Friday, November 20
3M Arena at Mariucci
3:00 PM
University of Minnesota
3
vs
2
Penn State
‘U’ Completes B1G Sweep with 3-2 Win
11/20/2020 6:37:00 PM | Men's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – For the second year in a row, the No. 11 Gopher Men's Hockey program earned a sweep in its first home series of the season after taking down No. 10/9 Penn State 3-2 on Friday afternoon at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Minnesota opened the series and the 100th season in program history with a 4-1 win on Thursday night.
Brannon McManus, Sammy Walker and Scott Reedy found the net for the Gophers while McManus, Walker and Blake McLaughlin notched multi-point performances for the Maroon & Gold.
After a scoreless first period on Thursday, Minnesota and Penn State provided plenty of action in the opening stanza of the series finale with three combined goals.
Minnesota (2-0-0 overall, 2-0-0-0 Big Ten) opened the game with its first power-play tally of the season at 4:34 when Reedy found the back of the net for the second-straight game after being set up by McManus and McLaughlin. Penn State (0-2-0, 0-2-0-0) briefly picked up the equalizer at 17:31 from Christian Sarlo but the stalemate was short lived.
Walker sent the Gophers into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead after scoring on an open wrist shot with 0.8 seconds left in the period for his first of the year. Matt Staudacher set up the late goal for his third assist of the weekend.
The Maroon & Gold extended the lead at 13:28 of the second period with a power-play goal from McManus for the senior's first tally of the 2020-21 campaign. Walker and McLaughlin were credited with assists on the power-play goal for the Maroon & Gold.
The visitors brought it back within one 4:41 into the third period with an unassisted goal from Kevin Wall, but Penn State failed to find the equalizer in the game's final minutes.
In goal, Jack LaFontaine (2-0-0) extended his win streak to four games after making 34 saves on 36 shots. The senior has now started 10-straight games for Minnesota and has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last seven starts. Liam Souliere (0-1-0) made 24 saves on 27 shots for the visitors.
Minnesota went 2-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill while being outshot 27-36.
The Gophers continue the 2020-21 season with a two-game Big Ten series against Ohio State next week – playing Monday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Both games in the series are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.
Quotes from Coach Motzko
"It was a dog fight," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said of the series finale. "The game kind of had those ebbs and flows. But overall, (we're) very happy with the weekend. There's a lot there we can work on and get better."
Noteworthy
The Gophers, who improved to 61-37-2 in 100 home all-time openers and 18-8-2 in home openers at 3M Arena at Mariucci (3-0-0 under Bob Motzko) on Thursday, earned a sweep in the first home series of the season for the second year in a row. Minnesota swept Niagara at 3M Arena at Mariucci to start the home schedule in 2019-20.
Minnesota opened the series and the 100th season in program history with a 4-1 win on Thursday night.
Brannon McManus, Sammy Walker and Scott Reedy found the net for the Gophers while McManus, Walker and Blake McLaughlin notched multi-point performances for the Maroon & Gold.
After a scoreless first period on Thursday, Minnesota and Penn State provided plenty of action in the opening stanza of the series finale with three combined goals.
Minnesota (2-0-0 overall, 2-0-0-0 Big Ten) opened the game with its first power-play tally of the season at 4:34 when Reedy found the back of the net for the second-straight game after being set up by McManus and McLaughlin. Penn State (0-2-0, 0-2-0-0) briefly picked up the equalizer at 17:31 from Christian Sarlo but the stalemate was short lived.
Walker sent the Gophers into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead after scoring on an open wrist shot with 0.8 seconds left in the period for his first of the year. Matt Staudacher set up the late goal for his third assist of the weekend.
The Maroon & Gold extended the lead at 13:28 of the second period with a power-play goal from McManus for the senior's first tally of the 2020-21 campaign. Walker and McLaughlin were credited with assists on the power-play goal for the Maroon & Gold.
The visitors brought it back within one 4:41 into the third period with an unassisted goal from Kevin Wall, but Penn State failed to find the equalizer in the game's final minutes.
In goal, Jack LaFontaine (2-0-0) extended his win streak to four games after making 34 saves on 36 shots. The senior has now started 10-straight games for Minnesota and has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last seven starts. Liam Souliere (0-1-0) made 24 saves on 27 shots for the visitors.
Minnesota went 2-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill while being outshot 27-36.
The Gophers continue the 2020-21 season with a two-game Big Ten series against Ohio State next week – playing Monday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Both games in the series are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.
Quotes from Coach Motzko
"It was a dog fight," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said of the series finale. "The game kind of had those ebbs and flows. But overall, (we're) very happy with the weekend. There's a lot there we can work on and get better."
Noteworthy
The Gophers, who improved to 61-37-2 in 100 home all-time openers and 18-8-2 in home openers at 3M Arena at Mariucci (3-0-0 under Bob Motzko) on Thursday, earned a sweep in the first home series of the season for the second year in a row. Minnesota swept Niagara at 3M Arena at Mariucci to start the home schedule in 2019-20.
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