No. 8 Penn State traveled to the twin cities to play No. 1 Minnesota in a battle for first place in the Big Ten standings.
Penn State was the first team to light the lamp 6:55 into the first period when senior left wing Connor McMenamin ripped a shot past Minnesota goalie Justin Close via a pass from freshmen left defenseman Carter Shade. Penn State’s starting goalie, junior Liam Souliere stood tall in the crease by saving all four shots on goal from the Golden Golfers. The Nittany Lions left the first period with all the momentum with nine shots on goal.
Minnesota came to life at 3:13 in the second period when Byrce Brodzinski forced a shot past Souliere to make the game even at one.
Penn State would gain the game’s first power play at 12:52 via slashing from Jimmy Snuggerud but couldn’t capitalize. Souliere continued to knock down shots even as Minnesota berated him with shots from all around the attacking zone. Minnesota got its chance at a power play with 2:16 left in the period via hooking from Christian Sarlo but also couldn’t capitalize.
Penn State came out swinging in the third period. Connor MacEachern sniped a goal past Close and put Penn State up 3-1 at the 47-seconds in. Minnesota snapped back, however, with a goal from Aaron Huglen, chipping away at Penn State’s lead and making the score 3-2 5:26 into the third period. But Penn State slammed the door to complete the upset with an empty net goal from Ashton Calder at with 19 seconds left.
It’s the second time in the past week Penn State has beaten a No. 1 ranked team. It upset Michigan last Friday at Pegula Ice Arena.
Following the upset, Penn State stays in first place within the Big Ten standings with a 4-1 record in conference play and a combined record of 10-1-0 overall. Liam Souliere moves on with the win and finishes the game 7-1-0, blocking 24 shots on 26 total shots on goal from the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Penn State plays Friday night back at Minnesota to conclude its two-game set.
