Penn State Hockey Big Ten Semifinal Preview: No. 1 Michigan
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After easily dispatching Minnesota 6-2 on Wednesday, Penn State will hit the road to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan in the Big Ten semifinal today. The Wolverines are No. 1 in the NPI and won the regular season series 2-1-1. Penn State beat Michigan on the road twice last March in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament and eliminate Michigan. Do the Nittany Lions have more of that road magic in them?
How to Watch
Who: Michigan Wolverines
NPI Ranking (PSU): 1 (10)
When: Saturday, March 14
Where: Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, MI
Time: 5pm
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Projected Lineup
Matt DiMarsico-Charlie Cerrato-JJ Wiebusch
Gavin McKenna-Reese Laubach-Aiden Fink
Shea Van Olm-Luke Misa-Ben Schoen
Lev Katzin-Nic Chin-DeGraves-Braedon Ford
Jackson Smith-Jarod Crespo
Cade Christenson-Nolan Collins
Carter Schade-Mac Gadowsky
Josh Fleming
Kevin Reidler
Opponent Preview
Michigan comes in with a record of 27-7-1 and finished just two points behind Michigan State for the Big Ten regular season title. The Wolverines easily beat Notre Dame 6-1 in the first round of the conference tournament on Wednesday night.
The Wolverines boast eight double-digit goal scorers, the most in the NCAA. Will Horcoff’s 23 goals is tied for the most among Big Ten skaters with Michigan State’s Porter Martone and Minnesota’s Brodie Ziemer. The high-flying offense averages 4.5 goals per game and scored at least six goals twice in the four regular season meetings against Penn State. Michigan is deep, talented, and loaded with speed at forward, and the Nittany Lions had a tough time slowing down their breakout and transition game in the regular season.
Michigan is not a shutdown defensive team, but freshman goalie Jack Ivankovic has been sensational this season, posting a .923 save percentage and 2.11 GAA. Penn State cracked him a bit without Charlie Cerrato back in mid-February. Michigan is 0-3-1 in their last four games where they gave up at least 4 goals. It’s going to take Penn State’s best effort offensively to win this one.
Michigan has the top-ranked power play in the NCAA (30.2%) and ranks 40th on the penalty kill (79.3%). With Cerrato back and healthy, the Penn State power play should get a boost in tonight’s game.
News & Notes
- Defenseman Nick Fascia is out for the rest of the season.
- Michigan leads the all-time series 33-21-2.
- Penn State is 4-1 all-time against Michigan in Big Ten Tournament games.
- Guy Gadowsky passed former Brown and Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet for 27th on the all-time NCAA wins list (425) with Wednesday night’s win.
- After Friday night’s games, Penn State remains No. 10 in the NPI.
Prediction
Penn State looked like a different team with Charlie Cerrato back and acclimated on Wednesday night. The lack of center depth burned Penn State in Ann Arbor in February, but that should not be an issue tonight. Michigan has shown that their defense has holes and that a good goaltender can slow down their attack. This one will be close, but I will give the edge to Michigan at home.
Michigan 4, Penn State 3
