Penn State 3, Minnesota 0: Switch Flipped

No. 9 Penn State turned in a dominant 60-minute effort on Friday night in a 3-0 win over Minnesota. The Nittany Lions were all over the Gophers at both ends of the ice in their best performance of the season to date. Luke Misa had a goal and an assist in what could be a breakout performance for the talented freshman.

First Period

After a somewhat tentative start, Luke Misa got the Lions on the board first when he was in perfect position to deflect home a point shot by Carter Schade:

The Nittany Lions nearly added on to their lead when Gavin McKenna’s line rushed in 3-on-2 but a shot by Aiden Fink went just wide of the net. Minnesota found some seams in Penn State’s defense, but Josh Fleming came up with a key save on a near-breakaway by John Mittlestadt midway through the period.

Mac Gadowsky knocked down a Minnesota outlet pass near center ice, and his excellent coordination play sprang Penn State on an odd-man rush with the Gophers changing. Gadowsky found Luke Misa at the Minnesota blue line, and Misa fed Cade Christenson, who was left wide open in the high slot. Christenson’s one-timer found the back of the net to extend the lead to 2-0:

Misa nearly scored his second goal of the night late in the period when he carried the puck into the low slot and ripped a wrist shot off the right post. Penn State played one of its best periods of the season, outshooting the Gophers 19-9 and holding a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.

Second Period

A couple of Penn State turnovers led to two great scoring chances for Minnesota early in the second, but Josh Fleming shut the door. Luke Misa’s line continued to dominate on the forecheck and nearly produced the third goal of the night.

Charlie Cerrato quietly left the game between the first and second periods, leaving Reese Laubach to jump up to the top line to center Matt DiMarsico and JJ Wiebusch. The top line was less noticeable in the second period without Cerrato, but the entire team’s 200-foot game was much crisper than in the prior two meetings to make up for it.

Minnesota starting taking more chances with the puck in the offensive zone, and it led to several odd-man rushes for Penn State. Luca DiPasquo kept the Gophers afloat for most of the period, but the top line cashed in late in the frame. A shot by Reese Laubach from a tough angle snuck behind Di Pasquo, and Matt DiMarsico was there to pick up the loose change and extend the lead to 3-0 after two periods:

Third Period

Penn State did not let off the gas and continued to pressure Minnesota in the offensive zone and stifled the Gophers’ breakout. Minnesota started to put some consistent offense together past the midway point of the period, and Fleming had to make a great save on Beckett Hendrickson to keep it 3-0. An icing on Penn State allowed Minnesota to sustain some pressure against a tired Misa line that eventually yielded the chance for Hendrickson.

Lev Katzin took a roughing penalty with just under five minutes left, the only power play PSU yielded in the game. The penalty kill did a solid job keeping Minnesota to the outside and killed off the power play. The Nittany Lions got a late power play after Tanner Ludtke took a game misconduct penalty, but the offense was content to run out the clock and finish off a relatively easy 3-0 win.

Scoring Summary

First Period

• PSU: Luke Misa (3)- Carter Schade (2), Casey Aman (3)- 5v5- 5:13
• PSU: Cade Christenson (2)- Luke Misa (3), Mac Gadowsky (6)- 5v5- 12:28

Second Period

• PSU: Matt DiMarsico (9)- Reese Laubach (8), JJ Wiebusch (10)- 5v5- 19:55

Shots By Period

• MINN: 9-8-10-27
• PSU: 19-10-11-40

Takeaways

• No Charlie, No Problem- Cerrato’s health will be something to keep an eye on for tomorrow’s game, but the top line still looked sharp with Reese Laubach at center.
• 200-Foot Game- Effort was noticeable throughout the entire game at both ends of the ice. Some puck handling and turnover issues remain, but Penn State was winning puck battles all night and disrupted Minnesota’s breakout for much of this game.
• Luke Misa- Misa has had a quiet season so far, but he led PSU with seven shots on goal. He was rewarded for his effort with a goal on a nice deflection and nearly scored two more. His play will be vital for the bottom six in the second half of the season.
• Faceoffs- Penn State won 54% of the draws and dominated the faceoff circle in the final two periods, allowing them to sustain pressure in the offensive zone and transition from defense to offense quickly.
• Fleming- Minnesota mustered just 27 shots and looked unthreatening on offense for the most part, but Fleming did make a few high-danger chances that kept the Gophers off the scoresheet. The goaltenders have yielded just four goals in three matchups against Minnesota this season.
• Coaching- Minnesota is a team that gives us trouble no matter what kind of season they are having. Some nice adjustments by Gadowsky helped the Nittany Lions solve the Minnesota neutral zone trap that stifled Penn State’s offense in the first series.

Standings and Such

With two other Big Ten games still in action at the time of posting, Penn State holds fourth place in the conference by point percentage. A regulation loss tomorrow would push the Lions back into a tie for fourth, but if the team that showed up tonight is the one we see tomorrow, we will not have to worry about that.

Penn State jumped up to No. 6 in the NPI, pending tonight’s remaining results.

What’s Next

The two teams will meet again tomorrow night at 6pm at Pegula Ice Arena. Tomorrow’s game will also be broadcast on Big Ten Network.