UNIVERSITY PARK, PA- Losing a shootout last Saturday turned out to be the difference for Minnesota.
Or it could possibly be a blown 3-0 lead to Michigan in November that resulted in a loss in overtime.
The 4-0 lead the next night which resulted in two points rather than three comes to mind. Maybe Wisconsin or Ohio State finding a way to win tied games in the third period did it. Maybe being shut out at Notre Dame despite 44 shots on Cale Morris.
Then there’s this weekend. After 24 Big Ten league games, Minnesota fell one point short of home ice.
“It’s tough. It’s not the weekend that we wanted,” Gopher junior forward Brent Gates Jr. said.
Needing a single point on the road in either of the two games against Penn State, the Gophers got swept at Pegula Arena for the first time in program history. Despite a better start Saturday a night after handily losing 5-1, Minnesota could not find a way early past Peyton Jones.
The Nittany Lions scored twice in the opening 10:48 to go on and win the regular season finale 5-2. Celebrating with streamers from the student section, PSU finishes with 34 points compared to 33 for the Gophers.
“We didn’t play as we needed to yesterday, as the shots and score showed. You can’t leave the second game to chance,” said Mike Szmatula.
Penn State’s reward is to host Minnesota (19-15-2, 10-12-2-1 Big Ten) once again next weekend in a best-of-three quarterfinal series. The winner will advance to a single-game semifinal March 10.
Minnesota began Saturday with five of the first six shots on goal. The lone Penn State (16-13-5, 9-10-5-2 Big Ten) attempt was a wrist shot by Alex Limoges which got went through the legs of goaltender Mat Robson, who finished with 35 saves.
Denis Smirnov added his 14th of the season right after a Penn State power play expired. With Robson settled in, Brandon Biro made it 3-0 Nittany Lions 6:24 into the second period.
“We certainly had our opportunities, our looks. We had 41 shots (Saturday) and that’s what disappointing,” said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. “We couldn’t come out here and get the win.”
Szmatula got the Gophers on the board with 1:58 remaining thanks to Scott Reedy making a heads-up play. He said the goal gave his teammates confidence and that they were playing well enough to come back, however, two early third period penalties and Limoges scoring his second of the night put the game out of reach.
Gates’ 12th of the season put Minnesota within two before Nittany Lions senior captain James Robinson, on Penn State’s Senior Night, scored an empty-netter.
Jones finished with 38 saves. Senior Matt Erlichman came in for the final 1:07 for his second collegiate appearance, making a single save.
The Gophers continue to be in position to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid if needed, ending the weekend ninth in the Pairwise rankings, which mimics the criteria used to determine the field.
Knowing next weekend’s opponent is a benefit, but this weekend’s results open up an internal look. Minnesota’s power play went 0-5 to continue a season-long struggle. The offense scored three goals in two games.
“This lends itself to evaluation to what our lines need to look like, who should be playing and who should sit next weekend,” said Lucia.
Jones said after the game the way his team was playing the last three games reminded him of how Penn State played desperately in the 2017 Big Ten conference tournament.
Minnesota said similar things about this weekend being a playoff season. The Nittany Lions showed it on the ice. After 24 games, that was the difference between home ice and road retaliation.
“We’ve seen them now four times this year. It’s about revenge and it’s about our season and keeping our season going and trending in the right direction,” Gates said. “We’re going to go to work this week and have the best week of practice we’ve had all year and be ready to go.”
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