Going into the last series of the year, the Gophers are still in contention for a Big Ten title but are on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. A two-game stint with Penn State will certainly pose a challenge but will give the Maroon and Gold a chance to close out the regular season on a high note.
PREGAME NOTES
Penn State (18-12-4 overall, 10-7-1-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 15 Minnesota (19-12-3 overall, 10-5-3-0 Big Ten)
Friday, 7:05 p.m. CT on GETTV – Mariucci Arena (10,000)
Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT on FOX Sports North Plus – Mariucci Arena
Final Weekend
The last series of the year has a number of implications for the Gophers. First, Minnesota is just one point back in the Big Ten standings and could win their fourth straight conference title.
“Well obviously, the guys know the situation,” said Don Lucia. “The nice thing is, you’re going into the last weekend with a chance to win a league title.”
Along with a conference championship within reach, the Gophers have work to do if they want to make the NCAA Tournament and make another run at a national championship.
“We know the importance of this weekend,” said Kyle Rau. “We kind of put ourselves in this spot. We’re 14 in the pairwise right now; it’s probably not good enough to get us in the tournament…So it’s a huge weekend for us. We don’t want to be going into the Big Ten Tournament having to win it.”
The final weekend will also mark the end of an era as Minnesota’s six seniors will play their last games at Mariucci Arena.
“This weekend’s about the seniors,” said Lucia. “And what they’ve done and what they’ve meant. You can go through a lot of classes at the University of Minnesota and not many have won three titles, not many have been to a couple Frozen Fours [or] been in the NCAAs every year.”
The group of Seth Ambroz, Travis Boyd, Christian Isackson, Ben Marshall, Kyle Rau, and Sam Warning will be remembered fondly by their coach.
“They’re all program guys,” said Lucia. “We had some guys that could have left after last year that elected to come back because of what the program means. I’m just grateful for this group of seniors, how loyal they’ve been, how much they’ve meant to our program…”
Last Meeting
It was an up-and-down weekend when these two teams met in late February. On Friday, the Nittany Lions struck first but goals by Justin Kloos and Christian Isackson were enough to earn the victory for the Gophers. Adam Wilcox was stellar, recording 35 saves on the game.
Saturday’s series finale was intense as Minnesota got down 2-0 early but battled back. Trailing 3-2, Sam Warning tied the game with just 40 seconds left. Unfortunately, Penn State’s Luke Juha scored the overtime winner on the powerplay to earn the split. The Gophers are anxious to get back to their home ice to take on Penn State.
“I think we have a good understanding of the way they play,” said Lucia. “Both games were very competitive, one-goal games right down to the wire. Obviously we like the ability to play at home; we’ve been a pretty good team on the big rink all year.”
Since Then
Since the split against Minnesota late last month, Penn State has swept and been swept. The Nittany Lions traveled to Columbus the weekend following the Minnesota series and were downed both nights by a score of 5-3 against the Buckeyes. PSU then responded at home and notched two wins over the Michigan Wolverines. Sophomore forward David Goodwin lead the way for Penn State by tallying five points during the sweep of Michigan. Goodwin’s two goals and three assists earned him Big Ten Second Star of the Week honors.
About the Nittany Lions
Penn State sits in fourth in the Big Ten standings but is just three points back of Michigan State. The Nittany Lions are an experienced team that is able to utilize their strength and physicality.
“We know Penn State’s a good team,” said Lucia. “They’re a veteran team. They’re an older team. They’re not an easy team to play against. We’ll obviously try and get the first goal; it’s going to be important and something we talked about, getting off to a good start in the first period.”
Going into the weekend, the Gophers know they will face a tough, hard-nosed team.
“We know they’re going to come out and work hard,” said Rau. “They’re going to try to intimidate us with their physical play. When we were there, we were getting knocked around. It’s something we’ve got to be ready to expect out of them.”