UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State jumped to an early 3-0 lead, but No. 5 Minnesota raced back scoring six of the final seven goals to secure the 6-4 victory and series sweep in Big Ten Conference action on Saturday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
The Nittany Lions fall to 14-17-1 on the year and 5-16-1-1-1-1 in Big Ten play while the Gophers move to 21-11-0 overall and 16-6-0-1-2-0 in conference action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State opened the scoring with a goal off the rush as junior Tyler Gratton (Pottstown, Pa.) slipped the puck across the crease to freshman Danny Dzhaniyev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who finished at the near post for the 1-0 edge just 2:01 into the first period.
- The Nittany Lions extended the lead with a pair of goals just 14 seconds apart as freshman Ryan Kirwan (DeWitt, N.Y.) collected his second goal of the weekend with a tap in score at the 10:33 mark before sophomore Tyler Paquette (Collegeville, Pa.) lifted a centering pass from junior Connor MacEachern (Brooklin, Ontario) over the glove of Gopher net-minder Justen Close for the 3-0 advantage at 10:47 of the opening stanza.
- Minnesota got one back early in the second period as Mike Koster received the puck all alone at the near faceoff dot and dangled around PSU senior goaltender Oskar Autio (Espoo, Finland) and slipped the puck just over the goal line at the near post for the 3-1 deficit at the 4:39 mark of the frame.
- The Gophers then cut the deficit to a single goal after Black McLaughlin picked the corner over the glove of Autio at 12:27 of the second period before sophomore Xander Lamppa (Rochester, Minn.) laced a shot from a tough angle inside the near post and over the right shoulder of close for the 4-2 lead at the 14:53 mark.
- Minnesota made it a one score game again heading into the second intermission as a tic-tac-toe goal saw Grant Cruikshank lighting the lamp for the 4-3 score at 17:27 of the middle frame.
- The Gophers used an early third period powerplay to pull even in the game as Aaron Huglen sent a wrister to the back of the net from the high slot for the 4-4 score at the 4:41 mark of the final stanza.
- Jackson Lacombe then gave Minnesota its first lead of the evening at 8:27 of the third period and Cruikshank would hit the empty net at 19:21 to account for the final score.
GOALTENDING
Autio drops to 10-13-0 on the year after making 28 saves in the defeat while Close improves to 9-3-0 after stopping 23-of-27 shots.
NOTES
- Penn State snapped a streak of four-straight games where the opponent scored first by notching the opening goal for the 18th time this season, but falls to 13-4-1 this season when doing so.
- Minnesota held the slim 34-27 edge in shots on goal while going 1-for-2 on the powerplay and did not commit a single penalty of their own all night.
- The goal for Lamppa is his first since the second game of the season snapping a 20-game goalless drought.
- Kirwan's 11 goals are now tied for the seventh-most in a single-season by a freshman with Evan Barratt while his 23 points are good for eighth alone by first-year players at Penn State breaking a tie he had with Vine Pedrie.
- Minnesota wins the season series 3-1-0 securing 9-of-12 Big Ten points.
NEXT UP
Penn State concludes its regular-season slate next weekend on the road in East Lansing with a pair of Big Ten Conference games against the last-place Spartans.
For more information on the 2021-22 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: 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.