Penn State men’s hockey (2-4-2, 1-0-1 Big Ten) fell to No. 18 Minnesota (3-3-2, 1-0-1 Big Ten) 4-3 at 3M Arena at Mariucci on Saturday night.

The Nittany Lions and Golden Gophers matched each other all night, not letting one break away in a high-scoring affair. Minnesota put the game away shortly into the overtime period as the two squads split their early-season series.

How It Happened

Dane Dowiak won the opening faceoff for Penn State before Minnesota fired two quick shots off. It wasn’t enough to keep the Nittany Lions at bay, though, as Nolan Collins fired one home to put Penn State on the board just 1:21 into the contest.

The two squads exchanged a series of shots before Minnesota’s Tanner Ludtke tied it up at 1-1 less than four minutes later.

Collins, Justin Larose, and Jackson Smith continued pestering Minnesota goaltender Melvin Strahl, but he successfully kept the Nittany Lions at bay for the time being.

The Nittany Lions ultimately cracked the code when Marco Mignosa finally got a puck in to go up 2-1 almost 15 minutes into the game.

The Golden Gophers tied it up again at 2-2 not even two minutes later behind a Christian Humphreys goal assisted by Ludtke and Javon Moore.

The first half ended with the two teams knotted.

Dowiak pushed Penn State ahead 3-2 with a goal 3:25 into the second frame. Smith and Justin Poirier assisted the score as the Nittany Lions teetered the lead back in their favor.

Yet, Minnesota simply refused to go away. Humphreys netted his second goal of the contest not even four minutes later, getting one in to tie it up at 3-3 with seven minutes gone in the second period.

Minnesota then got on the hot hand with a flurry of shots to Josh Fleming, but the Penn State goaltender kept his cool and the tie. The second frame ended with a run of opportunities from the Golden Gophers on a power play, but no advantage.

Poirier, Shea Van Olm, and Minnesota’s Jacob Kvasnicka fired off shots before a Golden Gopher timeout just over seven minutes into the final frame.

The Golden Gophers fired four consecutive shots as momentum teetered in their favor, but the Penn State defense held strong to keep the score knotted.

Penn State gained a plethora of opportunities of its own through the back stretch of the third period, but it failed to take the lead as the two squads went to overtime for the second consecutive game.

LJ Mooney won the opening faceoff in overtime for Penn State. He immediately capitalized with a goal to hand the Golden Gophers the 4-3 win.

Takeaways

• After fighting for a shootout win on Friday night, the Nittany Lions fell apart immediately in overtime on Saturday. That just points to how evenly-matched Penn State and Minnesota are.
• The two squads were essentially head-to-head on every statistical category. Minnesota had 29 shots on goal to Penn State’s 28, and the Golden Gophers rattled off 49 total shots to the Nittany Lions’ 51.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return home to Pegula Ice Arena for a two-game set against Notre Dame, with game one set for Friday, November 6. A puck drop time is to be determined.

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