Fink Hits 100-Point Milestone as No. 9 Men's Hockey Sweeps MinnesotaFink Hits 100-Point Milestone as No. 9 Men's Hockey Sweeps Minnesota

Fink Hits 100-Point Milestone as No. 9 Men's Hockey Sweeps Minnesota

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Junior Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) collected three assists to help lead No. 9 Penn State to a series sweep of Minnesota following a, 5-2, victory in Big Ten Conference action at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday evening.

With his three assists, Fink became the ninth Nittany Lion all-time to reach 100 career points while doing it in the shortest amount of time, coming in just his 87th career game. The junior currently has 101 points, just two shy of Liam Folkes ’20 for eighth on the all-time scoring list.

The Nittany Lions secure their first series sweep over the Gophers since November 15-16, 2019, moving to 22-33-1 in the all-time series and are now 13-12-1 against Minnesota in Hockey Valley.

Penn State moves to 14-6-0 with the victory and 6-4-0 in Big Ten play while the Gophers fall to 8-12-1 overall and 4-6-0 in conference action with the loss.

IMG_9475

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Minnesota opened the scoring as Brodie Ziemer raced end-to-end before ripping a wrsiter inside the far post past the blocker of Nittany Lion sophomore goaltender Kevin Reidler (Gavle, Sweden) for the 1-0 edge at 3:27 of the first period.
  • Penn State answered using quick transition after a blocked shot as freshman Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) sent a quick no-look, behind-the-back pass through the center of the ice springing sophomore Braedon Ford (Pittsburgh, Pa.) on a breakaway and he beat Gopher net-minder Nathan Airey through the five-hole for the 1-1 score at the 5:33 mark.
  • The Nittany Lions then grabbed the lead heading into the intermission scoring twice just under three minutes apart as junior Matt DiMarsico (Wexford, Pa.) finished out front off a beautiful feed from Fink at the 17:15 mark before freshman Lev Katzin (Thornhill, Ontario) slipped a rebound into a yawning net after senior Ben Schoen’s (Maumee, Ohio) initial bid was turned aside for the 3-1 edge with just 16.5 ticks remaining in the first period.
  • The Gophers cut the deficit in half early in the second period taking advantage of a neutral zone turnover by Penn State and going in on a 3-on-1 rush with Javon Moore one-timing a pass by Teddy Townsend into the back of the net for the 3-2 score at the 2:28 mark.
  • Penn State added some late insurance as Fink flicked the puck to center ice where freshman defenseman Jackson Smith (Calgary, Alberta) skated it down, dragged to the slot and wired a wrist shot under the blocker of Minnesota goaltender Nathan Airey for the 4-2 margin at 17:35 of the third period.
  • Junior captain Dane Dowiak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) then salted the game away with a shorthanded empty netter for the 5-2 final with just seconds remaining.

GOALTENDING

Reidler improves to 8-3-0 on the year after stopping 32 shots in the victory while Di Pasquo picks up the loss dropping to3-7-1 after allowing three goals on 14 shots over the opening 20 minutes before being relieved by Airey who collected 27 saves over the final two periods.

NOTES

  • Penn State held the 43-34 edge in shots on goal while each team went 0-for-3 on the man-advantage.
  • Twelve different Nittany Lions registered points tonight with five different goal scorers.
  • The goal for Ford is his first since the first game of his collegiate career last season in Alaska on October 4, 2024, 463 days ago.
  • Smith’s third period goal was his first even-strength goal this season and with five goals on the year he is now tied for ninth on the single-season defenseman goal list.
  • With a trio of assists, Fink secures his fourth multi-point game of the season and the 28th of his career. His 60 career assists move him past Danny Dzhaniyev for ninth on the all-time Penn State assist list.
  • With a pair of assists, senior Jarod Crespo (Seven Lakes, N.C.) secures his third multi-point effort of the season and the fifth of his career as he now sits just one point shy of tying his single-season career-high of 10 registered during his freshman season.
  • The Nittany Lions improve to 8-1-0 when leading after two periods and are now 5-0-0 on the year when scoring five or more goals.

NEXT UP

Penn State remains home to close out its five-game homestand with a weekend series against Notre Dame next Friday and Saturday.

For more information on the 2025-26 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.