MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – In a back-and-forth game Penn State played its third-straight overtime contest earning one point in the Big Ten standings before No. 18 Minnesota secured the extra point with a 4-3 victory in the extra session during Big Ten Conference action at 3M Arena on Saturday night.
The Nittany Lions and Gophers each earned three points in the conference standings over the weekend as Penn State drops to 2-5-1 on the year and 0-1-1 in Big Ten play while Minnesota improves to 3-3-2 on the year and 1-0-1 in conference action following the OT win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State opened the scoring with a great breakout that led to an odd-man rush for a couple defensemen as sophomore Jackson Smith sauced a pass to classmate Nolan Collins and he one-timed the puck past Gopher goaltender Melvin Strahl for the 1-0 edge just 1:21 into the contest.
- Minnesota evened the score right after a penalty expired as Tanner Ludtke jumped out of the box and right into a 2-on-1 rush finishing off a feed from Tate Pritchard who blocked a shot in the defensive zone leading to the rush and the 1-1 tie at the 5:03 mark.
- The Nittany Lions regained the lead with another goal off the rush as a shot from the point by Smith was redirected out front by freshman Kaden Pitre and right on the stick of classmate Marco Mignosa at the backdoor and he didn’t miss a yawning net for the 2-1 advantage at 14:49 of the first period.
- The Gophers fought back again the even the contest as Christian Humphreys was left alone in the slot and he received a pass off the half wall from Ludtke and he snapped a wrister past the blocker of PSU sophomore net-minder Josh Fleming for the 2-2 score at the 16:35 mark.
- Penn State regained the lead early in the second period as Smith sent a wrister on net after an offensive zone faceoff win and senior Dane Dowiak crashed the net to slip the rebound under the arm of Strahl for the 3-2 score at the 3:26 mark.
- The back-and-forth scoring continued as Humphreys tallied his second of the game off a great individual effort from Axel Lofgren as he danced through the middle of the ice before dishing to Humphreys for the finish and 3-3 score at 7:07 of the middle frame.
- After a scoreless third period, LJ Mooney wasted little time scoring the game-winner just 17 ticks into the overtime session as he skated down the slot and cut to the net before slipping the puck under the arm of Fleming for the 4-3 victory.
GOALTENDING
Fleming falls to 1-3-1 on the year after stopping 25 shots in the loss while Strahl also collected 25 saves while improving to 2-1-0 with the victory.
NOTES
- Minnesota held the slim 29-28 edge in shots on goal while neither team was able to convert on the man-advantage both going 0-for-2 in the game
- Penn State went a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill over the weekend and have now killed off nine straight over the past four-plus games.
- Smith collected a career-high three assists while registering his second multi-point game of the season and the ninth of his career.
- With a second period assist Poirier extends his point streak to five games as he now has points in all but one game so far this season.
NEXT UP
Penn State returns home to Hockey Valley as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish come to town next weekend for a pair of Big Ten contests at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday night.
For more information on the 2026-27 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.