The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
January 28, 2019 — 3B

NEW YORK CITY — If 
you count striking iron, Nick 
Pastujov had a hat trick in 
the first period alone, and 
Michigan led Penn State, 4-3.
Officials don’t though, and 
nothing in the rulebook would 
have aided the Wolverines’ 
offensive 
execution 
on 
Saturday night.
When 
Nittany 
Lions’ 
goaltender 
Peyton 
Jones 
blocked junior forward Will 
Lockwood’s shot eight minutes 
into the game, Pastujov shifted 
to Jones’ weakside, the puck 
careening 
towards 
right 
towards him. With nothing 
between his stick and the back 
of the net beside the puck itself, 
he reared his stick and flicked 
the puck forward.
It hit the crossbar.
Michigan got the puck back 
seven times after his miss 
before Jones gloved it. The 
result? Seven missed shots. All 

from point-blank range.
Six minutes later? Pastujov 
took another shot. Again, 
a 
familiar 
clank 
echoed 
throughout 
Madison Square 
Garden.
Pastujov 
found the bar 
once 
more, 
and in a period 
where it outshot 
Penn State 22-8, 
Michigan 
had 
nothing to show 
but a three-goal 
deficit.
“That’s just the way it goes 
sometimes,” said sophomore 
forward Luke Morgan. “We 
came out ready to play, we hit 
a bunch of post. We had a lot 
of great opportunities. I think 
we got a little frustrated with 
that. When that happens, it 
led to mental mistakes and 
some of it we can work on, but 
sometimes it’s just the way the 
game goes.”
Against 
Minnesota 
and 

Michigan State earlier this 
season, the Wolverines took 
45-plus shots but failed to 
capitalize on many of their 
easier attempts. 
The difference 
against 
the 
Nittany 
Lions, 
though, 
was 
that 
Michigan 
consistently 
got 
good 
opportunities 
in 
the 
crease 
and 
actively 
screened 
off 
Jones 
instead 
of blindly shooting into the 
opposing team’s blue line.
“It’s 
frustrating, 
but 
that’s going to happen,” said 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson. 
“ … And that’s the game and 
what you have to do is you can’t 
get away from your game.”
By the time Penn State 
jumped out to a three-goal 
lead, it was too late, though. 
All 
of 
the 
Wolverines’ 
offensive 
pressure 
and 
momentum was rendered moot 
by their inability to finish, and 
completely eviscerated each 
time the blue line coughed the 
puck up deep in the defensive 
zone and yielded to a Nittany 
Lion odd-man rushes. 
Contrary to what the 5-2 
score suggests, Michigan, just 
like before, had every chance 
to walk out of Madison Square 
Garden with at least another 
point. Instead, it walks out 
of Madison Square Garden 
lamenting a game it had in 
control. It’s easy to focus on 
the back-breaking defensive 
turnovers, but in a zero-sum 
game, offensive miscues hurt 
the Wolverines just as much.
“Coach 
said 
‘we 
can’t 
outscore 
our 
mistakes,’” 
Morgan said. “We have to play 
a solid 60 (minutes) the whole 
way through.”

RIAN RATNAVALE
Daily Sports Writer

Different city, different defense

NEW YORK CITY — The 
script flipped quickly for the 
Michigan hockey team: Five 
goals scored Thursday. Five 
goals allowed Saturday.
Any 
momentum 
the 
Wolverines 
generated 
from 
Thursday 
night’s 
five-goal 
outburst against Penn State 
was abruptly halted when they 
gave up five goals themselves on 
Saturday.
In Thursday night’s 5-1 victory 
over Penn State, the Wolverines 
were dialed in from the opening 
faceoff to the final buzzer. There 
were few lapses on the defensive 
end 
and 
few 
opportunities 
came easily for Penn State. The 
Nittany Lions had few, if any, 
odd-man rushes throughout the 
game.
The lone goal came more 
than mid-way through the third 
period 
when 
the 
Michigan 
was leading 4-0. A pass from 
behind the net deflected off 
senior defenseman Nick Boka’s 
skate and trickled past junior 
goaltender Hayden Lavigne.
Moreover, 
the 
Wolverine 
defense jumpstarted the offense 
after its lackluster first period. 
The first goal for Michigan was 

set up after freshman forward 
Jimmy 
Lambert 
collected 
possession in the defensive zone 
and flipped a pass to sophomore 
forward Dakota Raabe in the 
neutral zone. It resulted in a 
breakaway goal for Raabe to give 
the Wolverines the lead.
Saturday’s 5-2 loss at Madison 
Square Garden was in complete 
contrast to the near perfect 
defensive performance put forth 
on Thursday by the Wolverines.
It was a tale of defensive 
gaffes.
“We didn’t play on the right 
side of the puck,” said Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson. “We did not 
sense danger — and I don’t want 
to say our whole team, but a few 
individuals. We just didn’t sense 
that urgency or the danger and 
they made us pay.”
Four of Penn State’s five goals 
were a direct result of a defensive 
lapse.
Just over five minutes into 
the game, a mishandled pass 
by Lambert near the defensive 
zone blue line lead to a wide-
open shot attempt forward Evan 
Barratt. He capitalized on the 
opportunity to open up scoring, 
putting the Nittany Lions up, 1-0.
Minutes later, a turnover from 
sophomore defenseman Quinn 
Hughes near center-ice resulted 

in a breakaway goal, handing 
Penn State a 2-0 lead.
And just before the first 
intermission, senior defenseman 
Joseph Cecconi lost his footing 
as he was turning to skate up 
the ice, allowing for another 
breakaway. This time, forward 
Alec 
Marsh 
finished 
past 
Lavigne to make it 3-0.
Midway through the second 
period, the Wolverines had a 
chance to climb back into the 
game with a score of 4-1, and 
Michigan on the power play. As 
Hughes was advancing the puck 
up towards center ice, he looked 
to dump a pass back to a trailing 
junior forward Will Lockwood. 
The pass was intercepted, and 
the Nittany Lions, once again, 
successfully capitalized on a 
breakaway opportunity, 5-1.
The play was a microcosm of 
the game. A Michigan misstep 
led to a Penn State goal. This 
one was a backbreaker against 
the Wolverines from which they 
were unable to recover.
“It’s a game of mistakes and 
you have to limit your mistake 
and try to make less than the 
other team,” Pearson said. “And 
you have to try to take advantage 
of the mistakes. We did that 
on Thursday night, they got us 
tonight.”

Hughes’ faults on display in loss

NEW YORK CITY — Quinn 
Hughes went into the locker 
room 
and 
turned 
to 
the 
team. After a poor showing 
defensively, Hughes did what he 
had to do. He was accountable 
for his sloppiness in Saturday’s 
game against No. 15 Penn 
State, one that the Michigan 
hockey team lost, 5-2, with the 
sophomore defenseman at the 
epicenter.
“I just thought he had a 
tough night as far as a couple of 
his turnovers,” said Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson. “And he 
knows. He stood up in the locker 
room and took responsibility 
for them.”
It’s easy to point the blame. 
Anyone can do it. But when two 
goals are scored directly after a 
player’s turnovers, it becomes 
even easier to point the finger a 
certain way.
“As long as you play this game 
and you’re a hockey player,” 
Pearson said. “You’re going to 
have some nights that are hard 
and it’s one of those nights for 
him.”
It began with a normal 
play — Hughes with the puck 
bringing it up the ice to start 
the offensive push. As a skilled 
skater and, as Pearson notes, an 
elite player, it’s a norm for him 
to push the puck through the 
neutral zone.
However, midway through 
the 
first 
period, 
he 
was 
contested on his offensive zone 
entry attempt.
Stick 
extended. 
Sticks 
clashed. Puck out.
Hughes 
had 
seen 
the 
opposing player speed toward 
him and held his stick out wide 
to try and protect the puck 
from the contest. Despite his 
attempt to protect the puck, the 
two sticks clashed against one 
another and resulted with the 
puck leaking toward Michigan’s 
net.
Nittany Lion Liam Folkes 
took the one-on-none chance 
and increased Penn State’s lead 
to two.
The 
main 
problem 
with 

Hughes’ turnover was that 
no one was back to defend the 
breakaway. Senior defenseman 
Joseph Cecconi had pushed 
far up to take a more offensive 
stance, yet when the puck was 
loose, he lagged behind the play.
“We 
had 
a 
defenseman 
back,” Pearson said. “He’s the 
last man, we’re trying to beat a 
guy in the neutral zone and his 
partner is not backing him up, 
he’s ahead of him. So, he gets 
stripped, there’s no support. 
Breakaway.”
Of course, Cecconi shouldn’t 
have been as far up as he 
was, but Hughes should have 
recognized that and the risks of 
a turnover in that situation. The 
only thing separating Lavigne 
from Folkes was Hughes, and 
he failed to recognize it.
His second lapse was the nail 
in the coffin.
Down three and on the power 
play in the middle of the second 
period, the Wolverines needed 
to convert the man-advantage 
in the worst way. A goal would 
have 
brought 
them 
within 
striking distance. Instead, a 
Hughes’ turnover resulted in 
insurmountable deficit.
Hughes, again, brought the 
puck up to the neutral zone. He 

made a pass back to a trailing 
teammate. However, no one 
was in the vicinity that could 
get to the puck in time. Instead, 
Nittany Lion Alex Limoges stole 
the puck from the intended pass 
and hammered it home after 
beating Lavigne on the one-on-
none.
“Obviously in the start of the 
second, a power play, we made 
a drop pass to one of our guys 
and we don’t have support,” 
Pearson said. “We’re all by the 
puck. We didn’t play on the 
right side of the puck. We did 
not sense danger — and I don’t 
want to say our whole team, 
but a few individuals. We just 
didn’t sense that urgency or the 
danger and they made us pay.”
Again, 
the 
presumption 
that there was a player behind 
haunted the Wolverines and 
allowed a direct confrontation 
with 
Lavigne. 
Hughes 
was 
unable to recognize it, and his 
turnovers caused goals. He did, 
however, recognize his faults.
“I think once you speak 
out, and take responsibility, 
then you gotta step up and you 
gotta do it on the ice,” Pearson 
said. “And it’s hard. You know. 
It’s hard to admit your faults 
sometimes.”

JORGE CAZARES
Daily Sports Writer

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer

NEW YORK CITY — For 
the second time in two periods, 
sophomore defenseman Quinn 
Hughes turned the puck over near 
center ice.
And for the second time in two 
periods, No. 15 Penn State (14-10-
2 overall, 6-9-1-1 Big Ten) took its 
chance and ran with it.
This time, the turnover came 
when the Wolverines were on the 
man advantage and hoping to cut 
into the Nittany Lions’ 4-1 lead 
early in the second period. Hughes 
lost control of the puck in the 
middle of the ice, which allowed 
forward Alex Limoges to grab it 
and skate in right in front of junior 
goaltender Hayden Lavigne.
Lavigne sprawled out to make 
the save as Limoges wound his way 
to the front of the crease, waiting 
to shoot the puck until Lavigne 
was flat on the ice. One quick flip 
of his stick later and Penn State led, 
5-1.
Though Michigan (9-10-6, 5-6-
4-2) tacked on another goal in the 
third period, the comeback came 
up short. The Nittany Lions went 
on to take the second game of the 
series, 5-2.
“We did not get the result we 
wanted,” said Michigan coach 
Mel Pearson. “Very frustrating 
in the locker room because we 
know we’re a better team. We 
beat ourselves tonight, plain and 
simple.”
Penn State averages an NCAA-
leading 4.52 goals per game, and 
the Wolverines allowed them all of 
that and then some Saturday night 
at Madison Square Garden.
Early 
in 
the 
first 
period, 
freshman forward Jimmy Lambert 
lost 
the 
puck 
at 
Michigan’s 
defensive blueline. Forward Evan 
Barratt, who ranks second in the 
country with an average of 1.45 
points per game, took advantage 
of his opportunity and fired a shot 

that beat Lavigne to the upper 
corner of the net.
Five minutes later, Hughes’ 
turnover at center ice led to a one-
on-zero breakaway for Penn State 
and Liam Folkes converted.
“It was nice,” said Penn State 
coach Guy Gadowsky. “(Scoring on 
breakaways) hasn’t been the case 
in the past, either. It was nice to get 
it early. Any time you can capitalize 
on anything, I think it’s important, 
but we were able to capitalize on a 
couple of their mistakes as well.”
Just before the horn sounded to 
end the first period, junior forward 
Nick Pastujov had an opportunity 
on the power play — but his shot 
rang the post, just as all three of his 
shots did in the game.
And as the puck went down 
toward Lavigne, Penn State was 
able to capitalize on a third one-on-
zero chance with a goal from Alec 
Marsh. With another 40 minutes 
left to play, Michigan faced a three-
goal deficit that looked — and was 
— insurmountable.
“We made some horrendous 
turnovers, they took advantage 
of it,” Pearson said. “That was the 
game. They got the lead 3-0 and 
we couldn’t outscore our mistakes 
tonight.”
Down 4-0 early in the second 
period, the Wolverines found 
twine on a shot from Hughes that 
redshirt junior forward Luke 
Morgan was able to send past 
goaltender Peyton Jones. But it 
proved to be too little, too late as 
the Nittany Lions extended their 
lead back to four goals just minutes 
later.
And once that goal went in to 
make it 5-1, Lavigne was pulled 
in favor of Strauss Mann. The 
freshman goaltender stopped all 19 
shots he faced the rest of the way.
“Excellent,” Pearson said of 
Mann’s performance. “You know, 
we really like him as a goaltender, 
and we think he has a bright future 
at Michigan. I didn’t want to have 
to get him in like we did but he 

went in and I give him credit, that’s 
a tough situation to go in and he 
played extremely well. He gave us 
an opportunity to try and get back 
into the game.”
But 
despite 
Mann’s 
play, 
defense — or lack thereof — was 
Michigan’s downfall, just as it was 
what allowed it to beat Penn State 
5-1 at home on Thursday.
“Disappointing 
outcome, 
especially after Thursday night’s 
game,” Pearson said. “I can’t tell 
you our team wasn’t prepared to 
play. I thought we had a pretty 
good first period, outshot them 
22-8, out-attempted them 37-16. 
Hit four posts. But we didn’t make 
a commitment to team defense.”
Michigan outshot the Nittany 
Lions for the majority of the game, 
though Penn State finished the 
game with a 39-37 shot advantage. 
Catching the post four times put 
the Wolverines within millimeters 
of making it a much closer game.
But as Pearson said, they 
couldn’t outscore their mistakes.
Coming within millimeters just 
wasn’t enough.

Wolverines fall to Penn State in New York, 5-2, and the season hangs by a thread
Madison Square Meltdown

BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer

ALEX POMPEI/Daily
The Michigan hockey team’s season is on the brink after it fell flat in a 5-2 loss to Penn State at Madison Square Garden.

We came out 
ready to play, 
we hit a bunch 
of post.

ALEX POMPEI/Daily
The Michigan hockey team’s defense was sloppy, allowing five goals to Penn State in a blowout loss on Saturday.

ALEX POMPEI/Daily
Sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes’ turnovers led to two Penn State goals.

