UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions remain home as part of a five-game homestand as they welcome Minnesota to Hockey Valley for a crucial Big Ten clash Friday and Saturday evening.
The teams split a series earlier this season in Minneapolis, with the Gophers earning a 3–2 win on night one before Penn State responded with a 2–1 victory. The programs have also split each of the last two series at Pegula Ice Arena.
Series Information
Dates: Friday, January 9 | Saturday, January 10
Place: Pegula Ice Arena – University Park, Pa.
TV: B1G Network (Friday & Saturday)
Time: 6 p.m.
This weekend marks the 55th and 56th all-time meetings between the two programs. Minnesota holds a 33-20-1 series edge, including a slim 12-11-1 advantage in Hockey Valley. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, the Gophers are 18-5-0 against Penn State, following a three-year stretch (2017–20) in which the Nittany Lions went 12-2-1.
Just six current Penn State players have scored against Minnesota, led by junior Reese Laubach (four goals, two assists in 12 games). Matt DiMarsico has added six points (3G, 3A) in 12 career games, while sophomore Charlie Cerrato owns five points (2G, 3A) in six contests. In the most recent meeting, sophomore goaltender Kevin Reidler stopped 23 of 24 shots — including the final 21 — to secure a 2–1 win.
Penn State remains one of the youngest teams in college hockey, ranking fourth-youngest in the Big Ten and 13th nationally.
Minnesota Notes
Minnesota opens the second half after a 3–3 exhibition tie at Bemidji State and enters the weekend at 8-10-1. The Gophers are without their top five scorers from last season, including Jimmy Snuggerud, now with the St. Louis Blues. Brodie Ziemer and captain Brody Lamb lead the offense, while freshman LJ Mooney returns to Pennsylvania after a strong close to the first half. Minnesota has struggled on the penalty kill, ranking near the bottom nationally, but leads the Big Ten in blocked shots.
No. 9 Penn State Notes
Senior defenseman Jarod Crespo earned B1G First Star of the Week honors after recording a third-period hat trick against RIT.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn State’s power play ranks 17th nationally at 23.5%, while its penalty kill leads the Big Ten at 88.2%.
Forward Aiden Fink has returned to form following an injury against Ohio State that left him sidelined for eight games. Against RIT, Fink had a goal and an assist.
Fink is now just two points shy of the century mark in just 85 total games as he looks to become the fastest Nittany Lion to 100 career points all-time, currently held by Alex Limoges who reached that milestone in his 102nd career game.
Sophomore forward Charlie Cerrato ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring with 24 points and received Big Ten Second Star of the Week last week against RIT.
Freshman forward Gavin McKenna returns from a standout World Junior Championship where the Whitehorse, Yukon native netted 14 points (four goals, 10 assists).
McKenna’s efforts helped Canada to a Bronze Medal with a 6-1-0 record.
McKenna became the third Nittany Lion to earn a medal at World Juniors joining Aarne Talvitie who captained Finland to the gold medal in 2019 and Evan Barratt who was on the losing side of that 2019 Gold Medal Game earning silver with Team USA.
Between the pipes, goaltenders Josh Fleming and Kevin Reidler have formed one of the Big Ten’s most reliable goaltending tandems.
Head coach Guy Gadowsky has rotated both goaltenders throughout the season Fleming has the slightly better numbers statistically posting a 5-3-0 record with a .931 save percentage and a 2.15 goals-against average to rank second in the Big Ten and 10th nationally for save percentage while his GAA places him third in the conference and tied for 16th in the nation.
Reidler has a 7-3-0 record with a .907 save percentage and a 3.00 goals-against average.
