UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Ryan Kirwan (DeWitt, N.Y.) registered his 10th goal of the season, but it was not enough as No. 5 Minnesota defeated Penn State, 3-1, in Big Ten Conference action on Friday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
The Nittany Lions fall to 14-16-1 on the year and 5-15-1-1-1-1 in Big Ten play while the Gophers move to 20-11-0 overall and 15-6-0-1-2-0 in conference action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Minnesota opened the scoring as Rhett Pitlick slid a rebound past the right pad of Nittany Lion sophomore Liam Souliere (Brampton, Ontario) after Sam Rossini's initial bid was turned aside at 6:42 of the first period.
- Penn State grabbed the equalizer late in the opening frame as Kirwan laced a one-timer from the low slot, off a fantastic feed from classmate Carson Dyck (Lethbridge, Alberta), past the glove of Gopher net-minder Justen Close for the 1-1 score at the 19:01 mark.
- The Gophers regained the lead capitalizing on a defensive zone turnover by the Nittany Lions as Jack Perbix finished off a pass from Colin Schmidt on the doorstep for the 2-1 edge at 15:22 of the third period.
- Perbix then hit the empty net with the goalie pulled at 19:54 to account for the final score.
GOALTENDING
Souliere falls to 4-4-1 on the year after making 32 saves on 34 shots while Close improves to 9-4-0 after a career-best 37-save performance.
NOTES
- Penn State has now failed to score the first goal of the game during its current four-game losing streak falling to 1-13-0 this season when the opponent scores first and just 0-9-1 when trailing entering the third period.
- Penn State held the slim 38-35 edge in shots on goal while going 0-for-1 on the powerplay and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
- Kirwan's 10 goals and 22 points this season are now tied for the eighth-most in a single-season by a freshman for each category in Penn State history.
- Souliere's 19 second period saves are a new single-season career-best.
- Minnesota snaps an eight-game losing streak at Pegula Ice Arena with its first win in the building since February 18, 2017, exactly five years to the day.
NEXT UP
- Both teams return to Pegula Ice Arena tomorrow evening to close out the season series with a 6 p.m. puck drop.
- The game will air nationally on the Big Ten Network.
- Four members of the 2022 senior class will be honored in a postgame ceremony on the ice and fans are encouraged to stay and enjoy the ceremony with the team.
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.