Gophers top Penn State 5-1 in Big Ten Tournament opener

Eleven different players recorded a point as the No. 8 Minnesota men’s hockey team won its Big Ten Conference Tournament opener against Penn State, 5-1, in the quarterfinals Friday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The Golden Gophers (21-9-5 overall) scored the final four goals, including one into an empty net, to take down the Nittany Lions (15-17-3 overall) and have now won nine of their last 10 home games. Rhett Pitlick scored twice, while Carl Fish tied a career high with two assists.

Both teams had their legs moving and the action went up and down the ice to begin the postseason matchup. The visitors tested Minnesota netminder Justen Close with the first five shots of the game, but it was a Maroon and Gold one-timer from Fish five minutes into the contest that had to be turned away by PSU to keep it scoreless. As he did on the road against the Nittany Lions, a slapshot from Sam Rinzel opened the Gophers’ scoring as he blasted a bar-down shot from the top of the right circle after a failed clearance at the 7:21 mark.

PSU thought it pulled even two minutes later, taking advantage of a 4-on-2 break, but the home side successfully challenged for offsides, negating the tying tally. Less than a minute after the goal was erased, the Nittany Lions found the equalizer via a back-door pass, making it a 1-1 game with 9:04 to play in the opening period. The Gophers drew a late power-play that was killed off in the final five minutes and the teams went back to the locker room tied.

A bulk of play to begin the second stanza took place in the neutral zone as neither side generated a shot on target for more than nine minutes. It was Minnesota’s Connor Kurth that danced around two defenders and fired from close range 9:41 into the frame to record the first official shot on goal. With a shift in lines, the Maroon and Gold started to pick up the intensity and a strong forecheck led to the go-ahead goal. Jaxon Nelson chased down a Mason Nevers entry pass and fed Jimmy Snuggerud at the doorstep where the sophomore did not miss, giving the Gophers a 2-1 lead with 5:39 remaining in the second. That margin held until the end of the frame as Minnesota limited the visitors to just one shot during the period.

The Maroon and Gold wasted no time extending the advantage in the third period when Aaron Huglen tipped home a Fish one-timer 2:18 into the frame for a 3-1 edge. Brody Lamb started the play from behind the PSU net and pushed a pass to the point for Fish. The Nittany Lions picked up their pace and tilted the ice in their favor only to be denied by Close on nine shots over the next seven minutes. Pitlick erased the momentum and gave the Gophers a three-goal cushion as the junior backhanded a loose rebound from the slot after a Cal Thomas shot was stopped in the middle of the stanza.

Pitlick tacked on an insurance marker with 3:01 to play as he fired into an empty net from inside his own blue line and Minnesota skated to a 5-1 victory. Close secured his 60th all-time victory, making 20 total saves, including 11 in the final period.

The Gophers look to advance to the B1G Semifinals in game two of the best-of-three series against Penn State when they meet Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. inside 3M Arena at Mariucci.