Penn State 5, Minnesota 2: Fink Reaches 100

Aiden Fink became the ninth player in program history to reach the 100-point milestone with three assists in Saturday night’s 5-2 win over Minnesota. Penn State swept Minnesota in regulation for the first

time since 2019. The Nittany Lions secured a huge six points in the Big Ten standings this weekend and moved into third place in the conference.

First Period

After being shut out on Friday, Minnesota struck first when Brodie Ziemer raced in on a breakaway after Cade Christenson was unable to hold the puck in the zone. The Gophers took an early 1-0 lead and were looking for more.

Some unforced errors by Penn State allowed Minnesota some extra zone time, but Gavin McKenna gained possession of the puck and pushed a great pass to Braedon Ford, who got a step behind the Minnesota defense. Ford backhanded home the tying goal five-hole through Nathan Airey, his first goal of the season and second of his career:

The Nittany Lions recorded three shots on their first power play of the game, and Dane Dowiak had a great chance on the doorstep, but Airey made a pad save to keep the game tied. Soon after, Nick Fascia was called for high-sticking to put Minnesota on its first power play. The Gophers looked dangerous for stretches of the power play, but the Lions got the kill.

Matt DiMarsico gave Penn State its first lead of the night when he backhanded home a rebound off Aiden Fink’s shot:

The Misa line brought another wave of offensive zone pressure in the final minute of the period. Ben Schoen fired a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that got stopped by Airey, but Lev Katzin was in perfect position to bat home the rebound uncontested for his first career goal:

Penn State led 3-1 after the first period with a 14-8 shots advantage.

Second Period

Luca Di Pasquo replaced Nathan Airey in net for Minnesota to start the second period. Another puck handling error led to a Minnesota early in the second period, and Javon Moore fired home a one-timer on a 2-on-1 to cut Penn State’s lead to 3-2. The Gophers fed off the momentum and started to turn the tide of the game with their forecheck. There were some tense moments with Penn State turning the puck over multiple times in the defensive zone, but Minnesota could not capitalize.

Penn State drew a power play after Matt DiMarsico was boarded by John Mittlestadt. DiMarsico appeared to give the Lions a 4-2 lead, but the goal was overturned for goaltender interference after a review. The power play generated numerous quality chances but could not score.

Braedon Ford was called for hooking and got injured on the same play, resulting in a Minnesota power play and Penn State playing the rest of the night down a skater. Kevin Reidler made three huge saves to preserve the lead. Minnesota tilted the ice toward the end of the period, but the Nittany Lions held a 3-2 lead entering the third period.

Third Period

Both teams played a more cautious style in the first half of the third period. Minnesota had a chance to tie the game with the net yawning, but Dane Dowiak batted the puck out of harm’s way just in time.

Penn State drew a power play with eight minutes left and a chance to score an insurance goal. The Nittany Lions could not capitalize and nearly surrendered the tying goal shortly afterward when Beckett Hendrickson was left wide open in front of the net, but Reidler made a huge save to hold the lead.

With Minnesota all over Penn State in the offensive zone, the Nittany Lions were able to exit the zone, and Aiden Fink fed the puck up ice to Jackson Smith. Smith strolled into the offensive zone and ripped home a wrist shot to extend the lead to 4-2:

Aiden Fink became the 9th player in Penn State history to record 100 career points with the assist on Smith’s goal. He reached the 100-point mark in his 87th game, making him the fastest Nittany Lion to reach the milestone.

JJ Wiebusch took a bad penalty after Minnesota pulled Di Pasquo for the extra attacker, giving the Gophers a chance to narrow the deficit in the final two minutes. The defense tightened up a bit around Reidler, and Dane Dowiak eventually iced the game with an empty netter to seal a 5-2 win and a huge sweep of the Gophers.

Scoring Summary

First Period

MINN: Brodie Ziemer (13)- Unassisted- 5v5- 3:27
PSU: Braedon Ford (1)- Gavin McKenna (15), Mac Gadowsky (7)- 5v5- 5:33
PSU: Matt DiMarsico (10)- Aiden Fink (9), Nolan Collins (3)- 5v5- 17:15
PSU: Lev Katzin (1)- Ben Schoen (5), Luke Misa (4)- 5v5- 19:44

Second Period

MINN: Javon Moore (5)- Teddy Townsend (1), Mason Moe (4)- 5v5- 2:28

Third Period

PSU: Jackson Smith (5)- Aiden Fink (10), Luke Misa (5)- 5v5- 17:35
PSU: Dane Dowiak (5)- Aiden Fink (11), Jarod Crespo (4)- EN- 19:49

Shots By Period

MINN: 8-16-10-34
PSU: 14-16-13-43

Takeaways

Puck Handling- Minnesota’s forecheck was all over Penn State, but the Nittany Lions did themselves no favors by turning the puck over too many times to count. Defense needs to tighten up quickly.
Depth Scoring- Braedon Ford and Lev Katzin each scored their first goal of the season in the first period to help give Penn State a 3-1 cushion. With some of the top guns relatively quiet in goal scoring, the Lions are getting some help from their depth pieces.
Goaltending- Kevin Reidler needed to stand on his head at several moments of this game with the defense out of sorts. He made 32 saves on 34 Minnesota shots. Penn State has two really good goaltenders to lean on, which is a great problem to have.
Injuries- Braedon Ford exited the game with an injury, and Charlie Cerrato, Shea Van Olm, and Casey Aman were all scratched with injuries as well. Penn State has depth, but the injuries are starting to pile up.
How Sweep It Is- Penn State swept Minnesota for the first time in six years and secured its second regulation sweep in Big Ten play thus far. Every point is important.
Bread and Butter- Penn State rolled up 40 shots in both games in the series, right in line with the “any shot is a good shot” philosophy we have come to expect from this squad. More impressively, they did it without their No. 1 center for five of six periods this weekend.
Second Line Effort- The McKenna-Dowiak-Fink line was noticeably improved at both ends of the ice this weekend. McKenna and Fink stepped up defensively and looked dangerous on offense on what felt like every shift.

Standings and Such

Penn State is now up to third in the Big Ten standings after Michigan State fell to Ohio State in regulation earlier today. The Nittany Lions have a slim one-point lead over the Spartans as we near the halfway mark of conference play. Michigan leads Notre Dame in the third period at the time of posting.

The Nittany Lions remain at No. 8 in the NPI following tonight’s win. No movement from the start of the weekend, but that certainly does not diminish the significance of these two wins.