MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The tenth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions fought hard down to the final horn, but couldn't secure the equalizer as No. 11 Minnesota earned the series sweep with a 3-2 victory in Big Ten Conference action on Friday afternoon from 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Penn State falls to 0-2-0 to start the year while Minnesota improves to 2-0-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Minnesota opened the scoring for the second-consecutive night with an early powerplay goal as Scott Reedy redirected the puck through the five-hole of freshman goaltender Liam Soulière (Brampton, Ontario) with just one second remaining on the man-advantage for the 1-0 score at 4:35 of the first period.
- The Nittany Lions brought the game even taking advantage of a 3-on-1 rush as freshman Jared Westcott (Imperial, Missouri) fed classmate Christian Sarlo (Lynbrook, New York) and he ripped a shot past the glove of Gopher net-minder Jack LaFontaine for the 1-1 score at 17:31 of the first period.
- The Gophers regained the one-goal lead heading into the first intermission as Sammy Walker got behind the defense and beat Soulière past the glove with less than a second remaining in the frame.
- Minnesota extended their lead midway through the second period with another powerplay tally as Brannon McManus faked a pass and ripped a wrister from the slot over the glove of Soulière for the 3-1 advantage at 13:28 of the stanza.
- Penn State cut the deficit to a single goal early in the third period as sophomore Kevin Wall (Penfield, New York) took the puck from behind his own net and skated the length of the ice flicking a backhand shot inside the near post and past LaFontaine for the 3-2 score at 4:41 of the frame.
GOALTENDING
Soulière looked good in his first collegiate start but falls to 0-1-0 on the year after stopping 24-of-27 shots. LaFontaine improves to 2-0-0 on the year after a 34-save performance.
NOTES
- Penn State held the commanding 36-27 edge in shots but went 0-for-3 on the man-advantage including two missed opportunities in the third period. The Gophers were 2-for-3 on the powerplay for the game.
- The Nittany Lions were also much stronger on faceoffs tonight winning 30 while the Gophers won 32.
- Wall extends his career-best goal scoring streak to three games and has scored all four of his career goals against the Gophers. Wall's two goals this season in two games match his entire 2019-20 total from 26 games.
- Minnesota extends its lead in the all-time series to 17-15-1.
- The Gophers had 18 blocked shots to Penn State's 16.
NEXT UP
Penn State makes the quick trip to Madison over the weekend for a pair of games next Monday and Tuesday evening against No. 14 Wisconsin before returning home to Pegula Ice Arena for a mid-week set against Michigan at the beginning of December to open the 2020-21 home slate.
For more information on the 2020-21 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: the Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.