University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, January 9
University Park, PA
5:00 PM
University of Minnesota
8-11-1, 4-5-0
0
at
3
Penn State
13-6-0, 5-4-0
1
2
3
F
Minnesota
0
0
0
0
Penn State
2
1
0
3
Team Stats
MIN
PSU
Shots
27
40
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
3
Penalty Mins
14
14
Faceoffs Won
27
32
Game Leaders
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
-2
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
-2
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyDefense
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Fall in Series Opener at No. 9 Penn State
1/9/2026 8:00:00 PM | Men's Hockey
'U' suffers shutout in first game of 2026
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The University of Minnesota men's hockey team suffered a 3-0 shutout on the road at No. 9 Penn State Friday night from Pegula Ice Arena in its first test of the 2026 calendar year.
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The Golden Gophers (8-11-1 overall, 4-5-0 B1G, 13 points) gave up a pair of first-period tallies and the Nittany Lions (13-6-0 overall, 5-4-0 B1G, 16 points) closed their first-ever shutout of Minnesota.
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The home team was able to maintain early zone time, but it was blocked shots from both sides that helped each goaltender to begin the contest. A breakdown by the Maroon and Gold in its own zone led to the opening goal as Penn State struck at 5:13, tipping in a point shot for the 1-0 edge. The Gophers pushed right back and a dangerous chance by Brodie Ziemer had to be turned away as the visitors searched to build momentum. Despite the offensive looks, the deficit doubled when the Nittany Lions scored with 7:32 left in the period as Minnesota was caught in a line change before a shot from the top of the circle found the back of the net. The two-goal margin remained at the end of 20 minutes.
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A minute into the second stanza, Brody Lamb forced a turnover at the blue line and tested the PSU goalie with a shot in tight. The Gophers netminder Luca Di Pasquo had to be sharp in the next minutes to turn aside Nittany Lions shots and avoid a larger margin before Ziemer found himself alone in front of the cage for a great scoring opportunity that he was unable to convert. Minnesota weathered a surge by the home team and then generated a forecheck of its own, pushing to pull back into the contest, only to be denied. PSU made it 3-0 with 5.6 seconds left in the frame, tapping in a loose puck in the crease.
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The Gophers started the third period with a renewed intensity and carried play, forcing the Nittany Lions to defend. Jimmy Clark, Beckett Hendrickson, and Lamb all put shots on target in the opening 90 seconds. The middle of the stanza provided back-and-forth action and chances at each end of the ice. As the clock continued to wind down, the Maroon and Gold stayed engaged and a rebound bid by Hendrickson had to be saved at the top of the crease with seven minutes remaining in regulation.
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The first power-play of the night was awarded to Minnesota in the final five minutes, and it was erased by the Nittany Lions. The home side went to its lone man advantage with just 63 seconds to play and the Gophers shut down the opportunity before the final buzzer sounded, ending the 3-0 setback.
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Noteworthy
Di Pasquo finished the night by making 37 saves, his third-straight outing of at least 30 saves and the fifth time in 10 outings this season with 30 or more stops in a contest ... Cal Thomas led the team behind four blocked shots as the group posted 17 collectively and fellow blueliner Luke Mittelstadt had a team-high four shots on goal ... Both teams went 0-for-1 on the man advantage Friday, while each team was assessed a 10-minute misconduct at different points during the third period ... Minnesota was shutout for the third time this season and first in the 55-game history between the two programs ... Freshman LJ Mooney played a college hockey game in his home state of Pennsylvania for the first time in his young career, having grown up in West Mifflin, Pa., roughly 140 miles from PSU campus ... A trio of Gophers' sophomores returned to the lineup after lengthy absences as August Falloon and Leo Gruba came back from injury and played for the first time since Oct. 30 and Nov. 29, respectively, while Graham Harris made his first appearance since Nov. 8.
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Coach Motzko's Comments
"We turned pucks over in the first period, and they got out. And then we settled in in the second period, had our chances and if you find a goal, we've got ourselves a game, but it never came. Then it was crushing; the third goal with six seconds to go in the second period. That was a crusher for us," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "But we've got to be better tomorrow. We've got to have individuals to have some better games tomorrow, right from the start. And we will. They were fighting. They were trying to get to it. They were trying to find our game, and it was there in spurts."
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Next Up: Away at No. 9 Penn State (Jan. 10)
The Gophers and Nittany Lions conclude the season series in their fourth meeting Saturday night with puck drop set for 5 p.m. (CT) live on Big Ten Network. An audio broadcast can be heard on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
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The Golden Gophers (8-11-1 overall, 4-5-0 B1G, 13 points) gave up a pair of first-period tallies and the Nittany Lions (13-6-0 overall, 5-4-0 B1G, 16 points) closed their first-ever shutout of Minnesota.
Â
The home team was able to maintain early zone time, but it was blocked shots from both sides that helped each goaltender to begin the contest. A breakdown by the Maroon and Gold in its own zone led to the opening goal as Penn State struck at 5:13, tipping in a point shot for the 1-0 edge. The Gophers pushed right back and a dangerous chance by Brodie Ziemer had to be turned away as the visitors searched to build momentum. Despite the offensive looks, the deficit doubled when the Nittany Lions scored with 7:32 left in the period as Minnesota was caught in a line change before a shot from the top of the circle found the back of the net. The two-goal margin remained at the end of 20 minutes.
Â
A minute into the second stanza, Brody Lamb forced a turnover at the blue line and tested the PSU goalie with a shot in tight. The Gophers netminder Luca Di Pasquo had to be sharp in the next minutes to turn aside Nittany Lions shots and avoid a larger margin before Ziemer found himself alone in front of the cage for a great scoring opportunity that he was unable to convert. Minnesota weathered a surge by the home team and then generated a forecheck of its own, pushing to pull back into the contest, only to be denied. PSU made it 3-0 with 5.6 seconds left in the frame, tapping in a loose puck in the crease.
Â
The Gophers started the third period with a renewed intensity and carried play, forcing the Nittany Lions to defend. Jimmy Clark, Beckett Hendrickson, and Lamb all put shots on target in the opening 90 seconds. The middle of the stanza provided back-and-forth action and chances at each end of the ice. As the clock continued to wind down, the Maroon and Gold stayed engaged and a rebound bid by Hendrickson had to be saved at the top of the crease with seven minutes remaining in regulation.
Â
The first power-play of the night was awarded to Minnesota in the final five minutes, and it was erased by the Nittany Lions. The home side went to its lone man advantage with just 63 seconds to play and the Gophers shut down the opportunity before the final buzzer sounded, ending the 3-0 setback.
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Noteworthy
Di Pasquo finished the night by making 37 saves, his third-straight outing of at least 30 saves and the fifth time in 10 outings this season with 30 or more stops in a contest ... Cal Thomas led the team behind four blocked shots as the group posted 17 collectively and fellow blueliner Luke Mittelstadt had a team-high four shots on goal ... Both teams went 0-for-1 on the man advantage Friday, while each team was assessed a 10-minute misconduct at different points during the third period ... Minnesota was shutout for the third time this season and first in the 55-game history between the two programs ... Freshman LJ Mooney played a college hockey game in his home state of Pennsylvania for the first time in his young career, having grown up in West Mifflin, Pa., roughly 140 miles from PSU campus ... A trio of Gophers' sophomores returned to the lineup after lengthy absences as August Falloon and Leo Gruba came back from injury and played for the first time since Oct. 30 and Nov. 29, respectively, while Graham Harris made his first appearance since Nov. 8.
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Coach Motzko's Comments
"We turned pucks over in the first period, and they got out. And then we settled in in the second period, had our chances and if you find a goal, we've got ourselves a game, but it never came. Then it was crushing; the third goal with six seconds to go in the second period. That was a crusher for us," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "But we've got to be better tomorrow. We've got to have individuals to have some better games tomorrow, right from the start. And we will. They were fighting. They were trying to get to it. They were trying to find our game, and it was there in spurts."
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Next Up: Away at No. 9 Penn State (Jan. 10)
The Gophers and Nittany Lions conclude the season series in their fourth meeting Saturday night with puck drop set for 5 p.m. (CT) live on Big Ten Network. An audio broadcast can be heard on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Highlights: Gophers 0, Penn State 3
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