The No. 7 Gophers men’s hockey team (7-6) continued their first game of a series struggles Friday night as they dropped their sixth game this season in a 5-3 loss to Penn State at home.

“That was a disappointing loss,” Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said. “We handed a game away and we’ve seen that now three Friday’s in a row.”

Penn State’s Ryan Kirwan opened up the scoring off a one-timer in front just outside the crease to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead with 13:19 seconds remaining in the first.

As the period progressed, the Gophers began to find their footing and settle in. With just 32.9 seconds remaining in the first, freshman Matthew Knies continued his recent hot streak by burying the puck into the net after following up his own rebound to equalize the score at 1-1 into the first intermission.

The referees awarded Minnesota its first man advantage of the night just minutes into the second, and their power-play unit converted quickly. At the goal line, Knies spun around and fired a forehand shot on the net. Junior Jaxon Nelson was there to clean up the loose puck in front to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead 3:32 seconds into the period.

However, 40 seconds later, junior Ryan Johnson took a cross-checking penalty. Suddenly, Penn State responded right back with a power-play goal from Connor MacEachern to tie the game at 2-2 with 15:03 minutes remaining in the period.

The Gophers quickly started to push back as junior Bryce Brodzinski dazzled his way from the neutral zone into the offensive zone. However, Penn State’s Ben Copeland hooked him and Minnesota went to their second power play of the evening.

On their second power play, the Gophers dominated possession but could not find the back of the net. Then, one of the worst possible scenarios occurred.

As the man advantage dwindled, senior Sammy Walker fired a shot wide, and the puck rang around the boards to the Nittany Lions’ blue line as Copeland came out of the penalty box. He gathered the loose puck, skated his way to a breakaway, and fired a shot into the upper left corner of the net to give Penn State a 3-2 lead around the midway point of the second.
Much of the second period after Penn State’s third goal was back-and-forth. Then, Nittany Lions’ Christian Sarlo made a dangerous hit on senior Blake McLaughlin, so the Gophers went to their third power play of the evening with 2:22 seconds remaining. They executed for the second time.

Again, it was Knies creating plays for Minnesota. He shook off a check while gathering the puck in the left corner, pulled the puck to his backhand, and fired a shot on net. Penn State’s goaltender Oskar Autio gave up another rebound. Then who else besides Nelson to collect the loose change in front to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the second intermission.

Early in the last 20 minutes of play, the referees called a cross-checking penalty on junior Matt Staudacher. Quickly, Penn State took advantage of the call as Sarlo tipped a shot from the top of the left circle to score the Nittany Lions’ second power-play goal of the evening and give them a 4-3 lead 2:10 seconds into the third.

“That was a horrible call on Staudacher,” Motzko said. “That was bad. In a 3-3 hockey game, that is as bad of a call as you’re going to get in hockey.”

Penn State’s Chase McLane would add another goal just 58 seconds later to extend their lead to 5-3 that remained for the rest of the game.

The Gophers had a 5-3 man advantage for 31 seconds just minutes before the halfway point of the third but could not convert, and their power play finished 2/5 on the night. Minnesota outshot Penn State 35-26. However, their usually stingy penalty kill allowed two goals on two attempts.

“There are parts of hockey where you have to have detailed structure in your game,” Motzko said. “We have it offensively, but when it comes to the other side of it right now, we are below average.”

In the loss, Nelson recorded his first-career multi-goal game, while Knies tallied his first career three-point performance (one goal, two assists) as he now has seven points in his last four games. Junior Jonny Sorenson also left the game in the third period with an apparent injury.

The Gophers will look to bounce back and split the series Saturday night when they take on Penn State at 8 p.m. at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

“We just got to come out and play the right way,” Nelson said. “They just play so fast. They get up and down the rink and throw pucks everywhere, so we got to stay in the middle.”

The No. 6/8 Gophers men’s hockey team (7-5) got back on track Saturday night as they defeated No. 18/14 Ohio State 2-0, marking the first time they have shut out an opponent this season.

“That was a good bounce-back night for us,” Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said. “Give our guys credit. Last night stung, we needed a complete effort, and we got that from our entire lineup tonight. That is a game that we got to build on.”

Motzko made switches to the forward lines, and virtually all of them had different looks. The changes marked the first time senior Blake McLaughlin, senior Sammy Walker, and junior Bryce Brodzinski did not play on the same line. Junior Matt Staudacher also made his return to the defensive end after missing Friday night’s game as he served a one-game suspension.

However, the changes to the forward lines were something Motzko has been thinking about for some time, but Friday night’s game gave him a reason to make those changes.

“All four lines played well tonight and were contributing factors,” Motzko said. “Big goal by Sorenson for us, and [it] gave us energy. That’s something this team needs in those moments. And then, of course, a highlight goal by Knies at the end.”

With just four seconds remaining in the first period, freshman Aaron Huglen fed a no-look pass from behind the goal to the left circle. Junior Jonny Sorenson received the puck, fired a one-timer slapshot from a sharp angle, and buried it to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. The go-ahead goal marked Sorenson’s third game-winning goal of his career, his second goal this season, and Huglen’s first collegiate assist.

Saturday’s first period, where the shots favored the Gophers 6-3, differed from their dominant three-goal first-period performance in Friday’s game, outside of Sorenson’s go-ahead goal.

The Gophers went on their first penalty kill of the night earlier in the first period, with 3:29 seconds remaining after junior Jack Perbix took a hooking penalty in the offensive zone.

On the man advantage, Ohio State thought they scored the opening goal. However, the referees waved it off as Mark Cheremeta was in the crease and interfered with graduate student goaltender Jack LaFontaine, so the game stayed tied at 0-0.

The second period saw no goals and not many high-quality scoring opportunities from either team as the Gophers outshot Ohio State 7-4. However, Minnesota’s penalty kill units killed off another Ohio State power play after Staudacher took an interference penalty in the neutral zone.

Freshman Matthew Knies extended the Gophers’ lead to 2-0 on the power play, unassisted, 7:25 seconds into the third period.

Knies gathered the puck just inside the blue line, then slid the puck through an Ohio State defender’s legs, dazzled his way toward the net, and pulled off a forehand-backhand move to shoot the puck into the goal. The extending tally for the Gophers marks his fifth goal this season.

“I kind of fainted before and after the goal,” Knies said. “That puck just came to me, and I tried to make a play, take it to the net, and throw it on there…it was a pretty cool goal, but it was a big moment in the game.”

The Gophers got the bounce-back win, fueled by their perfect performances from their special teams. The power play went 1-1 as the penalty kill went 4-4 and killed off two penalties in the third period.

“It wins games,” Sorenson said on special teams. “That’s going to be huge for us moving forward, just taking care of business on the kill and doing our job on the power play.”

LaFontaine earned his first shutout this season after making 13 saves as the Gophers tallied 22 shots on the night.

“We needed to play like that for him tonight,” Motzko said. “We’ve hung him out to dry too many nights this year. We needed to play a complete game in front of him. We did that tonight. He’s our workhorse. We can’t do that to him.”

Next weekend, the Gophers will stay home to take on Penn State on Friday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m., at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The No.6/8 Gophers men’s hockey team conceded four consecutive goals in a 4-3 loss against No. 18/14 Ohio State Friday night, marking their fifth loss this season as they hold an overall record of 6-5 on the season.

“We earned it [the loss],” Gophers head coach Bob Motzko. “We couldn’t have played any better early. [We] knew they were going to have a push back, but we took a couple of bad penalties and gave them momentum back into the game.”

The Gophers got off to a fantastic start in the first period, scoring three unanswered goals, courtesy of their juniors. Jack Perbix opened up the scoring 2:42 seconds into the game, and then Ben Meyers added two more goals in the final minute of the period.

Ohio State’s Ryan O’Connell attempted to clear the puck out of the defensive zone via a bank pass off the boards on the opening goal. However, it did not make it outside the blue line before freshman Rhett Pitlick picked up the loose puck and fed Perbix, who fired a five-hole shot to put the Gophers up 1-0. His tally marked his first goal this season and Pitlick’s third assist.

Just before the first period came to a close, Meyers scored two goals 18 seconds apart. His first came with 47 seconds remaining as he cleaned up a loose puck in the slot off a pass from junior Jackson LaCombe, and fired it past goaltender Jakub Dobeš. Then, he tallied his second of the evening after deflecting a point shot from sophomore Mike Koster in front of the net.

Meyers’ two goals bring his season total to four. Pitlick, LaCombe, Koster, and freshman Matthew Knies all recorded assists. The two tallies gave the Gophers a 3-0 lead into the second period as they dominated the shots on goal at 11-3.

Just 2:25 seconds into the second period, Perbix received a minor penalty for tripping, and the Gophers’ momentum quickly faded throughout the rest of the game.

Ohio State’s Jake Wise scored the Buckeyes’ first goal on a one-timer after receiving a circle-to-circle pass from Georgii Merkulov just after their powerplay expired. Then, less than two minutes after their first goal, senior Sammy Walker took a slashing penalty and put the Gophers back on the penalty kill.

The Gophers’ penalty kill units killed Ohio State’s man advantage with 11:43 remaining. However, the Buckeyes still had the momentum on their side as Patrick Guzzo fired a shot just 37 seconds later into the back of the net to cut their deficit to a score of 3-2.

Walker went on to take one more penalty late in the second period that the Gophers would kill off, but they could not find a way to build momentum in a period where they were short-handed for six minutes.

Although the Gophers held a 3-2 lead in the third period, Ohio State is a dominant third-period hockey team. Before Friday’s game, the Buckeyes outscored their opponents 15-2 in the third period this season.

Ohio State continued to follow this trend by adding two more goals courtesy of Gustaf Westlund and Joe Dunlap to complete their 4-3 comeback in the third period.

“For a rare time, some of those goals should’ve been saved,” Motzko said on graduate student goaltender Jack LaFontaine’s performance. “I haven’t said that too often.”

Motzko was adamant after the loss that even though LaFontaine did not have the best game, making 16 saves on 20 shots faced, there is no question that he will remain their starting goalie.

The Gophers outshot the Buckeyes 26-20 but went 0-5 on the man advantage. The loss snaps their seven-game unbeaten streak against Ohio State (6-0-1) and marks the first time they have lost a game leading after the first period.

“It hurts,” Perbix said on the loss. “Obviously, having a three-goal-lead, we can’t be doing that, and we’re going to learn our lesson from this.”

In the loss, Pitlick recorded his first career multi-point game as he recorded two assists, and junior Colin Schmidt played in his first game with the Gophers.

The Gophers will look to get back in the win column Saturday night when they finish their home series against Ohio State at 5 p.m. at 3M Arena at Mariucci.