Series preview: Gophers men's hockey at Penn State
Series preview: Gophers men's hockey at Penn State
The Gophers are on a four-game winning streak while Penn State, their opponent, was swept by Notre Dame last weekend.
February 17, 2022 at 11:26PM
5:30 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday, Pegula Ice Arena: TV, radio: BTN, 103.5-FM, 1130-AM both days
Gophers update: Minnesota (19-11, 14-6 Big Ten) entered Thursday at No. 5 in the PairWise Ratings … With standouts Ben Meyers, Matthew Knies and Brock Faber missing the past two series for the Olympics, the Gophers have received key contributions from the all-freshman line of Rhett Pitlick, Aaron Huglen and Chaz Lucius (a combined six goals and nine assists) and the veteran trio of Blake McLaughlin, Sammy Walker and Bryce Brodzinski (a combined 5-6-11). … G Justen Close has allowed only six goals during the win streak and not more than two in any of the four games. … Coach Bob Motzko said C Jaxon Nelson, out since Jan. 7 because of a leg injury, might return this weekend. … D Ben Brinkman will miss Friday's game after being suspended by the Big Ten for slew-footing Ohio State's Travis Treloar on Saturday.
Nittany Lions update: Penn State (14-15-1, 5-14-1) is in seventh place in the Big Ten with 17 points and was swept 7-2 and 3-0 at Notre Dame last weekend. Penn State isn't the scoring machine it has been in past seasons, but it still averages 3.20 goals per game, good for 18th in the country. The Nittany Lions, though, are 44th defensively, surrendering 3.27 goals per game. … F Kevin Wall (14-11-25) paces Penn State in scoring … Penn State's blue line includes former Gopher Clayton Phillips (5-7-12) and Jimmy Dowd Jr. (3-16-19), whose father is the former Wild forward.
Randy Johnson
Beckett Hendrickson, whose father, Darby, played for the Gophers and Wild, is growing into his role this season.
