Minneapolis, MN – The Penn State Nittany Lions finished the regular season in sixth place in the Big Ten standings and will advance to play the third-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers in a best-of-three quarterfinal series this weekend at 3M Arena in Minneapolis. Obtained.
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date: Friday, March 8 | Saturday, March 9 | Sunday, March 10 (if required)
place: Minnesapolis, Minnesota.
time: 7:00 PM (ET) | 4:30 PM (ET) | 7:00 PM (ET)
tv set: FS2 (all games)
Streaming video: fox sports app
listen: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Live statistics: live statistics
Game notes: Pennsylvania | Minnesota
This week's match
- Minnesota finished the regular season in third place and Penn State finished in sixth place, setting up a best-of-three matchup in the quarterfinals. This will be the second time the Gophers and Nittany Lions will meet in a quarterfinal series since the conference changed its playoff format before the 2017-18 season. That year, Penn State defeated Minnesota in Hockey Valley by scores of 5-3 and 6-5.
- This is the fourth time Penn State has faced Minnesota in the postseason, the last time being in the 2022 B1G semifinals, which the Gophers won 3-2 at 3M Arena. The teams were scheduled to meet in the 2020 B1G semifinals before the remainder of the 2020 postseason was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Minnesota holds an all-time advantage of 27-18-1 through its first 46 games, including a 16-7-0 record in Minneapolis. The Gophers won this year's season series 3-0 in two games, scoring 9 of 12 points, including all 6 points, at 3M Arena last month. However, Penn State holds an overall playoff record of 3-1-0 against Minnesota.
- senior goaltender Liam Soulier He has excelled in postseason play throughout his career, posting a 4-5-0 record with a .934 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average in over 545 minutes played from the Big Ten Tournament to the NCAA Tournament. Souliere made a program-high 55 saves in a 2-1 overtime win against Ohio State in Game 2 of the 2023 B1G quarterfinals in Columbus last year.
- Senior Christian Sarlo In 13 career games with the Gophers, he has five goals, three assists, and eight points, which currently leads the entire Nittany Lions team.junior ryan kirwan In 12 career games, he has seven points with five goals of his own and two assists.
Bright Lights, B1G stage
- Penn State ranks second to Minnesota with eight Big Ten semifinal appearances in the last 10 tournaments, but the Gophers have appeared in the semifinals nine times, and the last time Minnesota failed to advance to the semifinals was in 2018. The only season they beat the Gophers in the best of. Three quarterfinal series to be held at Pegula Ice Arena on March 2nd and 3rd, 2018.
- Penn State, which lost to Ohio State in last season's semifinals, ended a conference-record seven-game losing streak in the semifinals and is the first in Nittany since the Big Ten adopted a best-of-three quarterfinal format in the 2018 postseason. -This was the Lions' first loss in the quarterfinals. The only year Penn State did not advance to the semifinals was in 2015, when the tournament was single-elimination, when the Nittany Lions lost to Ohio State 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
- Penn State has an overall record of 7-4-0, including a best-of-three quarterfinal victory over Minnesota in 2018, a three-game win over Wisconsin in 2019, and a 2022 win over Ohio State. They beat University in three games, but lost to the Buckeyes in three games. Last season. The Nittany Lions received a bye in the semifinals in 2020, and the 2021 tournament reverted to a one-week, single-elimination format.
- The Nittany Lions have played 25 games in the Big Ten Conference since the league's inception before the 2013-14 season, and with a 14-11-0 record, Penn State ranks second in Big Ten Conference history for wins. And Michigan State is in first place. Minnesota boasts her 12 championships in the tournament. PSU is 12-8 in its last 20 games in the Big Ten Tournament dating back to the 2016-17 season.
- Penn State Head Coach Guy GadowskiHis 14 Big Ten Tournament wins are the all-time record, surpassing OSU's Steve Roerich's 13.
- Penn State is 5-1 overall in overtime during the Big Ten Tournament, with its only loss coming against Wisconsin in the semifinal round in 2020-21. The Nittany Lions also played the longest three games in tournament history.
scouting in minnesota
- The Gophers are 11-4-1 since the calendar turned to January and had won eight in a row at home last Saturday night, before being stopped by the University of Michigan with a 6-5 overtime victory.
- Minnesota ranks third in the Big Ten offensively, averaging 3.53 points per game, good for 10th in the nation, while allowing just 2.56 points per game, second in the conference and 15th in the nation. is ranked first.
- Goaltender Justen Crouse has started all but one game for the Gophers this season, posting a 19-8-5 record, a 2.39 goals-against average, and a .920 save percentage, which rank second in the conference. Ranked 3rd and became the top. Nationally -20.
- Jackson Nelson is coming off a six-point weekend against Michigan, where he scored five goals, including his first career hat trick on Friday night. Nelson became the eighth Gopher to score more than 20 points this season.
- Minnesota was paced offensively by Rhett Pitlick with 33 points, Bryce Brodzinski with 32 points, and Jimmy Snageld and Oliver Moore with 31 points each. Snagels leads the Gophers and ranks third in the Big Ten with 19 points, while Pitlick ranks fifth with 17 points. Nelson currently has 14 points. Following last weekend's five-goal outburst, Brodzinski scored 13 goals.
- Freshmen Oliver Moore and Sam Lindsell paced the Gophers with 22 and 25 assists, respectively, and ranked tied for third and fifth on the team with 32 and 26 points, and second and fifth in the Big Ten in rookie scoring. Ranked number one.
- Minnesota's power play ranks third in the conference at 23.8 percent (25 of 105), good for 14th in the nation.
- Minnesota has the fewest penalties in the nation, averaging just 2.74 penalties and 6.5 minutes per game.
great dane
- new student Dane Dwiak He has come into his own in the final three weeks of the regular season, scoring half the goals and nearly half the points in the final five games, with three goals, including two in the finals, and two assists in that span. Recorded. Last Saturday, the first multi-goal game of his career.
- Dowiak has scored at least one point in four of his last five games and is currently on a career scoring streak of three games.
Reese's work
- Another freshman who joined in the second half of the season is Reese Laubach He has scored multiple points in three of his last six games, including the first multi-goal game of his career against Michigan last month.
beauty of blue line
- junior Simon Mack He led the entire Nittany Lion defense with 16 points on four goals and 12 assists, setting career highs in each statistic.his defensive partner Dylan Gratton He also has excellent career numbers with three goals, 13 points and 10 assists, and his 58 blocked shots rank third in the Big Ten.
- Senior jimmy dowd jr. He struggled with injuries at the beginning of this year, but has returned to form with one goal, 12 points, and 11 assists. With his assist against OSU last Friday, Dowd moved into a tie for second place on the Nittany Lion defensive scoring list with 62 points, along with Chris Mirari '20.
rookie surge
- Penn State's five-man freshman class paces the Nittany Lions with 38 goals, accounting for 35% of their points this season. The 38 goals scored by the rookies are the most by a freshman class since the 2016-17 season, when PSU's 11-man class contributed 64 goals and 157 points.
- The 92 total points registered by freshmen this season is also the highest for a rookie class since the 2016-17 season, when the number of first-year players doubled.
- Aiden Fink This season, he leads the team with 15 goals and 18 assists and 33 points in 32 games. His 33 points and his 15 goals are both on pace for the Big Ten as a freshman.
- Fink also set a single-season power play record with eight points this season, his 33 points are third most by a freshman in a single season in Penn State history, and his 15 points are fifth most.
- matt dimarsico He led the team with 19 assists and added six goals for 25 points, tied for fourth on the team. His 25 points are tied for ninth all-time by a Nittany Lion freshman, and his 19 assists rank second all-time by a Penn State freshman.
- In the 12-year history of NCAA Penn State hockey, two rookie players have led the Nittany Lions in scoring only once, dating back to their inaugural season in 2012-13 and Casey Bailey (14 (13 wins, 27 losses). David Glenn (16-9–25) paced the attack.
- Reese Laubach He had 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points. His 10 goals are the 10th most by a Penn State rookie, and he and Fink are two of only 11 Nittany Lion freshmen to score double-digit goals in their rookie seasons.
- Fink and Laubach's double-digit scoring marks the fourth time Penn State has had multiple freshmen accomplish the feat in the same season, but the Nittany Lions have had three freshmen score in double digits. He had never achieved a goal.
- While Fink, Laubach and DiMarsico each scored 20 or more points, 2017 marked the fourth season and last of three consecutive years that Penn State had three or more freshmen reach the 20-point mark. -This will be the first time since the 18th season. The Nittany Lions achieved this feat during the 2015-16 season, including his four freshmen who scored 20 or more points.
please sweep very
- Last weekend's blowout win over Ohio State was a first ever for Penn State in Columbus and only the third time in program history that the Nittany Lions won all four games in a season series over a single opponent. , it was his first time against the Buckeyes.
- This is the first time Penn State has swept the season series since defeating Michigan State in all four games in 2016-17, and the other time was against Wisconsin in 2014-15.
- It was also the first time Penn State has won four straight against a fellow Big Ten opponent since it closed out the 2017-18 season with a four-game win over Minnesota heading into the playoffs.
For more information on the 2023-24 season from Penn State Bookstore, the official Penn State Athletics bookstore, visit the Men's Hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANAY Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please call us.
