Gophers men’s hockey team beats Penn St. 5-3 to earn a share of the Big Ten title

With a flair for the dramatic, captain Mike Koster scored with 3:04 remaining in regulation to break a 3-3 tie, helping the No. 2-ranked Golden Gophers clinch a share of the Big Ten Conference Championship Saturday with a 5-3 road win at No. 15/16 Penn State from Pegula Ice Arena. Oliver Moore’s three-point night and a pair of goals from Matthew Wood drove the Maroon and Gold to a record-setting seventh B1G title.

Needing a regulation win to clinch a share of the championship, Minnesota (24-8-4 overall, 15-6-3 B1G) led three times before finishing off the Nittany Lions (18-12-4 overall, 9-11-4 B1G) in the closing minutes via the power play in the final game of the 2024-25 regular season.

The Gophers were the aggressors opening the night as Wood skated alone on goal in the first four minutes, but his quick snapshot was erased with a blocker save. The visitors continued to fly through the neutral zone and a shot from Ryan Chesley ricocheted off the crossbar in a bid to get on the scoreboard first. A Minnesota turnover gave the Nittany Lions a counter and they had the same fate as Chesley, hitting the bar at the mid-point of the first period.

PSU was assessed a minor penalty with 6:17 left in the frame, sending the Maroon and Gold to a power play that it could not convert. The Gophers dominated the final minutes of the period with chance after chance but were unable to find the back of the net. In the last minute, a Minnesota penalty behind its attacking net gave the home side its first power play that carried into the second period as the game remained scoreless through 20 minutes.

Minnesota promptly wiped out the man advantage in the middle frame and it was a back-and-forth battle in what turned out to be a wild, four-goal period. After winning an offensive-zone faceoff, a harmless-looking point shot from the Nittany Lions deflected in front of the net and past the goaltender as they struck for a 1-0 lead at the 6:01 mark. The Gophers fought back on the next shift where Beckett Hendrickson split a pair of defenders and fired a shot from the slot that had to be turned aside. The unrelenting pressure finally paid off as Wood buried a rebound to pull the Maroon and Gold even with 10:15 remaining during the second. Moore’s initial shot was stopped but Wood stayed persistent in front of the net and was rewarded with the tying tally.

The Gophers staked a 2-1 edge in the final five minutes of the period when Mason Nevers lifted a rebound high over the goaltender’s glove and off the back bar. The graduate student was in the perfect spot after Koster’s shot was blocked by a PSU stick for his second goal of the weekend. Moore nearly had his third point of the period, but his backhand attempt rolled off his stick and was covered by the goalie. The Nittany Lions put on a surge over the final 90 seconds only to see Minnesota hold off the attack and go up the ice to extend its advantage to 3-1 as Jimmy Snuggerud scored with 25 seconds remaining in the period.

The goal was ultimately erased as PSU challenged for a collision two minutes prior and instead it was a five-minute power play for the home team. The reversal completely changed the contest as the Nittany Lions converted via the man advantage, making it 2-2 with 1:34 to play and the score stayed tied after two periods.

While on the extended penalty kill, Moore forced a turnover at the blue line only to see his breakaway clang off the right post before the visitors returned to full strength. Momentum stayed with the Gophers as they capitalized on a broken play as Wood one-timed his second goal of the night thanks to a slick feed from Connor Kurth. The lead was short lived as PSU responded less than a minute later for a 3-3 tie. As the clock showed 7:35 left in regulation, a dangerous slash by a Nittany Lion player right to the head of a Gopher gave the visitors a five-minute power play and a chance to jump ahead.

It was an all-out attack by Minnesota during the beginning of its man advantage trying to get a Big Ten title clinching goal, but incredible goaltending from PSU negated each chance. With just 3:04 to play, Koster took advantage of a perfect, behind-the-back pass across the goal crease from Jimmy Clark and put away the eventual winner. Moore added an empty-net goal in the final 30 seconds, sending the Maroon and Gold to a 5-3 victory.

Netminder Liam Souliere closed out the road win by turning away 30 shots in a venue he previously spent four seasons, recording his 13th victory of the year.