LUKE
S
kating along the ice in
front of Penn State’s
bench,
Luke
Hughes
dragged his glove across the ice
before jumping into the arms of
his teammates. Moments after
scoring the go-ahead, 5-4 goal,
the
sophomore
defenseman
celebrated
as
crowd
noise
threatened to blow the roof off of
Yost Ice Arena.
Because in front of them,
Hughes had just added to one
of the greatest performances in
college hockey history.
Hughes’
four-goal
outing
turned what could’ve been a
blowout loss into a monumental
win. Hughes led the No. 7
Michigan hockey team (16-9-1
overall, 8-8 Big Ten) to a 5-4 win
over No. 6 Penn State (18-9-1, 8-9-
1) with a Herculean effort at both
ends of the ice.
“It was unbelievable — it’s
got to be probably the greatest
single player effort in college
hockey history here,” sophomore
forward Dylan Duke said. “I
mean, I don’t know if anyone will
ever do that again.”
But in order for things to get
historic, they first had to get
dismal. Before Hughes even
touched the ice Saturday night,
the Nittany Lions scored two
goals in the first 44 seconds of
the game. Staring at a 2-0 hole on
the scoreboard, the Wolverines
faced an uphill climb. Soon it
grew to 3-0 midway through the
second period, and Michigan
looked thoroughly outmatched.
In a Sisyphean effort, Hughes
marched up the hill with the
weight of that deficit strapped
across shoulders. After that third
goal against, he ripped a wrister
off the post that opened his team’s
scoring. Then a few minutes
later, his second goal — a power
play one-timer — cut the deficit
to one goal. Already, confidence
permeated Michigan’s bench as
it celebrated the goal.
Penn State didn’t go away,
however, and scored early in
the third period to lead 4-2. Yet
two minutes later, Hughes kept
climbing.
He cashed in on first career
hat trick by firing a hard shot
from the point that slipped
through the goaltender’s pads. As
hats littered the ice and Hughes
celebrated
with
teammates,
the Wolverines’ energy was
suddenly the complete opposite
of what it had been in the game’s
opening minute.
“We have a really good team
and you know, we didn’t have
a good minute of the game,”
Hughes said. “There’s still 59
left. I mean, if they score two
(goals) in one minute, we could
definitely score as many as we
want in 59.”
Soon, Duke tied the game
with a breakaway tally, one that
seemed to break the Nittany
Lions’ spirits on the bench.
Players sullenly looked down at
their skates as the Yost Ice Arena
crowd reached a fever pitch.
By the time Hughes snapped
the game-winning goal into the
net, the noise turned deafening
as he celebrated. It was the
crescendo of one of the single
best performances in college
hockey history.
Unlike
Sisyphus,
Hughes
actually got his team over the
hill.
“He just put the team on his
back,” Michigan coach Brandon
Naurato said. “He had four goals
but it wasn’t just offensively. It
was away from the puck as well,
and just being a leader on the
bench. (He was) super positive
when we were down and just
building these guys up.”
Away from the puck, Hughes
silently had one of the best
performances of his season too.
Against a Penn State team that
clogged the neutral zone and
flipped pucks deep to zoom
past converging forecheckers,
Hughes found a way to dissect
that structure.
All
of
that
led
to
the
opportunities that paced his
monumental performance. And
it mattered, because for much
of the first period, Michigan
appeared destined for another
deflating series split and another
wasted opportunity to climb the
Big Ten standings.
Instead,
the
Wolverines
walked away with the kind of
rousing and raucous win that can
revamp seasons — and their first
Big Ten sweep of the year. All of
that came about behind the sheer
willpower of Hughes and his
monumental night. So much so
that even his often level-headed
coach didn’t withhold historic
praise. As Naurato called it:
“Probably the best individual
performance by a defenseman in
Michigan history.”
EMMA MATI/Daily
Luke Hughes scores four, leads
Michigan past Penn State
CONNOR EAREGOOD
Managing Sports Editor
Design by Lys Goldman
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