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Penn State men’s hockey players celebrate a goal scored at the game against Michigan in Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions beat the Wolverines 4-2.
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Penn State men’s hockey players celebrate a goal scored at the game against Michigan in Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions beat the Wolverines 4-2.
Coming off its second upset loss of the season, Penn State took the ice in Minneapolis with one last chance to prove its top-5 ranking before its extended holiday break picked back up in January.
The Nittany Lions were winners of the rematch, defeating Minnesota 2-1 on Saturday night.
Despite a two-goal lead at the end of the first period Friday night, the blue and white were outplayed through the opening frame, and it needed a much better start to its rematch if it wanted a chance at a series split.
While Penn State wasn’t perfect through the first 20 minutes, the matchup was much more of a back-and-forth battle at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Neither team gained much traction and resorted to a series of dump-and-chase attempts, with little success.
About nine minutes in, the game saw its first penalty, after Penn State’s Carter Schade was called for cross-checking. Despite its last in the Big Ten power play percentage of 17%, the Golden Gophers didn’t take long to capitalize on the man-advantage, and just like Friday night, were the ones to strike first.
Freshman forward LJ Mooney found Tanner Ludtke near the right faceoff dot, and the junior snuck one backdoor on goaltender Kevin Reidler for the game’s first score.
Despite once again trailing early, the Nittany Lions kept up with the Golden Gophers through the last 10 minutes of the period, and outshot their opponent 8-4 heading into the first intermission.
The second period started like much like the first, with both teams fighting for a chance to gain their footing.
About halfway through the period, the blue and white’s offense found a spark, and had some of its best looks of the series. When Minnesota defenseman Leo Gruba was sent to the box for roughing, the Nittany Lions had a prime opportunity to tie the contest up, and they quickly capitalized.
About 40 seconds into the man-advantage, freshman Gavin McKenna found Penn State’s point-leader Charlie Cerrato, who rattled off a one-timer past netminder Nathan Airey to even the score with about six minutes to play in the period.
Tensions started to rise after juniors Reese Laubach and Matt DiMarsico took down Minnesota captain Luke Mittelstadt along the boards, and the crowd in Minneapolis wasn’t pleased.
The referees quickly determined there was no penalty on the play, but that didn’t stop multiple Nittany Lions and Golden Gophers from exchanging some heated words.
With about six seconds remaining in the frame, Minnesota was caught with too many men on the ice, and the blue and white were awarded a 1:54-second power play to start the last period as the clock wound down.
For a unit tied for second-to-last in the Big Ten, Penn State’s power play finally seemed to click, and once again, capitalized on its man-advantage opportunity.
It was freshman Jackson Smith who once-again buried a one-timer from the point, this time off a cross-ice feed from forward JJ Wiebusch, and the Nittany Lions earned their first lead of the night.
While trying to maintain its lead, the blue and white faced a barrage of shots from Minnesota’s offense, but Reidler found another level of his game, and made some stellar saves to keep his team in front.
Despite the Golden Gophers coming inches from the tie with an extra attacker in the remaining seconds of the game, the blue and white fended off the late attack, and earned the series split with a 2-1 victory.
Penn State begins its six-week break, and will be back in action in Rochester, New York, at the Gene Polisseni Center to take on RIT at 7 p.m. Jan. 3.
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