MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Penn State had plenty of opportunities to leave Minnesota with a victory Saturday night, but three separate leads weren’t enough as the No. 18 Golden Gophers rallied for a 4-3 overtime win at 3M Arena.
LJ Mooney scored just 17 seconds into overtime, sending Penn State to its third consecutive overtime contest and leaving the Nittany Lions with one point in the Big Ten standings.
Penn State (2-5-1, 0-1-1 Big Ten) and Minnesota (3-3-2, 1-0-1) each collected three conference points over the weekend, but Saturday’s result was particularly frustrating for a Nittany Lions team that never trailed until the final goal.
Sophomore defenseman Jackson Smith continued his impressive offensive start with a career-high three assists, factoring into all three Penn State goals.
The Nittany Lions wasted little time establishing themselves offensively.
Just 1:21 into the opening period, Smith helped create an odd-man rush before delivering a pass to fellow sophomore defenseman Nolan Collins, who buried a one-timer past Minnesota goaltender Melvin Strahl for a 1-0 advantage.
However, Minnesota answered less than four minutes later.
Tanner Ludtke emerged from the penalty box following an unsuccessful Penn State power play and immediately joined a 2-on-1 rush. Tate Pritchard, who blocked a Smith shot to create the opportunity, delivered the puck to Ludtke for the equalizer at 5:03.
Penn State continued generating opportunities and reclaimed the lead at 14:49.
Smith fired a shot toward the net that freshman Kaden Pitre redirected into the path of Marco Mignosa. The freshman finished from the backdoor for his first collegiate goal, giving Penn State a 2-1 advantage.
Once again, the lead didn’t last.
Christian Humphreys found himself open in the slot and converted a feed from Ludtke at 16:35, sending both teams into the first intermission tied at two.
The second period followed a familiar script.
Penn State regained the lead at 3:26 after winning an offensive-zone faceoff. Smith put a shot on goal, and senior captain Dane Dowiak crashed the net to collect the rebound and slip it past Strahl.
Justin Poirier also assisted on the goal, extending his point streak to five games.
But Minnesota had another answer.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Axel Lofgren worked through the middle of the ice before finding Humphreys, who scored his second goal of the evening at 7:07 to tie the game at three.
From there, Minnesota began applying pressure, particularly after Penn State found itself in penalty trouble.
Caeden Herrington received an interference penalty midway through the second period before Mac Gadowsky was assessed a five-minute major for contact to the head with 3:21 remaining.
The Nittany Lions survived both penalties, including the extended Minnesota power play that carried into the third period.
Penn State finished the weekend a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill and has now killed off nine consecutive opposing power plays.
Despite the defensive effort, the Nittany Lions struggled to regain their offensive rhythm.
Minnesota held a 15-9 advantage in second-period shots, although Penn State responded by outshooting the Gophers 6-4 in the third.
Neither team could break the deadlock in the final 20 minutes, setting up another overtime appearance for Penn State.
Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, the extra session barely got started.
Mooney took a feed from Tanner Henricks, attacked the slot and slipped the puck under sophomore goaltender Josh Fleming’s arm to secure the victory.
Fleming finished with 25 saves, while Strahl also stopped 25 shots. Minnesota held a narrow 29-28 advantage in shots on goal.
Smith’s three-assist performance marked his second multi-point game of the season and ninth of his career.
For Penn State, the weekend demonstrated an ability to compete with a ranked Big Ten opponent, but Saturday also exposed the difficulty of finishing games.
Three times the Nittany Lions put themselves in position to win. Three times Minnesota answered.
And in overtime, the Gophers needed only 17 seconds to make Penn State pay.
