Feb. 19th, 2022: Senior forward Grant Cruikshank and Junior forward Ben Meyers lead the way with a combined five points between the two in the 6-4 comeback win over Penn State.
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Comebacks are sweet, but this one felt a little sweeter. Coming into the series the Gophers have not won a game at Pegula Ice Arena in five years. They now leave with their first sweep on the road against Penn State since 2017.
Penn State got off to an early lead with the goal from freshman Danny Dzhaniyev just a hair over two minutes into the game. Later at the 10:33 mark, Ryan Kirwan scored his second of the series giving the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead. Just 14 seconds later Penn State scored one more time. Junior Connor MacEachern beat Justen Close over the glove giving Penn State a 3-0 lead heading into the second period.
The Gophers who now improved to 21-11-0 overall and 16-6-0 in the Big Ten started their comeback with sophomore defenseman Mike Koster. Starting the play on the left side, Koster walked by one Penn State defender then put a move on another dropping below the goal-line where he then tucked one behind Oskar Autio bringing the Gophers within two goals.
Then senior forward and Anaheim Ducks prospect Blake McLaughlin picked up his 12th goal of the season at the 7:33 mark. The Grand Rapids Minnesota native got the Gophers within one goal off the great pass by Ben Brinkman. McLaughlin’s one-timer has him tied for first on the team with 12 goals.
Hereeee's Blakeeee! pic.twitter.com/W9BRdaljQS
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) February 20, 2022
But just over two minutes later the Rochester Minnesota native Xander Lamppa, extended Penn State’s lead to 4-2. Lamppa’s shot was from a rough angle inside the near post. The sophomore’s second of the year went high and over the right shoulder of Gophers goaltender Justen Close.
When the three Olympians were off in China they witnessed their Gophers rattle off four in a row, getting contributions from everyone in the lineup. But in Ben Meyers’s first game back with the Gophers in over two weeks he added an assist on Grant Cruikshank’s first goal of the evening. Meyers finished with two more assists for three points in the Gophers comeback. From Meyers to Koster to Cruikshank, the tic-tac-toe goal brought the Gophers back within one.
Minnesota’s second period ambush came after trailing 3-0 in the first. The Gophers scored three in the second but allowed one and headed into the third period down by one goal.
The Gophers continued the pressure in the third holding the Nittany Lions to 11 minutes without a shot. Before Penn State’s first shot of the third period, the Gophers added two goals giving them a 5-4 lead. Freshman Aaron Huglen continued his hot streak after he caught a pass from Ben Meyers on the power play, ripping his sixth goal of the year past Autio who finished with 28 saves in the loss.
Just over three minutes later, Jackson LaCombe gave the Gophers their first lead of the game after Bryce Brodzinski found Sammy Walker who gave it to LaCombe for the blast. The Anaheim Ducks prospect had three shots on goal on his nine attempted shots. LaCombe now carries one goal and ten assists for 11 points in his last ten games.
Ah the hockey and one!
Comber gets the goal AND we get the power play!
Oh, and the lead! pic.twitter.com/eS14gR66Na
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) February 20, 2022
Later with 40 seconds to go, Cruikshank got his second off the game on Meyers’ third assist. Cruikshank’s two goal effort gives him six goals and six assists in 26 games for the Gophers. Meyers now carries 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points in just 27 games for the Gophers. He ranks tied for first on the team in points.
“We just had a bad start, and then we played like we can play the last two periods. We needed a couple of goals to get our juice going,” Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said. “We had contributions from a lot of guys in our lineup.”
Matthew Knies attended the game and pregame warmups but did not suit up for the Gophers. Jaxon Nelson and Chaz Lucius both remained out with lower-body injuries. The Gophers return home to host a border battle between Wisconsin and Minnesota on Friday at 8:00 pm and Saturday at 7:00 pm.