ALBANY, N.Y. – No. 6/6 Minnesota-Duluth used three unanswered goals to defeat No. 10/9 Penn State, 3-1, in opening round action of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena in Albany on Friday night.
The Nittany Lions see their season come to an end with a 21-14-2 record while UMD improves to 24-14-1 on the year and advance to face top-seeded Michigan in the Albany Regional Final on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State opened the scoring as junior Casey Aman (Johnstown, Pa.) sent a beautiful cross-ice pass from behind the goal line tape-to-tape to freshman Shea Van Olm (Calgary, Alberta) and he ripped a twisted wrister shortside for the 1-0 edge at 8:37 of the first period.
- The Bulldogs responded as the Plante brothers connected for a goal as Zam fed Max at the far post and he slipped the puck between the legs of Nittany Lion freshman net-minder Josh Fleming (Montreal, Quebec) who was moving post-to-post for the 1-1 tie at the 15:01 mark.
- UMD then took the lead late in the third period as the Bulldogs took advantage of a defensive zone turnover and Hunter Anderson ripped a wrister under the bar for the 2-1 advantage at the 14:47 mark.
- Ty Hanson then hit the empty net with just 1.5 remaining in regulation for the 3-1 final.
GOALTENDING
Fleming falls to 10-7-2 on the season after making 36 saves in the loss while his counterpart, Adam Gajan, improves to 19-12-1 after stopping 29-of-30 shots in the victory.
NOTES
- Duluth held the, 39-30, edge in shots on goal while neither team was able to convert on a single powerplay chance each.
- The Nittany Lions fall to 4-5 in NCAA Tournament games with the loss.
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.