MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – No. 4 Minnesota scored on a redirected point shot with just 26 seconds left in regulation to defeat No. 18 Penn State 1-0 in Big Ten Conference action on Saturday evening at 3M Arena.
Penn State drops to 4-3-0 on the year and 0-2-0 in Big Ten play with the loss while the Gophers improve to 7-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in conference action with the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State controlled play for the majority of the evening and in a last second desperation play with under a minute to go in regulation Luke Mittelstadt turned and sent the puck into the slot and Jimmy Clark redirected it into the top left corner of the net for the 1-0 score with just 26 ticks left in the third period.
GOALTENDING
Junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) stopped 11-of-12 shots but falls to 4-3-0 on the year with the defeat while his counterpart, former Nittany Lion Liam Souliere, stopped all 28 shots he faced to improve to 3-1-0 on the year with the shutout victory.
NOTES
Penn State held the commanding 28-12 edge in shots on goal while going 0-for-3 on the man-advantage and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Nittany Lions held Minnesota off the board in three of the six periods this weekend after the Gophers were held without a goal in just three periods total entering the series.
The shutout is the first of the season for Penn State and the first time the Nittany Lions have been shutout since a 6-0 loss against Wisconsin on February 23, 2024.
NEXT UP
Penn State takes next week off before resuming conference play and begin a stretch of six games in 13 days in Hockey Valley with a series against Wisconsin on November 15-16.
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.