Penn State led three different times on Saturday night, but LJ Mooney scored the game-winning goal 17 seconds into overtime to lift Minnesota to a 4-3 win. The Nittany Lions came out of the gates looking sharp but ran out of steam through the middle of the game and could not get the lead back.
First Period
Penn State learned from its slow start last night and drew first blood almost immediately. Jackson Smith made a great play on the puck in the defensive zone to spring himself and Nolan Collins on a 2-on-1 rush
the other way. Collins scored the first goal of his career off an excellent pass by Smith for a 1-0 lead:
A failed Penn State power play gave Minnesota momentum, and Tanner Ludtke scored his first goal of the year on a wrist shot that found a gap in Josh Fleming’s blocker side to even the game at 1. Penn State found an answer in the later stages of the period when Marco Mignosa picked up the loose change off a Jackson Smith point shot to score his first career goal:
A bad turnover by Jackson Smith in the defensive zone yielded a wide open chance for Christian Humphreys, and the sophomore made no mistake beating Fleming on the blocker side to tie the game at 2.
Second Period
Penn State pressured hard early in the second period, and Dane Dowiak lit the lamp on a set play when he backhanded home a rebound off Jackson Smith’s shot from the point to give Penn State its third lead of the evening.
The Nittany Lions continued to pressure but could not extend the lead. A sloppy turnover in the neutral zone by Justin Poirier left tired skaters on the ice, and Axel Lofgren found a wide open Christian Humphreys, who scored his second goal of the night on a one-timer from the left faceoff circle. Josh Fleming had no chance to stop it, and Minnesota tied the game at 3.
The game turned on its head when Mac Gadowsky was called for a game misconduct for head contact and handed Minnesota a five-minute power play. Penn State managed to survive three minutes of the kill until the end of the period, and the teams went to the locker room tied at 3.
Third Period
Penn State killed off the rest of the power play, and chances were harder to come by as the period went on. Both teams combined for just 10 shots on goal in the third. The teams seemed content to let the game go to overtime in the final minutes, and for the second straight night, both teams picked up a point.
Overtime
Penn State iced two defensemen at the start of overtime, but somehow LJ Mooney still got behind the defense to tuck home the game-winning goal 17 seconds into overtime.
Scoring Summary
First Period
- PSU: Nolan Collins (1)- Jackson Smith (6), Shea Van Olm (2)- 5v5- 1:21
- MINN: Tanner Ludtke (1)- Tate Pritchard (2)- 5v5- 5:03
- PSU: Marco Mignosa (1)- Jackson Smith (7), Kaden Pitre (4)- 5v5- 14:49
- MINN: Christian Humphreys (4)- Tanner Ludtke (2), Javon Moore (2)- 5v5- 16:35
Second Period
- PSU: Dane Dowiak (3)- Jackson Smith (8), Justin Poirier (6)- 5v5- 3:25
- MINN: Christian Humphreys (5)- Axel Lofgren (3), Tanner Ludtke (3)- 5v5- 7:07
Overtime
- MINN: LJ Mooney (1)- Tanner Hendricks (2)- 3v3- 0:17
Shots By Period
- PSU: 13-9-6-0-28
- MINN: 9-15-4-1-29
Random Observations
- Unstructured- Penn State has had the same game plan for most of its history, and it somehow still amazes me that they look unstructured compared to other Big Ten teams once conference play starts. Minnesota was much more organized breaking out through the neutral zone and was strong cycling the puck. Penn State does not seem to have any chemistry or rhythm with its passing and is too reliant on odd-man rushes to make clean zone entries. Until this changes, Big Ten play is going to be a slog.
- Jackson Smith- Smith had a hat trick of assists and generally played a great game offensively. He had a horrible turnover that immediately led to a Minnesota goal. When you are on the ice as long as he is most nights, mistakes are bound to happen, but you have to take the good with the bad.
- A Point Is A Point- Collecting points in Big Ten play on the road is hard, and Penn State picked up three this weekend. It would have been even better to get a win, but with how things looked just over a week ago, three points is hardly the worst outcome.
- Bad Penalties- Mac Gadowsky committed a dumb penalty in the second period that ejected him from the game and forced the penalty kill to hold off Minnesota for five minutes. Fortunately, Minnesota did not score on the power play, but Penn State’s attack struggled for the rest of the game without one of their best puck-moving defensemen. Can’t have boneheaded plays like that.
Standings & Such
Wisconsin again ran Notre Dame out of the building in a 9-1 blowout, and Ohio State upset Michigan 5-2 on home ice. Penn State’s three points puts them in the meaty middle of the conference standings for now, but there is a lot of hockey to be played.
What’s Next
Penn State returns back to Pegula Ice Arena for the first Big Ten home series of the season against Notre Dame next Friday and Saturday.
