Penn State set to Face Minnesota in Crucial Big Ten Series
A saying that’s been uttered all season long has echoed throughout Hockey Valley this week: this weekend’s series is the biggest of the year.
Except for this time it holds true – No. 2 Minnesota comes to town to try and clinch the Big Ten regular season championship against No. 7 Penn State.
The Golden Gophers aren’t the only team with something to fight for this weekend. The Nittany Lions find themselves in sixth place in the Big Ten, one point behind third, fourth and sixth, and five points out of second place.
The last time these teams faced off back in November, Penn State pulled off a sweep against then top-ranked Minnesota, giving them back-to-back weekends with a win over the top team in the nation.
A lot has changed for both squads since that series, but for head coach Guy Gadowsky, he believes his team has changed for the better.
“I think we are a better hockey team,” Gadowsky said. “I’d like to think that we’re a more mentally tough team than we were back then.”
Mental toughness isn’t the only thing improving coming into this series for the blue and white as they are the healthiest they have been in over a month.
Everyone except for Ryan Kirwan, who is listed as day-to-day, is “good to go” according to Gadowsky, coming off a desperately needed bye week.
“We had a lot of injuries, especially after Michigan,” junior forward Tyler Paquette said. “So I think it will really benefit us this week and being more fresh, especially with [Minnesota] playing last week.”
Minnesota is coming off a series split on the road against Wisconsin, a result that was rather unexpected given the drastically different seasons the two squads are having.
The Golden Gophers are battling injuries themselves, with senior defenseman and captain Brock Faber along with defenseman Ryan Chesley out for this weekend’s matchups.
Even with the injuries, the maroon and gold are still just as lethal as ever, thanks to one of the deepest rosters in the country.
Minnesota is led by a pair of premier NHL talent in 2022 third overall pick Logan Cooley and 2022 23rd overall pick Jimmy Snuggerud.
A St. Louis Blues prospect, Snuggerud leads the Golden Gophers in both goals and points, with 17 and 40 respectively.
Cooley, an Arizona Coyotes prospect, leads the team in assists with 24 and is second on the team in points with 38.
The maroon and gold aren’t just led by young superstars however. Seniors like Jackson LaCombe and Bryce Brodzinski are top five on the team in points and give the Golden Gophers a healthy mix of youth and veteran leadership.
With 14 NHL prospects, it’s easy to see why Minnesota scores four goals a game and converts on the power play at nearly a 25% clip.
Between the pipes for Minnesota is Justen Close, who took over in net for the maroon and gold after Jack LaFontaine left for the NHL halfway through last season.
The senior has a 2.09 goals against average this season with a .921 save percentage, and is a semifinalist for the Mike Richter award.
The Nittany Lions will certainly have their hands full this weekend, a weekend that requires some sort of points to fight for a top three seed in the monster conference that is the Big Ten.
Even with everything hanging in the balance on these last four regular season games, the Nittany Lions have one focus for this weekend: beat Minnesota.
“It’s like coach says, take it game by game. Try not to get caught up in the standings and who’s doing what,” senior forward Conor McMenamin said. “We just want to play each game to win and play it as a playoff game.”
Joshua Bartosik is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jsb6137@psu.edu.
