Passed torch

Senior guard Katelynn 

Flaherty was honored during 

the men’s basketball game 
for surpassing Glen Rice’s 

all-time scoring record. 

» Page 3B

A “tired” victory
The Michigan men’s 
basketball team was able to 
overcome Rutgers despite 
playing sloppily throughout 
the matchup.
» Page 4B

SPORTSMONDAY

For the second straight game, 

the No. 20 Michigan hockey 
team denied No. 12 Penn State’s 
offense — ranked the best in 
the nation with four goals per 
game coming into the weekend 
— quality chances throughout 
most of the evening.

For the second time in as 

many nights, Jack LaFontaine 
skated out to fellow sophomore 
goaltender Hayden Lavigne to 
give him a bear hug as the final 
horn sounded.

And 
for 
the 
second 

consecutive 
weekend, 
the 

Wolverines (7-7-2-1 Big Ten, 
12-10-2 overall) headed into the 
dressing room and sang “The 
Victors” — a sign of a weekend 
sweep — after avoiding a late 
disaster 
and 
defeating 
the 

Nittany Lions (6-7-3-2, 13-10-3), 
3-2, Saturday night.

“I’m really proud of our 

players, they found a way to 
win the game,” said Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson. “We came 
a little unglued there, we didn’t 
play the situation with the extra 
attacker at the end very well.

“… 
But 
overall, 
great 

weekend. … We’ve been on the 

other end where we’ve felt that 
we should’ve done better for us 
this year, so it all evens out. But 
great effort, great win for our 
team.”

It took just 26 seconds into 

regulation for Michigan to 
strike first. After an odd-man 
rush for Penn State to open the 
game, the Wolverines broke out 
of their defensive zone with a 
three-on-one counterattack.

Junior 
forward 
Brendan 

Warren found a streaking Josh 
Norris down the middle of 
the ice, and the new linemates 
didn’t 
miss 
a 
beat. 
The 

freshman forward took the 
puck and buried a one-timer 
for his second goal in as many 
contests, putting Michigan on 
the board first.

After a dominant 4-0 victory 

Friday night, the Wolverines 
picked up right where they 
left off, firing on all cylinders 
early. Michigan easily entered 
its offensive zone, maintained 
control 
of 
the 
puck 
and 

quickly stifled Nittany Lion 
opportunities on the other end 
of the ice.

Halfway 
through 
the 

opening period, Penn State was 
called for interference, and the 
Wolverines found themselves 

on the power play for the first 
time. After going 0-for-4 with 
the man advantage the previous 
night, Michigan made sure its 
golden opportunity wouldn’t go 
to waste this time around.

With 34 seconds left on the 

power play, and after a handful 
of 
quality 
chances, 
senior 

forward Dexter Dancs received 
a pass from junior defenseman 
Joseph Cecconi in front of 
the net and stuffed it past 
goaltender Peyton Jones’ right 
pad to double the lead.

The Nittany Lions had a 

power play of their own with 
three minutes to go in the first 
period, but Lavigne stood tall 
between the pipes to make some 
key saves — including one with 
the toe of his skate — and keep 
the two-goal advantage intact.

The second period began 

with Penn State knocking on the 
doorstep, with multiple scoring 
chances in the opening minutes. 
And less than six minutes 
into the stanza, sophomore 
defenseman Griffin Luce was 
called for interference, giving 
the 
Nittany 
Lions 
another 

opportunity to tack on their 
first goal of the weekend.

But again, timely saves from 

Lavigne — including seven 

on the ensuing penalty kill 
— protected the Wolverines’ 
lead. Despite being outshot 
17 to eight, Lavigne’s mix of 
both routine and flashy saves, 
combined with solid play in 
the defensive zone, muted the 
powerhouse Penn State offense 
for the fifth straight period.

Lavigne would go on to make 

a career-high 43 saves on 45 
shots, a feat Pearson chalked 
up to his netminder’s newfound 
confidence and composure in 
the crease.

“I thought we got away from 

our game in the second period 
and Hayden did a great job of 
keeping us in,” Pearson said. 
“… We had to rely too much 
on 
Hayden 
this 
weekend, 

especially tonight. He was the 
star of the game.

“He just looks like he’s so 

calm in the net and he’s in the 
zone. He made some great saves 
in that second period, you just 
shake your head. But when 
you’re on, you’re on.”

The third period started with 

back and forth play, with both 
teams creating similar scoring 
chances and their respective 
goaltenders making highlight-
reel saves to continue the 
stalemate. Through the first ten 

minutes, Michigan narrowly 
outshot the Nittany Lions seven 
to six.

With 7:25 left in the final 

period, Luce was assessed a 
penalty for roughing, giving 
Penn 
State 
its 
third 
man 

advantage. However, 37 seconds 
later, forward Andrew Sturtz 
was 
called 
for 
goaltender 

interference after running into 
Lavigne, resulting in four-on-
four play.

And with 12 seconds left of 

both sides being down a man, 
forward Dakota Raabe received 
a crisp outlet pass from junior 
defenseman Luke Martin and 
found himself on a breakaway. 
The freshman deked Jones and 
laid the puck into the back of 
the net for his first career goal 
and a bit of insurance — which 
seemingly all but solidified the 
win and weekend sweep for the 
Wolverines.

“(That was) a big goal from 

Dakota Raabe in a critical 
moment,” Pearson said. “It 
didn’t seem like it was a huge 
goal, but it ends up being 
the winning goal, so good 
for 
Dakota. 
We’re 
getting 

contributions from a lot of 
players now and that makes us 
a better team.”

Though 
down 
by 
three 

goals, Penn State and its deadly 
offense 
wouldn’t 
go 
away 

without putting up a fight. With 
1:57 remaining in the game and 
an extra attacker for the Nittany 
Lions, forward Liam Folks 
tapped the puck into the net off 
an errant rebound to finally get 
Penn State on the board. Sixty-
four seconds later, defenseman 
Kris Myllari snuck a shot under 
the crossbar to cut the deficit to 
one with just 53 seconds to go.

But 
as 
was 
the 
case 

throughout the entire weekend, 
Lavigne made his presence 
known in net as the final 
seconds ticked off the clock and 
three blocked shots in the last 
minute preserved the win — 
and the sweep.

“You just have to stay calm 

in that moment,” Lavigne said. 
“Obviously, that’s not the swing 
you want to see when you’re 
up 3-0, especially not against 
a team like that, but we know 
they can score and they put the 
puck to the net.

“But when that happened, we 

all just took a deep breath and 
I don’t think they got another 
shot after it was 3-2. We locked 
it down defensively and paid the 
price to win.”

BENJAMIN KATZ

Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | January 22, 2018

Design by Jack Silberman

Evan Aaron/Daily

B

Michigan earns second consecutive sweep

