Power-Play Goals Drop Gophers in Loss to No. 5 Penn State

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MINNEAPOLIS - The Golden Gophers men's hockey team could not overcome a pair of power-play goals in a 2-1 setback to No. 5 Penn State from 3M Arena at Mariucci Saturday night.

Tanner Ludtke provided the lone tally for Minnesota (6-9-1 overall, 3-3-0 B1G) on the man advantage that gave the home side a lead in the first period. The Nittany Lions (11-5-0 overall, 4-4-0 B1G) responded with power-play tallies in the second and third periods to close a Big Ten Conference split. It was the Gophers' first home loss to Penn State since Nov. 10, 2022, snapping an eight-game winning streak in the series.

The Maroon and Gold struck first midway through the opening period after sustained forechecking pressure forced a turnover behind the PSU net by John Mittelstadt. The visitors were called for the game's first penalty at 8:51, and the Gophers capitalized quickly. Just 31 seconds into the power play, LJ Mooney weaved past a defender and threaded a pass to Ludtke, who blasted a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle for a 1-0 lead. The Gophers carried that advantage into the first intermission.

Goaltender Nathan Airey continued his strong weekend early in the second period, turning aside a flurry of Nittany Lion attempts as the visitors tilted the ice in their favor. Penn State generated extended zone time and earned its first power play with 6:10 remaining in the frame. Less than a minute into the man advantage, PSU knotted the score at 1-1 on a one-timer from the right circle. The game remained tied through 40 minutes, though a too-many-men penalty in the final seconds put the visitors on another power play to open the third.

Penn State wasted little time taking its first lead of the night, converting just 64 seconds into the final stanza on another one-timer from a similar spot. Minnesota pushed back midway through the period and earned a power play when Mooney was slashed driving to the net on an odd-man rush, but the Nittany Lions killed off the chance. The Gophers continued to generate looks late, including a rebound effort from Teddy Townsend that was gloved down on a highlight-reel save, but could not find the equalizer.

Minnesota doubled its shot output in the third period and placed 12 attempts on target while pressing for the tying goal. Despite the late surge, the Gophers came up short and closed the weekend with a series split, falling 2-1.

Noteworthy
Ludtke picked up his second power-play tally of the season and third goal overall, all of which have been scored on special teams ... It was the Lakeville, Minn., native's first goal inside 3M Arena at Mariucci and first since scoring in back-to-back games at North Dakota Oct. 17-18 ... Mooney extended his scoring streak to a season-long three games behind his eighth assist of the campaign, seventh during a man advantage, reaching 11 total points ... Nine of Lamb's now team-leading 13 points this season have come in the second game of a series as the senior posted his sixth helper of 2025-26 ... Airey finished the night by turning away 27 shots as he made his third-straight start in goal for the Maroon and Gold ... Minnesota registered 21 blocked shots in the setback, its fourth time totaling 20 or more blocks in an outing ... The Gophers scored a power-play goal for the third-straight game and sixth over the past five contests, but allowed PSU to go 2-for-2 on the man advantage Saturday ... It marked the fifth time in the last nine games where Minnesota has surrendered multiple power-play tallies ... The Maroon and Gold fell to 5-4-0 when scoring the game's first goal.

Coach Motzko's Comments
"A disappointing outcome, but it was a good weekend for us. I mean, it was a hard-fought game. Our guys fought; they fought their tails off," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We had chances. We had plenty of chances. We just couldn't slip one more in there."

Next Up: Away at No. 3 Denver (Nov. 29)
The Gophers hit the road for their final nonconference matchup of the season when they face the third-ranked Pioneers of Denver in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game Nov. 29 inside Ball Arena. Denver is the fourth top-10 opponent Minnesota will face in the first half of its schedule.

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Team Stats

Tanner Ludtke

Brody Lamb

LJ Mooney

Luke Mittelstadt

Players Mentioned

Nathan Airey

Tanner Ludtke

John Mittelstadt

LJ Mooney

Teddy Townsend