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Penn State Hockey, Penn State Sports
No. 15 Penn State men’s hockey (18-11-4, 9-10-4 Big Ten) knocked off No. 2 Minnesota (23-7-5, 14-5-4 Big Ten) 4-3 in overtime on Friday night in front of a raucous “Wear White” game crowd at Pegula Ice Arena to kick off the pivotal final series of the regular season.

Like the Nittany Lions’ game one against then-No. 1 Michigan State a week ago, Friday’s contest needed extra time to decide a winner. After Minnesota opened the scoring just minutes in, Penn State responded with a pair of goals in the second period to take the lead. The Nittany Lions took the lead early in the third, but Minnesota responded with a goal that eventually sent this one to an extra frame.

In overtime, Simon Mack ended the game with a wicked wrist shot to secure Guy Gadowsky’s 400th career win and put the Nittany Lions in prime position for an NCAA tournament bid.

How It Happened
Minnesota dominated the opening minutes and capitalized just three minutes in. Arsenii Sergeev saved an initial shot attempt from Beckett Hendrickson, but the rebound kicked to Mason Nevers in the slot, and the forward beat Sergeev glove side giving the Golden Gophers an early lead.

The Nittany Lions began to hit their stride as the game reached its first media stoppage. After getting outshot 6-0 early, Penn State flipped the script and rattled off a 6-3 advantage in shots after Nevers’ goal.

After extended periods of back-and-forth hockey, Penn State pressured former Nittany Lion Liam Souliere with multiple shots as the opening period came to a close. However, Minnesota’s netminder held strong, and the teams returned to the dressing room with Minnesota leading 1-0.

Just 36 seconds into the second period, Penn State headed to the penalty kill as Carter Schade took a slashing penalty in front of Sergeev. The Nittany Lions delivered a strong effort on the kill and notched a scoring chance courtesy of Aiden Fink before Schade exited the box.

At 6:40, Penn State went back down one skater as Jarod Crespo took a defensive zone holding penalty to send Minnesota back to the power play. Once again, the Nittany Lions delivered, and Crespo exited the box to return to five-on-five hockey.

Shortly after the successful penalty kill, Matt DiMarsico sent Pegula Ice Arena into a frenzy. The forward picked up a loose puck at the blue line and dashed into the slot, where he fired a snap shot past Souliere and inside the far post to tie the game at one goal apiece at 10:08. Aiden Fink and Jimmy Dowd Jr. recorded the assists.

Forty-seven seconds later, Penn State struck again. Souliere made the initial save on a shot by Nicholas DeGraves, but the puck popped in the air and landed in front of JJ Wiebusch, who deposited a shot past the out-of-position Minnesota goalie to give Penn State the lead 2-1.

Penn State continued to hold momentum and dominate play, nearly leading to its third goal of the period. After Souilere saved a shot by Fink, Aman nearly snuck the rebound past the goalie who was sprawled out in the crease, but he managed to find the puck and cover for a stoppage.

For the third time in the period, Penn State went back to the penalty kill after Dane Dowiak took an offensive zone hooking penalty at 16:03. Just before the penalty expired, Minnesota solved the Nittany Lions and Sergeev as Connor Kurth beat the goaltender on a wrist shot from the slot to tie the game 2-2.

Minnesota continued to pressure Penn State before the period came to a close, and a few strong saves by Sergeev allowed Penn State to escape with the game tied.

Much like the end of the second period, Minnesota came out of the locker room for the final period of regulation firing. Penn State’s defense struggled to clear the puck, and some extended zone time led to scoring chances that Sergeev swallowed up.

At 6:37, Penn State headed to the power play for the first time after Minnesota’s star forward Jimmy Snuggerud took a defensive zone hooking penalty. Despite some good looks from both units, Minnesota held and killed the penalty.

Seconds after Snuggerud exited the box, the Golden Gophers went back down a man as Luke Mittlestadt sat for tripping. This time, Penn State converted and pandemonium ensued. Parked near the point with the puck, Danny Dzhaniyev fired a wrist shot through traffic and over Souliere’s glove to give Penn State a 3-2 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

Just after the goal, Penn State nearly doubled its lead after Charlie Cerrato was sprung on a breakaway. The forward opted for a quick snapshot, but Souliere made the save with his right pad to keep his team’s deficit at one.

With eight minutes remaining, Snuggerud evened the score at 3-3 on a wrist shot from the left circle that snuck past Sergeev.

Searching for the go-ahead goal, Penn State suffocated Minnesota in its zone as the final period of regulation reached its final minutes. Chances from the Nittany Lions’ first and fourth lines were promising, but key blocks and pass breakups by the Golden Gophers’ defense kept the score even at three.

After a late burst by Minnesota, the final horn sounded and the teams headed to three-on-three overtime.

Both teams controlled the puck in the opening two minutes of overtime, and DiMarsico finally broke the ice with a weak wrist shot that Souliere saved with his glove. Penn State continued to apply pressure on the Minnesota netminder, but he kept the game going with a few strong saves.

With under two minutes to go, the captain ended it. Mack rushed into the Minnesota zone and fired a wrist shot off of the far post and into the back of the net to win the game 4-3.
Takeaways
The minute fans took their seats pregame, one could feel the energy throughout the arena for Penn State’s annual ‘Wear White’ game against one of the best teams in the nation. From the opening faceoff to the final horn, fans directly impacted the game and kept Penn State in the game en route to the win.
For the first time since leaving the Nittany Lions for the Golden Gophers, Souliere returned to Pegula Ice Arena and was met with a wall of jeers as he was introduced pregame. Amid a career season in Minneapolis, the netminder let in four goals on 32 shots against as Penn State’s offense played one of its best games all year.
Coming in, Penn State sat on the NCAA Tournament bubble as it was mathematically tied for the final at-large bid to the dance. With its overtime win, Penn State sits in a fantastic position to punching its ticket into the tournament.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions play their final game of the regular season against the Golden Gophers at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Pegula. The game will be streamed on the Fox Sports app.