UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Waiting all alone in the slot, Johnny Beecher tapped the blade of his stick against the ice to get Will Lockwood’s attention.
The senior forward turned around to see the freshman with plenty of open room, and Lockwood sent a pass from the bottom of the right circle up to Beecher. Beecher readied himself for the one-timer, and then he unleashed it. The puck didn’t fly into the air to beat goaltender Peyton Jones — and it didn’t have to.
Beecher’s shot skimmed along the ice and went right past Jones’ pads. Jones looked back over his shoulder as the puck hit the back of the net, almost seeming surprised that the puck had gotten past him.
Michigan led No. 6 Penn State, 3-0, just six minutes into the third period, with all the momentum.
“Will made a really nice pass to me in the slot,” Beecher said. “I was just trying to get it on net, and I kinda got fortunate a little bit. I think it was on the ice there. It was a huge third goal to get the boys going.”
That feeling proved true just 59 seconds later when senior forward Jake Slaker tallied his second goal of the night to widen the margin to four goals. Pegula Ice Arena’s PA announcer had just barely finished reading out the time of Beecher’s goal when Slaker lit the lamp once again.
Sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert forced a turnover in the offensive zone and sent a pass across to Slaker, who was crashing down the slot. Slaker’s quick wrister went right into the net, giving the Wolverines a 4-0 lead.
And barely more than a minute later, junior forward Michael Pastujov notched his second goal of the year off a faceoff win by his brother, senior forward Nick Pastujov.
In just 2:02 of game time, what had been a 2-0 game with the Nittany Lions threatening to come back became a 5-0 rout, and with just over half of the third period gone, Beecher added his second of the night to make it 6-0, eventually the final score in a win.
“I think we were just bearing down on our opportunities and scoring some goals,” Slaker said. “We didn’t let off the pedal because we knew we’ve been hurting in the third period the whole season. But I think this second half, we’ve been really turning it on in the third period. It’s led to some wins for us.”
In the third period Friday, Michigan lit the lamp four times to break the game wide open and earn a commanding victory over Penn State. The Wolverines outshot the Nittany Lions in the period, 18-8, and out-attempted them, 29-14.
“The third goal was big,” Michigan coach Mel Pearson said. “That was a huge goal. It just put some separation. And after that, I thought it just went in. And some nights we can’t score goals. I think we’re last in the Big Ten in scoring. But we’ve got guys who can put the puck in the net.”
Prior to Friday’s win, the Wolverines had scored four goals in a whole game just six times, let alone four goals in a single period. But while the third period output was undeniably the most impressive of the season thus far, it appeared to be simply Michigan building on what it had done in the first and second periods.
The Wolverines held a 19-11 shot advantage after the first period and had numerous chances in the opening minutes that could’ve led to goals. Instead, it took until just under four minutes left in the first period for Slaker to open the scoring. In the second, Michigan was narrowly outshot, 12-10, and added one more goal to its lead.
“I thought the first ten minutes we should’ve had three or four,” Pearson said. “Nick Granowicz has two great chances and he looks like he’s never scored before. And that’s how it’s been all year. It’s good to see some goals get in. And that’s only going to help our confidence.”