FRIDAY RECAP: No. 13 Penn State stays perfect, upsets top-ranked Michigan, 3-0; No. 8 UConn keeps rolling with OT win over Maine; No. 14 Providence explodes for seven against No. 5 UMass

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Ashton Calder scored a back-break goal in the third period as Penn State shutout top-ranked Michigan, 3-0, on Friday (Photo: Craig Houtz/Penn State athletics)

The number one raking continues to be a bit of a curse as, for the third straight weekend, the nation’s top team falls.

This time it was the high-flying Michigan offense that was completely shutdown by No. 13 Penn State, as the Nittany Lions held the Wolverines off the board in a 3-0 victory.

Penn State dominated the possession game, putting 49 shots on Michigan goaltender Noah West, beating him twice. On the other end, Michigan was able to muster just 17 shots, all of which were stopped by Liam Souliere who posted his second-consecutive shutout.

Ture Linden got Penn State on the board at 7:18 of the second period, scoring what remained as the only goal of the game until late in the third period. Ashton Calder gave the Nittany Lions some breathing room at 12:38 of the third and Xander Lamppa put the game away with a shorthanded empty-net goal with 2:49 remaining.

Penn State remains perfect at 9-0-0 on the young season while Michigan drops just its second game, falling to 7-2-0.

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No. 8 Connecticut 3, Maine 2 (OT)

UConn extended its best-ever start as Ty Amonte scored unassisted 44 seconds into overtime, earning a 3-2 victory over Maine.

Amonte, who missed the last game for the Huskies, picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, accelerated and fired a shot past Black Bears netminder Victor Ostman to send the 3,020 fans in Hartford home happy.

The Huskies trailed early as Maine’s Jake Sirota scored 4-on-4 at 10:50 of the first. UConn answered with two goals in the middle frame on tallies by Chase Bradley and Tabor Heaslip.

But Maine had the equalizer with 5:25 remaining in regulation to force the OT and earn the single point for the Black Bears in the Hockey East standings.

No. 14 Providence 7, No. 5 UMass 4

Two of the best defensive teams in Hockey East threw all caution to the wind on Friday, playing a crazy, offense-filled affair with host Providence emerging, 7-4, over UMass.

The Friars jumped to a 4-0 lead scoring shorthanded, on the power play and twice at even strength in the first 21 minutes of the game. But UMass had pushback, cutting a 5-1 Providence lead to 5-4 on Cal Kiefiuk’s goal at 1:13 of the third. But Parker Ford buried a dagger at 7:11 and Riley Duran scored into an empty-net with 10 seconds remaining.

Providence is now unbeaten in its last three (2-0-1) after getting swept on the road by Denver.

Duran finished the game with three goals for the Friars while Brett Berard added two goals and an assist.

No. 3 Minnesota 4, No. 12 Notre Dame 1

Jimmy Snuggerud scored twice for the Gophers and Justen Close stopped 24 of the 25 shots his faced as Minnesota knocked off Notre Dame, 4-1.

The Gophers scored twice in the second and twice more in the third to dominate the game. Minnesota held a lopsided 54-25 advantage in shots in the game.

Close was 46 seconds away from a shutout before Notre Dame’s Justin Janicke scored the only tally for the Irish.

 

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