No. 18 Penn State men’s hockey (14-13-5, 7-10-5 Big Ten) wraps up its regular season this weekend with yet another massive Big Ten series against No. 8 Minnesota at Pegula Ice Arena.

The Nittany Lions now sit outside of the top 16 in the PairWise rankings after a weekend split with Michigan State, meaning that the team would not qualify for the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today. However, there’s still plenty of hockey left to be played between now and the start of the tournament on March 23. Can Penn State pick up two more crucial wins, or will the high-flying Golden Gophers outmatch the Nittany Lions?

The General

Minnesota (19-13-2, 10-10-2 Big Ten) is consistently one of college hockey’s elite programs, and this year is no different. The Golden Gophers’ roster is stocked full of talent in every part of the lineup and has grown quite a bit since Penn State’s last meeting with the team in October.

“If you look at their team, they have a new goaltender who’s the hottest in the nation right now that we didn’t see before,” Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “They have some very young, high-end talent. I think they’re going to be a very different team. It’s not like playing them a month ago when you can really anticipate what you’re going to see.”

That goaltender — sophomore Mat Robson — was the Big Ten’s second star of the week after his stellar performance against Ohio State. He has a 7-2-1 record, a 1.53 goals-against average, and a .945 save percentage, forcing himself into longtime starter Eric Schierhorn’s role with a stellar stretch of play.

The defensive core in front of Robson is extremely strong; alternate captain Ryan Lindgren anchors the unit that has allowed just 2.32 goals per game. Lindgren has blocked 45 shots — second on the team behind Jack Glover — and has played on the team’s top defensive pairing for most of the regular season. Glover additionally leads the team with a +16 plus-minus.

Minnesota’s group of forwards has the potential to become one of college hockey’s best. The Golden Gophers are extremely deep down the middle; Tommy Novak leads the team in assists with 22, Casey Mittelstadt was a top-ten draft pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and alternate captain Mike Szmatula has played in more than 100 NCAA games with Minnesota and Northeastern.

Don Lucia’s Golden Gophers are an extremely well-rounded squad that will present Penn State with a serious challenge despite coming into a hostile Pegula Ice Arena environment.

Zeroing In

The biggest storyline entering this weekend is Mat Robson’s performance between the pipes for Minnesota. He’s taken the starting goaltender role of an elite program and run with it, losing just three times in eleven starts, including a shootout loss to Ohio State on Saturday.

However, Penn State has shown in the past that it is capable of lighting up elite goaltenders. Sean Romeo has regularly been touted as one of the best goaltenders in the country, but the Nittany Lions put twelve goals past him in three games. Cale Morris did not lose once to Penn State, but the team scored eight goals in four games against Morris and Notre Dame.

It’s a cliché for sure, but Guy Gadowsky’s team needs to play its best hockey of the season to stand any chance of beating the Golden Gophers.

Last Meeting

Penn State and Minnesota last clashed in October of this year, with the teams splitting a weekend set at Mariucci Arena. The Nittany Lions opened their Big Ten schedule with a 3-1 victory in game one, but the Gophers responded with a 6-3 decision two nights later.

Prediction

Normally, I would predict Minnesota wins this series due to the fact that hot goalies seem to be Penn State’s Kryptonite, but it is senior weekend in Hockey Valley. James Robinson, Erik Autio, Trevor Hamilton, and Matt Erlichmann will make their final appearances at Pegula Ice Arena, putting even more emotion into a crucial weekend.

Minnesota will take game one by a score of 5-3, but I think Penn State will bounce back with a confident 4-1 victory on Senior Night.

The puck drops at Pegula Ice Arena at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday. Both games will be aired on the Big Ten Network.