Fans flocked back into Pegula Ice Arena for No. 9 Penn State men’s hockey series against the Minnesota Gophers. The Nittany Lions were victorious in both matchups, with their first game shutting out the Gophers.

Our photographers were at Pegula to capture all the action, so let’s take a look at the matchup.

Friday, January 9

The Nittany Lions had a successful Friday on the ice.

Josh Fleming made 27 saves and got the second shutout of his collegiate career. Luke Misa was also able to tally his first collegiate multipoint game.

The Nittany Lions were able to register two more goals from Cade Christenson and Matt DiMarsico. A scrum broke out towards the end of the third, sending both Nolan Collins and Tanner Ludtke to the dressing room early.

Saturday, January 10

Minnesota fought back a bit more Saturday night, tallying two goals, one of which was the first of the night.

The blue and white fought back with both Braedon Ford and DiMarsico registering goals in the first period. Lev Katzin also scored his first collegiate goal with 16 seconds left to bring the score to 3-1 to start the second period.

Just over two minutes into the second, Minnesota was able to register the second and final goal of the night. At 10:43 in the second, the puck was squeezed behind the Minnesota goaltender, but was reversed due to goaltender interference by DiMarsico. The Nittany Lions would go on to score another two goals by Jackson Smith and an empty-netter with 11 seconds left from Dane Dowiak for his fifth goal of the season to seal off the win.

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