UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Junior Ryan Kirwan (DeWitt, N.Y.) tied his career-high with three points including a pair of goals to lead No. 18 Penn State to a, 6-3, victory and series split against No. 7 Minnesota in Big Ten conference action on Saturday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State improves to 9-5-3 overall and 2-3-3-0-0-2 in conference play with the victory while the Gophers drop to 8-5-3 on the year and 4-4-2-1-0-0 in Big Ten action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State opened the scoring for the fourth-straight game with two goals in a 54-second span midway through the first period as freshman Reese Laubach (San Jose, Calif.) redirected a shot from the point by senior Jimmy Dowd Jr. (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.) at the 11:07 mark before Kirwan slotted a bouncing puck into a yawning net for the 2-0 edge at the 12:01 mark.
- The Nittany Lions extended the lead to 3-0 midway through the second period as Kirwan slotted home his second of the game at the far post after sophomore Jarod Crespo (Seven Lakes, N.C.) created a turnover in the offensive zone at the 10:19 mark.
- Minnesota got on the board late in the middle frame taking advantage of an odd-man rush for a shorthanded goal as Rhett Pitlick deposited a sauce pass from Jimmy Clark for the 3-1 deficit with just 30 ticks remaining in the stanza.
- Penn State regained the three-goal edge midway through the third period as graduate transfer Jacques Bouquot (South Windsor, Conn.) outraced a Gopher defenseman in on a breakaway after he mishandled the puck at the blue line and beat Minnesota net-minder Justen Close past the glove for the 4-1 score at the 10:06 mark.
- The Gophers made it a two-goal game again as Jimmy Snuggerud took advantage of a defensive zone turnover by the Nittany Lions at the far post and he beat PSU sophomore goaltender Noah Grannan (Germantown, Wis.) past the glove for the 4-2 score at 14:35 of the third period.
- Less than a minute later it was Penn State taking advantage of a Minnesota miscue as Close coughed up the puck behind his own net and sophomore Dylan Gratton (Pottstown, Pa.) deposited it into the yawning cage for the 5-2 advantage at the 15:23 mark.
- The Gophers wouldn't go away as Bryce Brodzinski connected with the man-advantage and goaltender pulled for the 5-3 score at the 17:07 mark.
- Junior Danny Dzhaniyev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) competed to the final horn outracing a Gopher to the puck to erase icing and he found the empty net with just 0.5 seconds remaining to account for the final score.
GOALTENDING
Grannan improves to 3-2-2 on the year after making 23 saves in the victory while Close drops to 8-5-3 after stopping 37 shots in the game.
NOTES
- Penn State held the commanding 43-26 edge in shots on goal including a 22-6 mark in the second period while going 0-for-3 on the powerplay. Minnesota was 1-for-2 with the man-advantage.
- Saturday night's attendance of 6,421 is the ninth largest crowd in Pegula Ice Arena history.
- With a pair of goals Kirwan secured his second multi-goal game of the season and the fifth of his career while registering his fifth multi-point effort this season and the 14th of his career. His three points tied his career-high from October 8, 2022 against Canisius.
- Penn State scored the opening goal for the fifth-straight game moving to at 7-2-0 when scoring the opening goal of a game this season.
- The win for Penn State is the first against a top-10 team this season and the first at Pegula Ice Arena since defeated No. 1 Michigan on November 4, 2022.
- The Nittany Lions snap a five-game losing skid against the Gophers at Pegula Ice Arena securing their first victory against Minnesota in Hockey Valley since a 3-2 victory on February 22, 2020.
NEXT UP
Penn State travels to Madison to battle the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers to close out the first semester of play next weekend.
For more information on the 2023-24 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.