Coming off of a weekend where the No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions nearly swept then No.1 Michigan, they put up a valiant effort against another top-ranked team, this time in Minneapolis at Mariucci Arena against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Sarlo turns the tide in upset victory
Momentarily after the puck was tipped, you could sense Minnesota’s opponent, Penn State, was no Notre Dame. They were fast and feisty, outhustling and outskating the Gophers for the entire first period. Connor MacEachern scored the lone goal of the period on a 2-on-1 breakaway. Those breakaways would become a theme this game with the Gophers defenseman playing lackadaisical with the puck.
“We did the opposite of our strengths,” Minnesota’s captain Brock Faber said. “We were trying to play cute, trying to play slow, we weren’t physical enough, we just weren’t ready to go tonight.”
The Gophers briefly woke up in the second period, shooting an outstanding ten shots on goal compared to Penn State’s one through the first eleven minutes of play. One of those shots went through the pads of the Nittany Lion netminder, Liam Souliere, by Bryce Brodzinski, his third of the season. Later in the period, Brodzinski nearly had another shot go in from atop the right circle, but it hit the post.
Nearing the end of the middle period, Christian Sarlo was released from the penalty box after serving time for a hooking penalty. Sarlo then corralled the puck and skated around the inside of the right circle and dangled and decked Justen Close, fooling the Gophers goaltender to give the Nittany Lions back the lead with just 5.8 seconds left in the period.
Penn State wasn’t finished, as MacEachern not long into the final period scored on yet another 2-on-1 breakaway, leading the Nittany Lions to a 3-1 advantage on his second goal of the night. Minnesota didn’t throw in the towel just yet, as Aaron Huglen struck the puck from the left zone in the Penn State net for his first goal of the season.
“The transitions are different just back and forth down the ice,” Huglen said on the difference between this game and the Notre Dame series. “Notre Dame likes to play back and this is completely different.”
But alas, the Matthew Knies/Logan Cooley/Jimmy Snuggerud line was completely held in check for the rest of the game as the Penn State defense shut down one of the best lines in hockey. Without their offensive leadership, the Gophers ended up falling to Penn State 4-2. Ashton Calder cashed in a late empty netter.
“It was a tale of two games,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “You get off to a slow start and we were a little frustrated. We found it in the second period and then unfortunately, we handed them two goals. You can’t do that; they’re playing awful well.”
Brodzinski evens series with 2-goal third period
If Minnesota underestimated Penn State on Thursday, then Friday was all business. The Gophers came out more energized than ever and kept up with Penn State early on in the period.
Unfortunately, the maturity of the Nittany Lions was still too much for the young pups in gold. Penn State quickly took a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal, coupled with Sarlo’s second goal of the series, shooting a one-timer from the center-left of the goal. The Gophers entered the second period down 1-0 against an experienced and gritty group.
“They [Penn State] play north as fast as any team we are going to play,” Motzko said. “You’ve gotta possess it [the puck] down low and for the most part we did a decent job this weekend. But, if you make mistakes against them, they’re going to make you pay.”
The Gophers, like they always have this season, found a way to regroup in the middle period. On a power play, which the Gophers had an abundance of this game, Mason Nevers tipped in a shot by Mike Koster from the blue line to tie the game at one apiece. Immediately after the Nevers goal, the game’s momentum completely shifted, adrenaline was injected into the student section and a penalty from Penn State’s captain Paul DeNaples would give Minnesota a powerplay that would extend into the final period.
“We were a lot better tonight,” Motzko said. “When the game was kind of quiet we just hung in there until a powerplay goal…we’re playing a veteran and very good hockey team. Our veterans took over and that’s what we needed.”
Another Penn State penalty occurred early in the third. Luckily, they got through it unscathed, unfortunately right after, Brodzinski scored his second and third goals of the series. It was all Minnesota for the rest of the period, and behind Close who saved 37/38 shots, they would tie the series with a very underrated No. 8 Penn State.
The Gophers next embark on a six-game road trip to play Michigan, Michigan State and Arizona State before returning home to play the Wisconsin Badgers to end the first half of the season. They play in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Thursday (5:30 p.m. puck drop) and Friday (5 p.m. puck drop). Both games will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
