University of Minnesota Athletics

Friday, November 19
3M Arena at Mariucci
7:00 PM

University of Minnesota

7-6-0, 4-3-0

3
vs
5

Penn State

7-5-0, 1-4-0

1
2
3
F
Penn St.
1
2
2
5
Minnesota
1
2
0
3
Penn State vs Minnesota
Photo by: Matt Krohn

Gophers Fall Short in 5-3 Game with PSU

11/19/2021 11:14:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Jaxon Nelson scored twice while Matthew Knies had a three-point game.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Gopher men's hockey program opened the weekend with a 5-3 loss to Penn State on Friday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci. 

Jaxon Nelson scored a pair of power-play goals while Matthew Knies had a three-point night with a goal and two assists for Minnesota (7-6-0 overall, 4-3-0-0-1-0 Big Ten).
 
Penn State (7-5-0, 1-4-0-0-0-0) struck first with a goal from Ryan Kirwan at 6:41 of the first period before Knies tallied a late equalizer at 19:28 of the opening stanza. 

Nelson bookended the second period with a pair of power-play goals for the Maroon & Gold – opening the period with his third goal of the year at 3:32 and closing it with his fourth at 18:58. However, the Nittany Lions scored a pair of goals in between with Connor MacEachern and Ben Copeland finding the net. 

The visitors then added a pair of goals in the third period to break the game open as Christian Sarlo and Chase McLane scored for Penn State.

Nelson's tallies carried Minnesota to a 2-for-5 performance on the power play while Penn State was 2-for-2. The Gophers held a 35-26 advantage on shots. Jack LaFontaine made 21 saves for the Maroon & Gold while Oskar Autio recorded 32.  

Coach's Comments
"That was a disappointing loss," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We handed a game away, and we've seen that now three Fridays in a row." 

Noteworthy
Nelson's two-goal game marked his first career multi-goal performance and his second career multi-point performance while Knies recorded his first career three-point performance…Ben Meyers added a pair of assists for the Gophers. 

Up Next: Penn State at on Saturday 
Minnesota closes out a four-game home stretch on Saturday against Penn State at 3M Arena at Mariucci (TV: Bally Sports North; Stream: B1G+/Bally Sports App/TSN.ca/TSN APP; Radio: 1130 KTLK/103.5 FM).

 
Highlights: Gophers 6, Denver 5
Saturday, November 29
Highlights: Gophers 1, Penn State 2
Saturday, November 22
Timelapse: Gopher Hockey Ice Out
Saturday, November 22
Highlights: Gophers 3, Penn State 2
Friday, November 21