Penn State men’s hockey forward Braedon Ford will miss a significant amount of time with a lower-body injury, head coach Guy Gadowsky confirmed to the media on Monday.

Ford sustained the injury in the second period of Saturday night’s victory over Minnesota. Shortly after committing a hooking penalty midway through the period, Ford touched the puck to stop play but took a hard fall into the boards while getting elbowed in the head by Teddy Townsend, suffering an apparent ankle injury. He was helped off the ice and into the locker room, not returning for the remainder of the game.

The sophomore from Pittsburgh scored his first goal of the season in the first period of Saturday’s game on a breakaway after a beautiful between-the-legs pass by Gavin McKenna. He started the season without a permanent role in the lineup, but has played a key role in the bottom-six since entering the lineup for good after Aiden Fink broke his thumb on October 31.

Ford’s injury, coupled with recent ailments for Shea Van Olm, Casey Aman, and Charlie Cerrato, has affected the Nittany Lions’ depth as they continue Big Ten play. The team has already been without bottom-six forward Keaton Peters for the entire season and just got Fink and defenseman Cade Christenson back from injury.