ANN ARBOR - Michigan hockey's game plan against Penn State centered around mitigating its run-and-gun style by managing the puck and being in the right positions to thwart their transition game.
The fourth-seeded Wolverines were unsuccessful in game one of a best-of-three first-round Big Ten Tournament series Friday night at Yost Ice Arena. Despite rallying twice to tie the game, Michigan ultimately fell 6-5 in overtime on a No. 5 seed Penn State power-play goal.
"They're a good team," Michigan captain Jacob Truscott said postgame. "They're hot right now, and they're tough to play against. They play a little chaotic, so it's tough to defend. But I think we have a recipe to beat them, and we just need to get to it."
No. 11 Michigan (18-14-3) was chasing the game for most of the night after a dismal start. No. 15 PSU (19-12-4), which only has three regulation losses in its past 19 games, struck three times in the first period, capitalizing on multiple Wolverines turnovers. The Lions had at least five odd-man rushes in the first two periods but only led 3-2 heading into the third.
"Penn State's pretty off-the-rush heavy," said junior forward Jackson Hallum, who scored two goals Friday, including the team's fifth with 4:28 remaining. "They're kind of like cowboys. They're cowboys that just run. They cheat the game a lot, and it's hard to play against sometimes if you're not in the right spots. They'll definitely beat you."
Even though Michigan tied the game at three early in the third and rallied again after PSU's JJ Wiebusch scored two quick goals to restore his team's multi-goal cushion, the Wolverines were largely disappointed in their play. A power-play goal from Wiebusch to cap the hat trick ended their hopes of completing the comeback.
"We got to change our mindset about this game," Hallum said. "We can't be thinking about what happened (Friday). We got to change our mindset and start thinking about what we can do (Saturday) and what we can control going (Saturday's) game, because at the end of the day, that's all that matters."
The Wolverines will look to stave off elimination in the conference tournament and potentially its season Saturday night. They are emphasizing a faster start from the opening puck drop against a Lions team that has scored first in 22 of 35 games this season.
"A lot happened," Michigan head coach Brandon Naurato said of Friday's game. "Just all that matters is how we respond (Saturday). This game is over. We'll dissect the game and we know what we did well when we play our game and know what we didn't do well when they got to their game."
Michigan's NCAA Tournament chances dropped sharply with Friday's loss, down from 85% to 64%, according to College Hockey News' Pairwise Probability Matrix. A loss Saturday would drop it to 14th in the Pairwise rankings, which is just inside the projected cut line for an at-large bid. But with conference tournament champions yet to be decided, the Wolverines no longer would be in control of their NCAA Tournament fate. There would be a lot of anxious energy waiting until Selection Sunday on March 23.
But if they rally to beat the Lions and advance to the Big Ten semifinals, they would be comfortably inside the tournament field.
"We got to win," Hallum said. "Do anything we can to win: sacrifice our body, block shots - everything that is an attribute of winning."