Souliere posts shutout against former team in Gophers’ 1-0 win over Penn State

Liam Souliere put on a goaltending clinic Saturday leading the No. 4 Golden Gophers men’s hockey team to a 1-0 shutout of No. 18 Penn State from 3M Arena at Mariucci. Jimmy Clark scored the game winner on a redirect in the final minute of regulation to seal Minnesota’s sweep of the Nittany Lions.

The nation’s leader in scoring offense averaging more than five goals per game, Minnesota (7-1-0 overall, 2-0-0 B1G) could only muster one on the Nittany Lions (4-3-0 overall, 0-2-0 B1G), but that proved to be enough. Souliere was up to the task all night during a 28-save shutout, facing his former team for the first time since transferring to the Gophers. It was special teams that keyed Minnesota’s sixth-consecutive victory, this time it was the penalty kill that shined, erasing seven minutes of penalties in the second period.

Trying to avoid its sixth-straight loss to the Maroon and Gold, PSU started the night with sustained pressure in its offensive zone and were stopped each time by the graduate transfer Souliere. After the home side settled in, it went to work with a strong forecheck from each line and led to its first power play of the contest at the 8:09 mark.

Minnesota was unable to generate any quality looks and the man advantage was erased by the visitors. Thirty seconds after their first 5-on-4 opportunity expired, the Gophers went right back to a power play, only to be held off again despite chances from the slot. The Maroon and Gold were assessed a five-minute major penalty 14 seconds before the period ended scoreless.

With an extended man advantage and a fresh sheet of ice, PSU nearly conceded a shorthanded tally as Brody Lamb forced a neutral-zone turnover, but a toe save prevented the opening goal. The Gophers killed off all five minutes of the penalty, bringing life into the 3M Arena at Mariucci crowd. A bad line change allowed a near breakaway from the Nittany Lions, only to have the right pad of Souliere deliver a critical save as momentum stayed with the visitors. Minnesota needed to fend off another PSU power play in the final minutes of the stanza as the game remained tied, 0-0, at the second intermission.

The Gophers started the third period with renewed energy and sustained an offensive attack, leading to a Lamb shot that ricocheted off the crossbar four minutes into the frame. The Nittany Lions fought back and used an odd-man rush after a turnover that made Souliere push for another impressive save. The netminder came through again on a point-blank shot from the slot as the ice tilted in favor of the visitors.

As the prospect of overtime loomed close, the Gophers were not content to play for the extra session. Luke Mittelstadt quickly gathered a long rebound and threw the puck towards the net where Clark was charging from the left circle. With one outstretched hand on his stick, the Edina, Minn., product directed the puck on target where it flew past a sliding PSU netminder, giving the home side the winning goal with just 26.0 seconds showing on the clock. Minnesota held on for the 1-0 shutout and rushed to celebrate the sweep with Souliere.