RECAP: Penn State hockey splits big series against Minnesota

When Minnesota hockey comes to Pegula, people take notice. Minnesota has become one of the Penn State hockey team’s fiercest rivals on the ice after many of their fans declared that “Penn State ruined college hockey” when they went Division I back in 2013. Penn State’s jump to the top level of the sport sparked the Big Ten’s sponsoring of ice hockey, forcing powerhouses like Michigan and Minnesota to join. According to their fans, this ruined classic rivalries their team had against other powerhouses like North Dakota and Denver. So naturally, a rivalry with the Nittany Lions developed. And a close rivalry at that. No Big Ten team has a better-winning percentage against the Gophers since the formation of the conference than the Nittany Lions. The rivalry has been highlighted by epic comebacks, overtime heroics, and games that have ended the other team’s season. It is all you could ask for out of a true rival and the next chapter was set to be written this weekend at Pegula Ice Arena.

Despite the bad early season losses to American Int’l and Alaska-Anchorage, Penn State comes into this series with a chance to play themselves back into the postseason picture. With strong play as of late, the Nittany Lions have vaulted themselves up to No. 17 in the Pairwise rankings, which determines NCAA tournament selection and seeding. With another solid series against No. 12 Minnesota, the Lions could give themselves the inside track at a postseason berth heading into the second half of the season.

Lions start quick, collapse late

Penn State got right to work on Friday night. They came out flying and started peppering the net. They were able to find the game’s opening goal when freshman forward Dane Dowiak redirected a pass from graduate transfer Tanner Palocsik one at the doorstep for his third goal of the season. 

Penn State got right back to it, looking to expand the lead to two. They recorded the first 12 shots on goal in this game. When Minnesota finally got a shot on net, they made it count. The Gophers scored on their first shot of the night. They would also score on their third, all of the sudden taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Penn State dominated the period, outshooting the Gophers 12-3, but trailed where it mattered as a result of another frustrating night for senior goaltender Liam Souliere. 

Things get out of hand

The Penn State hockey team entered the period looking for the equalizer. They weren’t able to duplicate the domination of the first period, however, and the second was more evenly matched. 

Midway through the frame, Minnesota struck again and expanded their lead to two. Shortly after the goal, Penn State was booked for a cross-checking penalty. On the ensuing power play, Minnesota was able to bat a puck out of midair and into the net. 

Once it was 4-1, all the air was sucked out of the building and seemingly the team as well. The third period was largely uneventful aside from a few penalties. Penn State fell by a final of 4-1 despite outshooting the Gophers 34-21 throughout the contest. Liam Souliere played the full game, making 17 saves on the 21 shots he saw. That moved his season save percentage to an abysmal 0.864 while allowing 3.13 goals per game. These are far from the numbers you’d expect from him. Just last season, his save percentage was 0.917 while only allowing 2.43 goals per game. 

Lineup changes yield results

After Friday’s performance, sophomore goaltender Noah Grannon took the net. Coach Guy Gadowsky said this was a predetermined decision, not as a result of Friday. Both goaltenders have been splitting time this year. 

In front of 6,421 packed into Pegula Ice Arena, the Lions started similarly to Friday night, scoring first on a shot from the point from senior defender Jimmy Dowd Jr. that was tipped by freshman forward Reese Laubach. 

The Penn State hockey team’s early goal Friday would prove to be their only score. They were determined to not let that be the case on Saturday. Just 56 seconds later, a shot attempt by junior defenseman Simon Mack deflected off a Minnesota skate and essentially served as a cross-ice for junior forward Ryan Kirwan. Kirwan fired it past the unsuspecting Gopher netminder for his eighth goal of the year.

Minnesota was hoping to find their way back at the end of the period, similar to the way they did on Friday. But this time, Grannon stood tall in the net and turned away all 10 shots Minnesota threw at him. There was a noticeable change in the team’s defense performance and goaltending with Grannon in the net. 

Lions Pull Away

Midway through the first period, Penn State made its money. They repeated that in the second period. Kirwan again rocketed a loose puck into the net for his ninth goal of the year, tying him for the team lead with freshman forward Aiden Fink. 

The rest of the period was uneventful aside from Minnesota taking a major penalty for hitting from the period. Penn State was not able to take advantage of the power play, and it was Minnesota who found the net with a shorthanded goal with just 30 seconds left in the period. 

Penn State holds Minnesota at arm’s length

Minnesota came into the final period with momentum from their shorthanded tally at the end of the second. They were buzzing and had plenty of time challenging Grannon in the Penn State zone. Eventually, a turnover led to a graduate transfer Jacques Bouquot breakaway, and he went top shelf to get the Lions’ advantage back to three. That is Bouquot’s eighth of the year. His scoring was unexpected when he transferred from Vermont. His prior career high was six goals during the 2021-2022 season for the Catamounts. He has already exceeded that mark before the halfway point of the season/ 

A Minnesota penalty gave Penn State a chance to truly ice the game in the second half of the period. They were unable to score. Minnesota was able to use the momentum to score a goal of their own, and with five minutes left found themselves very much in the game only down two. 

Penn State would get insurance quickly, however. A terrible turnover by the Minnesota goalie came right to sophomore defenseman Dylan Gratton who slid it right into the empty net, his second marker of the year. 

Minnesota would pull the goalie for the extra attack and also true a penalty, creating a six-on-four situation. Minnesota scored on the two-man advantage to cut the lead back to two. Junior forward Danny Dzhaniyev would flip one into the empty with half a second remaining. His sixth goal of the year led to the final score of 6-3 and a massive win for the Nittany Lions. 

Up Next

The Nittany Lions, now ranked No. 17 in the Pairwise rankings, will head to Wisconsin for a massive road series. The Badgers, No. 6 in the Pairwise, have spent time ranked No. 1 in the nation this season and are a formidable foe. The games will take place on Friday at 9:00 pm and Saturday at 8:00 pm. The game on Friday will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.

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