ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Big Ten Conference will have one more participant in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in Florida.
That school will be No. 2 Michigan, which earned its spot in Tampa in two weeks’ time thanks to a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 11 Penn State on Sunday in the regional final at the PPL Center. Mackie Samoskevich connected on a wrist shot 52 seconds into sudden death to send the Wolverines to the Frozen Four for the second straight season.
“The game ended on a great shot by a great player on a great team,” said Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky, who also wished Michigan luck in Florida. “The atmosphere was absolutely awesome, and I look forward to sometime here that doesn’t end like this.”
It was the fifth and final meeting of the season between the two conference foes, this one before a largely pro-Penn State crowd of 8,375. In contrast to a pair of blowouts in the regional semifinals here on Friday, this one was a tight back-and-forth contest the whole way, the third one-goal decision between the two schools this year.
“It was amazing to see that goal go in,” said Michigan netminder Erik Portillo, who finished with 31 saves, of the winner. “To see us having success feels so much better.”
Michigan forward T.J. Hughes got off an in-close shot less than four minutes into the contest that squeaked through Penn State goaltender Liam Souliere’s pads, but the puck was cleared by the Nittany Lions defense. Shortly after Penn State killed off a tripping penalty to Ryan Kirwan, Souliere denied Michigan’s Dylan Duke from the high slot, then made a glove save several minutes later on Adam Fantilli, followed by a pair of stops on Rutger McGroarty.
Penn State forward Connor McMenamin landed a solid hit on Michigan star defenseman Luke Hughes behind the Wolverines’ net, then followed up offensively with a tip-in chance at the left post that went wide. He later got off a backhand attempt from the right circle that was stopped by Portillo.
Michigan defenseman Ethan Edwards rang a shot off the left post with 3:35 left in the first, then turned to center ice to celebrate what he thought was a goal. Play continued behind him after one of the referees gave a washout signal, and a video review a minute later confirmed the puck never crossed the goal line.
Penn State’s best chance of the opening 20 minutes, which saw each team register 14 shots on goal, came with seven minutes left. Christian Sarlo chipped a pass ahead from the right wing along Michigan’s blue line to defenseman Simon Mack coming down the middle, but Mack’s close-in try was turned aside by Portillo.
Things settled down some in the second stanza, at least in terms of shots on net, although both sides still generated chances. McMenamin made a few moves and then fired the puck just over Michigan’s net less than six minutes into the period, two minutes before Souliere turned away Seamus Casey’s shot from the right circle at the other end.
The Wolverines went on their second power play of the evening at 14:40 when Penn State’s Tyler Gratton was whistled for goaltender interference. Gavin Brindley fired a rebound over the net from the left side, just before Fantilli was stopped from the right circle, and the Nittany Lions killed off the rest of the infraction.
“Penn State is a very good team,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “They’re well-coached, and we had to earn everything tonight.”
Michigan’s Jackson Hallum was called for hooking with 1:28 remaining before intermission, and the Nittany Lions cashed in just 26 seconds later on their only power play of the game. Paul DeNaples worked the puck from the left point over to Christian Berger at the right, and Berger’s subsequent slap shot was stopped by Portillo. The puck kicked out to the right, where Connor MacEachern buried it to give Penn State the lead.
“Paul had a great shot before that,” said MacEachern. “We got one again, and the rebound was just sitting there.”
Sarlo went off for kneeing just under five minutes into the third frame, but Souliere made three big saves while his teammates cleared the puck several times to negate another Michigan power play. The fourth time was the charm for the Wolverines when, with Penn State’s Carter Schade in the box for holding, Fantilli converted a rebound to Souliere’s left with 7:52 left to make it 1-1, assisted by McGroarty and Samoskevich.
Neither team could score down the stretch in regulation, forcing overtime for the first time in this year’s NCAAs — which lasted less than a minute until Samoskevich scored, his 20th goal of the campaign, assisted by Duke and Casey.
“Seamus gave it to me, and I thought to attack and shoot through,” said Samoskevich. “I’ve been working on that, and I’m glad it counted.”
Penn State (22-16-1) challenged the winning goal on a potential too many men infraction, but it officially stood. The Wolverines outshot the Nittany Lions 43-32, including the only two shots of the extra session, while Penn State won 32 of 57 faceoffs overall. Souliere finished with 41 saves.
“Liam’s a really tough kid,” said Gadowsky. “He takes it hard, like the other guys, but I’m not worried about him. He was fantastic, and he has nothing to feel down about.”
Michigan (26-11-3) will face Quinnipiac in one of the two national semifinals in Tampa on April 6, in a rematch of last year’s Allentown Regional final that was won by Michigan. The winner will meet either Minnesota or Boston University two nights later in the NCAA title game.
“I thought our offense was outstanding,” said Naurato. “Penn State checks well. … Our guys stuck to the plan, and it happened to go our way tonight.”
