University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, December 1
University Park, Pa.
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
8-4-3, 4-3-2
4
at
1
Penn State
8-5-3, 1-3-3
1
2
3
F
Minnesota
2
2
0
4
Penn State
1
0
0
1
Team Stats
MIN
PSU
Shots
21
34
PPG
1
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
2
3
Penalty Mins
4
6
Faceoffs Won
20
24
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyDefense
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Jim Harding
Milestone Night for 'U' in 4-1 Road Win Friday
12/1/2023 9:00:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Fifth-straight victory at PSU
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It was a night of milestones for the No. 7/6 Minnesota men's hockey team during a 4-1 victory on the road against the 18th-ranked Nittany Lions Friday night from Pegula Ice Arena.
Rhett Pitlick had a career-best three points, while reigning B1G First Star of the Week Bryce Brodzinski recorded the 100th point of his career with the eventual game-winning goal. Sam Rinzel joined the fun by scoring his first collegiate goal and the Golden Gophers (8-4-3 overall, 4-3-2 B1G) won for the fifth-straight time at Penn State (8-5-3 overall, 1-3-3 B1G).
The home side dominated the opening minutes of play and struck for a 1-0 lead 5:30 into the contest by redirecting a centering pass before the Gophers even put a shot on target. The Maroon and Gold quickly turned momentum and put away a pair of goals 92-seconds apart, late in the frame for a 2-1 edge. Rinzel got the scoring started at the 16:35 mark, taking a Pitlick feed and ripping home a shot from the slot, pulling Minnesota even, 1-1. With less than two minutes remaining in the period, Brodzinski one-timed a perfect pass from Jaxon Nelson past the PSU netminder and Minnesota scored twice on just three first-period shots on goal.
The Gophers tacked on another tally during the middle of the second stanza when Pitlick found a streaking Oliver Moore in the offensive zone. The freshman's shot was stopped, but Connor Kurth followed the play and was rewarded for driving the net, burying the rebound. Minnesota stayed on the attack and finished off its first power-play chance three minutes later when Pitlick batted home a puck from mid-air and the visitors carried a 4-1 lead through two periods.
The Maroon and Gold erased an early third-period chance for the Nittany Lions on a man advantage and were content to stay behind the play with a three-goal cushion. Minnesota earned two more power-play chances with less than seven minutes in regulation and cruised to the 4-1 road victory.
Justen Close was tested all night as PSU put shots on frame but was pivotal to the Gophers' success as he turned away 33 shots. It was the seventh time this season where the fifth-year senior made 30 or more saves to help keep Minnesota unbeaten over its last four games.
Noteworthy
Brodzinski became the 88th player in program history to reach 100 career points and the first since Blake McLaughlin hit the milestone in 2022 ... The Blaine, Minn., product extended his point streak to five games, scoring his team-leading ninth goal of the season, and has 15 points in his last 10 games ... Rinzel added his name to the now five-man list of Minnesota's first-time goal scorers in 2023-24 with his 10th point of the year ... Pitlick tallied a career-high three points Friday, with a goal in five-straight games, as the junior has six multi-point efforts in his previous nine outings ... It was the Plymouth, Minn., native's second-straight game scoring a power-play goal and the Gophers got their seventh goal on the man advantage across their previous six games ... Kurth net his third goal of the year, all coming in three-consecutive contests, and became the eighth Gopher to reach double-digit scoring with 10 points ... Nelson continues to pick up points as he added his 14th and has reached the scoresheet in 12 of 15 games this season ... Mason Nevers has a point in five of six series played this season since returning from injury ... Moore tied Nelson and Kurth for the team lead by recording his ninth assist ... It was also a milestone night for Assistant Athletic Director/Head Athletic Trainer Jeff Winslow as he worked his 500th career regular season NCAA hockey game Friday night since joining the program in 2009-10 ... Head coach Bob Motzko was behind the bench for the 200th time with Minnesota men's hockey Friday and has an all-time record of 121-64-15.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"Jeff is one of the best; outstanding and we're so fortunate to have a guy like that on your staff," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "He is a terrific human being, he's great at what he does, and we're so fortunate to have him with us."
Next Up: Away at Penn State (Dec. 2)
Minnesota closes its road series against the Nittany Lions Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT) on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK and Big Ten Network with streaming available on the Fox Sports app.
Rhett Pitlick had a career-best three points, while reigning B1G First Star of the Week Bryce Brodzinski recorded the 100th point of his career with the eventual game-winning goal. Sam Rinzel joined the fun by scoring his first collegiate goal and the Golden Gophers (8-4-3 overall, 4-3-2 B1G) won for the fifth-straight time at Penn State (8-5-3 overall, 1-3-3 B1G).
The home side dominated the opening minutes of play and struck for a 1-0 lead 5:30 into the contest by redirecting a centering pass before the Gophers even put a shot on target. The Maroon and Gold quickly turned momentum and put away a pair of goals 92-seconds apart, late in the frame for a 2-1 edge. Rinzel got the scoring started at the 16:35 mark, taking a Pitlick feed and ripping home a shot from the slot, pulling Minnesota even, 1-1. With less than two minutes remaining in the period, Brodzinski one-timed a perfect pass from Jaxon Nelson past the PSU netminder and Minnesota scored twice on just three first-period shots on goal.
The Gophers tacked on another tally during the middle of the second stanza when Pitlick found a streaking Oliver Moore in the offensive zone. The freshman's shot was stopped, but Connor Kurth followed the play and was rewarded for driving the net, burying the rebound. Minnesota stayed on the attack and finished off its first power-play chance three minutes later when Pitlick batted home a puck from mid-air and the visitors carried a 4-1 lead through two periods.
The Maroon and Gold erased an early third-period chance for the Nittany Lions on a man advantage and were content to stay behind the play with a three-goal cushion. Minnesota earned two more power-play chances with less than seven minutes in regulation and cruised to the 4-1 road victory.
Justen Close was tested all night as PSU put shots on frame but was pivotal to the Gophers' success as he turned away 33 shots. It was the seventh time this season where the fifth-year senior made 30 or more saves to help keep Minnesota unbeaten over its last four games.
Noteworthy
Brodzinski became the 88th player in program history to reach 100 career points and the first since Blake McLaughlin hit the milestone in 2022 ... The Blaine, Minn., product extended his point streak to five games, scoring his team-leading ninth goal of the season, and has 15 points in his last 10 games ... Rinzel added his name to the now five-man list of Minnesota's first-time goal scorers in 2023-24 with his 10th point of the year ... Pitlick tallied a career-high three points Friday, with a goal in five-straight games, as the junior has six multi-point efforts in his previous nine outings ... It was the Plymouth, Minn., native's second-straight game scoring a power-play goal and the Gophers got their seventh goal on the man advantage across their previous six games ... Kurth net his third goal of the year, all coming in three-consecutive contests, and became the eighth Gopher to reach double-digit scoring with 10 points ... Nelson continues to pick up points as he added his 14th and has reached the scoresheet in 12 of 15 games this season ... Mason Nevers has a point in five of six series played this season since returning from injury ... Moore tied Nelson and Kurth for the team lead by recording his ninth assist ... It was also a milestone night for Assistant Athletic Director/Head Athletic Trainer Jeff Winslow as he worked his 500th career regular season NCAA hockey game Friday night since joining the program in 2009-10 ... Head coach Bob Motzko was behind the bench for the 200th time with Minnesota men's hockey Friday and has an all-time record of 121-64-15.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"Jeff is one of the best; outstanding and we're so fortunate to have a guy like that on your staff," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "He is a terrific human being, he's great at what he does, and we're so fortunate to have him with us."
Next Up: Away at Penn State (Dec. 2)
Minnesota closes its road series against the Nittany Lions Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT) on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK and Big Ten Network with streaming available on the Fox Sports app.
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