Gophers Host Penn State Feb 9 & 10 2024

Ignatius L Hoops

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 9, 2015
Messages
10,435
Reaction score
3,295
Points
113

HISTORY WITH THE NITTANY LIONS
Minnesota and Penn State first met with the inception of the Big Ten Conference in 2014 and the Gophers lead the all-time series with a record of 25-18-1 (.580). All 44 meetings between the two teams have come with at least one team ranked and this series is no different as the Maroon and Gold are ranked No. 8/9 in the national polls. Minnesota and PSU are both 6-6-0 in the last 12 regular-season meetings at 3M Arena at Mariucci, including a split in four of the last six series in Minneapolis. The Gophers have won the final game of each home series versus the Nittany Lions in six of the past seven matchups. Earlier this season, Minnesota won the opener on the road at PSU, 4-1, before falling in the finale, 6-3. Rhett Pitlick paced the Gophers with five points on two goals and three assists against the Nittany Lions, while Bryce Brodzinski, Luke Mittelstadt, and Jimmy Snuggerud all had points in both games of the weekend series back in December.

INSIDE LOOK AT PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions swept a home series with Ohio State in their last action in late January, winning both games by a 4-3 scoreline, and come to 3M Arena at Mariucci following their bye week. The wins over OSU snapped a six-game losing streak in Big Ten play as Penn State sits in sixth place in the league standings. Despite holding the 10th-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 3.6 goals per game, the team is 59th in the country defensively as it allows 3.7 goals per game to the opposition. Aiden Fink remains one of the NCAA's top scoring freshmen and leads the Nittany Lions with 32 points, aided by eight power-play tallies, and is averaging a point per game in B1G outings. Three other PSU players have reached the 20-point mark this year, while Liam Souliere is back to being the full-time netminder. The senior has registered a 9-7-1 record in goal behind a 3.53 goals-against average and a .862 save percentage.
 



No TV?

Edit: FS1 on Friday and BTN on Saturday.
 
Last edited:



Gophers give PSU almost 4 minutes of 5 on 3 and Justen Close saves their asses to keep it 2-0 after two. Barring a brutal collapse, 3 points on the board.
 

Only thing that made that game competitive was a slew of dumb gopher penalties, otherwise that was a dominant performance. After a brutal Friday night in East Lansing, Close has strung together 4 excellent starts.
 

Killing the three dumb penalties near the end of the second period was a fun way to keep the crowd in the game
 

Only thing that made that game competitive was a slew of dumb gopher penalties, otherwise that was a dominant performance. After a brutal Friday night in East Lansing, Close has strung together 4 excellent starts.
Almost missed the beginning of the game cuz the broke down car on the 35 off ramp at university.
 



Killing the three dumb penalties near the end of the second period was a fun way to keep the crowd in the game
Those were dumb penalties for sure. I have a hunch that this was discussed in the locker room between the 2nd and 3rd.
 

Thomas out of the lineup tonight. Let's hope it's a short-term issue.
 


Fish and Begley in a Gopher top 6. Woof. Thank goodness they're playing a crappy team.
 




Close has stepped up. Now all the other seniors need to. And most importantly Snuggerud needs to get off his cold streak.
 

Fish still gives me heartburn, and obviously Begley/Rud should be kept off the ice other than emergencies like today, but overall there’s no denying that this team defensively is night and day better than they were in the first half. Bob’s teams here have typically stepped it up in the second half and this year appears to be following the trend.
 

Anyone know the story behind why players were spending extra time in the handshake line congratulating one of the linesmen? Close gave him a hug.
 

Close made 30 saves for his second consecutive shutout as the Gophers beat Penn State 3-0 in front of 10,560. The shutout, which followed his 36-save blanking on Friday, was the fourth of the season for Close and 13th of his career, moving him into a tie for the school record with Kellen Briggs and Adam Wilcox..

The three goals — plus four pipes hit by Penn State shooters — were more than enough to stave off the Nittany Lions in the finale of a series that drew a total attendance of 21,310, the most in Mariucci history. Penn State had been shut out only once this season before arriving in Minneapolis..


 



Good win tonight. Solid series. I'm happy.

Loved the Lamb Huglen Kurth line this weekend.

Hoping Thomas is back quickly.

Hoping Snuggy can put some away next weekend.

Enjoy this one.

Beat Notre Dame.
 

Good win tonight. Solid series. I'm happy.

Loved the Lamb Huglen Kurth line this weekend.

Hoping Thomas is back quickly.

Hoping Snuggy can put some away next weekend.

Enjoy this one.

Beat Notre Dame.
Good choice of series to attend Crosby. Two rock solid gopher performances.
 


Good series. Did exactly what they needed to do. Have to keep winning lock ourselves into a top 2 seed.
 

I was extremely impressed with the Gophers Saturday. They looked pro. Close played everything right. In hockey it's not going to be always perfect, the puck doesn't take the right bounce or not ready for a pass, but over all very impressive hockey by Gophers.

They looked like a champion.

I follow other sports.... men's hockey when it is good is a marvel to behold. The precision, the speed.
 

Close save percentage last 5 games is .981, in his last 10 games it’s .951.
 

I was extremely impressed with the Gophers Saturday. They looked pro. Close played everything right. In hockey it's not going to be always perfect, the puck doesn't take the right bounce or not ready for a pass, but over all very impressive hockey by Gophers.

They looked like a champion.

I follow other sports.... men's hockey when it is good is a marvel to behold. The precision, the speed.
Took you long enough to realize they are the only men's sport in town that could actually win it all. Including the pro teams.
 

Good series. Did exactly what they needed to do. Have to keep winning lock ourselves into a top 2 seed.
Not sure if it's possible but the goal should be to get to 6/7 overall and avoid Qpac DU or Maine in the first round.

Michigan is in deep shit right now, and the Gophers could hurt it worse in three weeks.
 


Not sure if it's possible but the goal should be to get to 6/7 overall and avoid Qpac DU or Maine in the first round.

Michigan is in deep shit right now, and the Gophers could hurt it worse in three weeks.
More so than that my hope is to avoid BC in the regionals
 




Top Bottom