the crease. Folkes slammed the puck into the twine to put Penn State on the board halfway through the first.

The freshman class was on fire as it was Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) assisted by Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia) who gave the Lions a 2-0 edge just three minutes later.

To close out the first period, captain David Goodwin (St. Louis, Mo.) received a slot pass from Alec Marsh (Bridgewater, N.J.) and proceeded to fake out the Wolverine goalie to put Penn State up 3-0.

The Lions continued their unanswered goal streak by adding a fourth and final point to their tally just one minute into the second period.

Defenseman Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) hammered in a puck right from the faceoff to stun the Michigan goalie and bring Penn State’s tally up to four.

Michigan mounted an attack of their own midway through the second period to create the final 4-1 score.

The third period showed domination by Penn State, but no efforts great enough to result in a goal.

Goalie Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) played for all three periods, making 30 saves for the Lions. Penn State outshot Michigan 34-31.

Penn State will face Minnesota tonight (Friday) at 8 p.m. in the semifinals. Tune into the Big Ten Network for what promises to be an epic game!