5 No. 2 Minnesota (22-4-5, 11-2-2-0 B1G) |
Minneapolis, Minn. • Mariucci Arena • Attendance: 9,929 NEXT GAME: March 1 at Minnesota • 7 p.m. ET • NBCSN | 1 Penn State (6-21-2, 2-12-1-0 B1G) |
Feb. 28, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS - Sophomore Kenny Brooks' (Las Vegas, Nev.) power-play goal gave the Nittany Lions the early lead, but the Penn State men's hockey team fell to No. 2/2 Minnesota, 5-1, at Mariucci Arena Friday night. The Nittany Lions fell to 6-21-2 overall and 2-12-1-0 in the Big Ten, while the Gophers improved to 22-4-5 and 11-2-2-0, respectively.
A Las Vegas, Nev., native, Brooks put the Nittany Lions up by a 1-0 score 3:12 into the game. The Gophers then responded with three goals in the first period and two more in the second frame en route to the 5-1 score.
Minnesota, who went 1-for-3 on the power play, out shot the Nittany Lions by a 36-31 margin. Penn State finished 1-for-5 on the man advantage. Sophomore goaltender Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) turned aside 31 shots.
With 16:48 left in the first period, Brooks registered his first tally since Jan. 13 against the Gophers after netting freshman Zach Saar's (Richland, Mich.) rebound. Classmate David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.), who extended his point-scoring streak to three games (2g, 2a), started the play with a pass to Saar in the slot.
Minnesota evened the score with 12:05 left in the frame when Sam Warning snapped Mike Reilly's pass to the glove side. At 11:05, Hudson Fasching scored after a long scramble in front of the cage. Ben Marshall sent a shot toward the net that Fasching gloved down before knocking it in with his stick.
Kyle Rau made it a 3-1 game with 3:50 left in the opening frame. Fasching moved the puck past the Nittany Lion defense before feeding Rau with a cross-crease pass.
The Gophers added a pair of markers in the second period en route to the four-goal lead. While on the power play, Travis Boyd set up Taylor Cammarata one-timer 30 seconds into the period. Nate Condon then added a shorthanded goal with 7:30 remaining after scoring from the right faceoff dot.
Penn State and Minnesota will conclude their series Saturday (March 1) with a 7 p.m. ET matchup on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. A radio broadcast will also air live on GoPSUsports.com and the Penn State Sports Network.