Penn State hockey's season ends with Big Ten semifinal loss to Minnesota
The Penn State Nittany Lions and Minnesota Golden Gophers found themselves in what amounted to a prolonged staring contest in the third period of Saturday night’s Big Ten semifinal.
The score tied at 2-2, both teams spent the first 17 minutes and change launching probing attacks. Each side dared the other to be the first to make a mistake.
With 2:39 remaining in regulation, the Nittany Lions finally blinked.
Penn State turned the puck over near its own blue line, leaving Minnesota’s Blake McLaughlin and Sammy Walker in a 2-on-1 situation. McLaughlin fed Walker on the doorstep, and he tapped it into an open net.
It was only Minnesota’s fourth shot of the period, but it proved lethal. The top-seeded Gophers claimed the win by that 3-2 scoreline, advancing to next week’s Big Ten title game.
For the Nittany Lions, it was a crushing way to end the season.
Penn State won’t factor into the NCAA Tournament discussions in 2021-22, its 17-20-1 overall record insufficient to warrant at-large consideration.
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This game started poorly for the Nittany Lions, who found themselves unable to break out of their defensive zone for much of the first period.
The Gophers hounded them relentlessly on the forecheck and were rewarded for their efforts with a pair of first-period goals.
The first came from Ben Meyers. He took up a position in front of Penn State netminder Liam Souliere and redirected a shot from the point into the back of the net to put the hosts up 1-0 with 7:56 remaining in the frame.
Simon Mack took a penalty with one second on the clock in the first, sending Minnesota on the power play to start the second period.
Minnesota cashed in — again thanks to a net-front presence. A point shot from Jackson LaCombe found its way through a screened Souliere, and the Gophers had a 2-0 lead.
At that point, it seemed like the Nittany Lions were in danger of being blown out. The Gophers controlled the first period easily, outskating Penn State, which never really got its attack in gear.
But Penn State gradually grabbed a hold of the game as the second period went on.
Tyler Paquette went top-shelf with 5:02 left in the second to get Penn State on the board.
Then came another special contribution from freshman Dylan Lugris. Lugris joined the Nittany Lions midseason and scored the goal last weekend against Ohio State that send PSU to this semifinal game.
He lit the lamp again Saturday night, finding space in the slot on the power play and shoveling the equalizing goal past Minnesota netminder Justen Close.
That set the stage for the tense third period. The Nittany Lions had their chances, including a golden chance from Kevin Wall from the lower left circle that he sent wide of the cage just before Minnesota’s goal.
Ultimately, though, Penn State fell shy of a second-consecutive upset, thanks to the late mistake.
