Gophers men's hockey rallies this time, posts 3-1 win over Penn State for series split

Every now and then, Bryce Brodzinski's mom asks him a very important, potentially controversial, question.

"Who's your best friend on the team?"

The answer: always Jaxon Nelson.

"He's kind of the guy that if something funny happens in my day, I text him and tell him. And he knows that I'll give him a good laugh," Brodzinski explained after the duo combined for two goals in the Gophers' 3-1 victory against Penn State on Friday. "… It's always funny with him."

The roommates were definitely responsible for lightening the mood at 3M Arena at Mariucci in front of an announced crowd of 8,921, orchestrating the game-winning and insurance goals in the third period to grant the Gophers a split after Thursday's 4-2 loss.

The No. 1 Gophers improved to 8-4-0 (4-2-0 Big Ten) while No. 8 Penn State fell to 10-2-0 (4-2-0 conference). Both of Penn State's losses this season came against No. 1-ranked teams in back-to-back series.

Gophers coach Bob Motzko said earlier this week there was "no way" his team was tops in the nation, as that should actually be "legit" Penn State, which is No. 1 in the PairWise rankings used to determine postseason bids. The Gophers' tougher schedule — this is their fifth consecutive weekend against a ranked opponent — is likely why the Gophers have earned top votes.

Motzko knew his team — which fielded nine freshman Friday — would need some experienced presence against the Nittany Lions, who put only four freshman on the ice. So he retooled his lines a bit, pairing together center Nelson and winger Brodzinski, two seniors, along with junior winger Mason Nevers. The trio had played together twice before this series, but this performance might have solidified them as a unit.

Penn State scored with 6:18 left in the first period when winger Christian Sarlo finished a behind-the-net pass from center Xander Lampaa. And the Nittany Lions carried a double-digit lead in shots into the final minutes of the second period until winger Tyler Gratton took an interference penalty.

That was the opportunity Nevers needed. He collected defenseman Mike Koster's shot from the blue line for the rebound to score on the power play with about 3:11 left in the second.

Brodzinski and Nelson then put their chemistry on display twice within about a minute to put the Gophers up by two. Brodzinski's first goal from near the blue line came at 6:56 while his second, after Nelson skated out from behind the net for the feed, came at 8:01.

Nelson, a native of Magnolia, Minn., near Luverne, recalled that he and Brodzinski, from Blaine, played in a tournament together when they were each about 10. They first played on a line together briefly with the USHL's Omaha Lancers at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

Despite them both joining the Gophers the next season, they didn't have the chance to build on that chemistry.

"The last couple years, we've never played together," Nelson said. "But this year, it's kind of come back, and we're doing really well right now."

Brodzinski added the pair is so close, they aren't afraid to just yell at each other if either does something wrong on the ice because the "brothers" will be past it once they return home.

There wasn't much nagging after Friday, though. The veterans had risen to their coach's expectations to lead the team against Penn State's frenetic, dumping style. Senior goaltender Justen Close also stepped up, saving 33 of Penn State's 34 shots while his counterpart Liam Souliere saved 30 of the Gophers' 33 shots.

"[Motzko] relied on us a lot to kind of show the young guys how to defend against that [strategy] and stay back and kind of play unselfish hockey. Putting the team first and getting back on defense," Brodzinski said. "I think we did a great job of that. And hopefully, we stay together for a while."