MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Three unanswered goals including a pair in the second period from Jimmy Snuggerud led No. 4 Minnesota to a, 3-1, victory over No.18 Penn State in the Big Ten opener for both teams at 3M Arena on Friday evening.
Penn State drops to 4-2-0 on the year and 0-1-0 in Big ten play with the loss while the Gophers improve to 6-1-0 overall and 1-0-0 in conference action with the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With time winding down in the first period the Nittany Lions opened the scoring just after a penalty expired as sophomore Reese Laubach (San Jose, Calif.) collected the puck in his own zone following a blocked shot by junior Alex Servagno (Gibsonia, Pa.) and he raced up the far side beating a defender and ripping a shot through the five-hole of Gopher net-minder Nathan Airey for the 1-0 edge with just 38.9 seconds left in the frame.
Minnesota evened the score early in the second period as Jimmy Snuggerud laced a wrister off a bouncing puck bar down for the 1-1 score at the 1:36 mark.
The Gophers grabbed their first lead of the game late in the second period as Snuggerud redirected a point shot from Sam Rinzel during the powerplay for the 2-1 edge at 18:22 of the stanza.
Jimmy Clark would hit the empty net with just 50.8 seconds remaining in the game to account for the 3-1 final.
GOALTENDING
Junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) made 31 saves but falls to 4-2-0 on the year with the defeat while Airey improves to 4-0-0 after stopping 21-of-22 shots in the victory.
NOTES
Minnesota held the 34-22 edge in shots on goal while going 1-for-6 with the man-advantage. Penn State was 0-for-2 on the powerplay.
The Nittany Lions held Minnesota off the board in the first period marking the first time this season the Gophers failed to score a goal in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Suggerud’s second goal of the middle frame snapped a season-opening penalty kill streak of 28-straight for Penn State.
The loss is the first for the Nittany Lions this season when scoring first as they fall to 3-1-0 in such games on the year.
Senior Danny Dzhaniyev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season ending his career-long 10-game point streak that carried over from the 2023-24 campaign.
Sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) was also held without a point for the first time this season ending his career-best point streak, which also carried over from last season, at six games.
Penn State drops to 6-5-1 all-time in Big Ten openers and 3-4-0 in such games contested on the road.
NEXT UP
Both teams return to Mariucci tomorrow evening to conclude the weekend series with another 7 p.m. CT puck drop.
For more information on the 2024-25 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.