Penn State hockey blows three-goal lead, falls to No. 5 Minnesota

Penn State Nittany Lions hockey blew a three-goal advantage, falling to No. 5 Minnesota 6-4 at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday.

The loss moves the Nittany Lions to 14-17-1 overall and 5-16-1 in the Big Ten.

Defining Moment

There was still a mountain to climb for the Gophers, but the dynamic of this game changed completely as soon as Minnesota netted its first goal.

Mike Koster scored with 15:21 on the clock in the second period, and, from that point on, the Gophers skated circles around the Nittany Lions.

They outshot Penn State 27-13 in the final two periods, lighting the lamp six times.

Penn State forward Ryan Kirwan said he couldn’t feel the momentum change on the bench, but he could sense that the Nittany Lions were being outworked.

That’s not something the underdog Nittany Lions could afford against this kind of opponent, and the results speak for themselves.

One Big Thing

Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky has spent much of this season focusing on his team’s culture and the way it translates onto the ice.

Penn State teams of the past might not have taken their foot off the gas after the first period as this group did. Mental fragility has been a frequent lament for Gadowsky and the Nittany Lions showcased it there.

What is talked about less, though, is just how outmanned Penn State is against some of its Big Ten competition.

The Nittany Lions have always done more with less talent under Gadowsky. When all the other factors click into place, you can win that way. For whatever reason, those factors haven’t clicked for this Penn State team. And the result is a 5-16-1 Big Ten record.

There were 13 NHL Draft picks among Minnesota’s 19 skaters on Saturday. Penn State fielded just two.

Certainly, citing NHL Draftees is an imperfect way of measuring the level of skill on a college hockey team, but it can provide a baseline. The eye test backed it up. The Gophers are bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled than the Nittany Lions. They folded two Olympians back into their lineup Saturday after their returned from Beijing.

NHL prestige and elite skill isn’t a prerequisite to winning in college hockey. But, if you don’t have it, you’d better get everything else right, and Penn State hasn’t done that in 2021-22.

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Penn State vs Minnesota Goal-scorers

Penn State: Danny Dzhaniyev (6) from Tyler Gratton (3) and Dylan Lugris (1) at 2:01 of the first period

PSU: Ryan Kirwan (11) from Ben Schoen (10) and Kevin Wall (13) at 10:33 of the first period

PSU: Tyler Paquette (9) from Connor MacEachern (11) and Connor McMenamin (8) at 10:47 of the first period

Minnesota: Mike Koster (2) from Tristan Broz (3) and Ben Brinkman (6) at 4:39 of the second period

UM: Blake McLaughlin (12) from Ben Brinkman (7) and Sammy Walker (12) at 12:27 of the second period

PSU: Xander Lamppa (2) from Carson Dyck (9) and Christian Berger (11) at 14:53 of the second period

UM: Grant Cruikshank (5) from Mike Koster (9) and Ben Meyers (16) at 17:27 of the second period

Minn: Aaron Huglen (6) from Ben Meyers (17) and Jackson LaCombe (19) at 4:41 of the third period (PPG)

UM: Jackson LaCombe (2) from Sammy Walker (13) and Bryce Brodzinski (12) at 8:27 of the third period

UM: Grant Cruikshank (6) from Ben Meyers (18) at 19:21 of the third period (ENG)

Up Next

The Nittany Lions travel to Michigan State next weekend to close out the regular season.