THIS WEEK’S MATCHUP

• This weekend marks the 49th and 50th meetings all-time between Penn State and Minnesota with the Golden Gophers holding the 29-18-1 edge including a 14-4-0 mark over the past four seasons with two of the last three Nittany Lion campaigns coming to an end at the hands of the Gophers in the Big Ten Tournament (2022 semifinals and 2024 quarterfinals).
• Minnesota holds the commanding 18-7-0 record at 3M Arena including wins in nine of the last 11 games played in Minneapolis. The Gophers went 5-1-0 against Penn State last season with wins in all four of the games at 3M Arena.
• Penn State is 6-4-1 all-time in Big Ten openers with a 3-3-0 mark in such games contested away from Hockey Valley. This marks the third time the Nittany Lions and Gophers have opened conference play against each other in Minneapolis with each team having one win and one loss, the last coming as a 4-1 victory for Minnesota to open the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Penn State won 3-1 to begin Big Ten play on October 13, 2017.
• This weekend pits two of the winningest coaches of all-time against each other as Minnesota’s Bob Motzko ranks ninth among active coaches and 26th all-time with 417 victories and Guy Gadowsky sits 12th among active coaches and 35th all-time with 386 wins. Gadowsky is just one win shy of tying longtime Michigan State and Michigan Tech Bench Boss, Amo Bessone for 34th all-time and is just four wins shy of former Minnesota head man Doug Woog (390) for 33rd.
• Penn State enters the weekend ranked in both polls for the first time since January 8, 2024, coming in at No. 18. With Minnesota ranked No. 4 this marks the first meeting with a top-five opponent since the Allentown Regional Final in 2023, a 3-2 overtime loss against No. 2 Michigan. The Nittany Lions are just 7-31-2 all-time against top-five ranked opponents with their last win coming against these same Gophers in Minnesota on November 10, 2022. Minnesota was ranked No. 1 at the time.
• Penn State (21 years, 10 months) is the third youngest team in the Big Ten and 12th nationally while Minnesota (21 years, 6 months) is the second-youngest team in the conference and the sixth youngest in the country.

ARSI’S ON IT

• Junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev was great last weekend against St. Lawrence allowing just three goals on 42 shots including saves on 25-of-26 on Saturday posting a 1.50 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage for the week.
• Sergeev has played every minute for PSU so far in his first season in Hockey Valley and is currently sixth in the Big Ten and 18th in the nation with a 1.79 goals-against average, however, he ranks second in the conference and eighth in the nation among goaltenders with at least five games played.
• Sergeev’s .928 save percentage places him fifth in the Big Ten and 16th nationally while also ranking second in the B1G and eighth in the nation among goalies with five or more games played.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

• The Gophers enter the weekend coming off a sweep against St. Thomas and are 5-1-0 on the year with the only loss coming against Nebraska-Omaha in overtime of the 2024 Icebreaker Tournament Championship game.
• Even though Minnesota lost three of its top-five scorers, including each of the top-two, from last season’s squad with the departures of Rhett Pitlick (19-17-36) and Bryce Brodzinski (14-22-36), the Gophers have scored at least five goals in each of its five victories in 2024-25 and lead the nation averaging 5.5 goals per game with a national best 33 goals scored over the first six games of the season.
• Jimmy Snuggerud potted 21 goals a season ago, however, has just one on the year entering the weekend as the Gophers are paced offensively by Connor Kurth and UConn transfer Matthew Wood with 12 points apiece, a mark good for tops in the Big Ten and tied for third nationally. Kurth leads the team with six goals a mark that is tied for the national lead while pacing the Big Ten.
• Minnesota enters the weekend leading the nation in shots on goal averaging 39.7 shots per game while Penn State sits just fifth in the Big Ten and 22nd nationally averaging just 30.0 shots per game. The Nittany Lions are in unfamiliar territory as they have led the country each of the past 10 seasons and 11 of 12 years as a Division I program in shots on goal. Minnesota is converting 13.9 percent of those shots into goals to lead the conference and rank fourth nationally while Penn State sits second in the Big Ten and tied for 13th nationally scoring on 11.3 percent of its shots so far this season.
• The Gopher powerplay is converting at 23.8 percent (5-for-21) a mark good for second in the conference and 17th nationally with three of those goals coming last time out against St. Thomas as Minnesota went 3-for-7 with the man-advantage, all three of those goals being scored by Brody Lamb who registered a natural hat-trick in the victory and has scored four of his five goals this season on the powerplay to tie for the national lead while pacing the Big Ten.
• Defenseman Sam Rinzel has added nine points on four goals and five assists for the Gophers through six games including a five-point weekend against the Tommies and was named Big Ten First Star of the Week. Rinzel’s nine points are the most among Big Ten blueliners while ranking second in the nation for defensemen scoring. His four goals are the top mark across the country for defensemen.

HELLO, OLD FRIEND

• Penn State should see a familiar face between the pipes for the Gophers this weekend in at least one of the games as Liam Souliere is in the midst of his first season in Maroon & Gold after donning the Blue & White for the past four seasons.
• Souliere made 84 appearances with 82 starts for Penn State from 2020-24, the second-most ever by a Nittany Lion goaltender. He posted a 39-39-3 record for the Nittany Lions with a 2.95 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage. His 39 wins are the second-most among Nittany Lion net-minders all-time.
• Souliere has split time evenly with sophomore Nathan Airey to begin his first season as a Gopher posting a 2-1-0 record with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. His GAA is fifth in the B1G while his save percentage ranks seventh, marks good for 13th and 19th nationally.
• Airey, who has started each of the opening games this season with Souliere playing the finale, is 3-0-0 with a 2.33 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage.