With a flair for the dramatic, captain Mike Koster scored with 3:04 remaining in regulation to break a 3-3 tie, helping the No. 2-ranked Golden Gophers clinch a share of the Big Ten Conference Championship Saturday with a 5-3 road win at No. 15/16 Penn State from Pegula Ice Arena. Oliver Moore’s three-point night and a pair of goals from Matthew Wood drove the Maroon and Gold to a record-setting seventh B1G title.
Needing a regulation win to clinch a share of the championship, Minnesota (24-8-4 overall, 15-6-3 B1G) led three times before finishing off the Nittany Lions (18-12-4 overall, 9-11-4 B1G) in the closing minutes via the power play in the final game of the 2024-25 regular season.
The Gophers were the aggressors opening the night as Wood skated alone on goal in the first four minutes, but his quick snapshot was erased with a blocker save. The visitors continued to fly through the neutral zone and a shot from Ryan Chesley ricocheted off the crossbar in a bid to get on the scoreboard first. A Minnesota turnover gave the Nittany Lions a counter and they had the same fate as Chesley, hitting the bar at the mid-point of the first period.
PSU was assessed a minor penalty with 6:17 left in the frame, sending the Maroon and Gold to a power play that it could not convert. The Gophers dominated the final minutes of the period with chance after chance but were unable to find the back of the net. In the last minute, a Minnesota penalty behind its attacking net gave the home side its first power play that carried into the second period as the game remained scoreless through 20 minutes.
Minnesota promptly wiped out the man advantage in the middle frame and it was a back-and-forth battle in what turned out to be a wild, four-goal period. After winning an offensive-zone faceoff, a harmless-looking point shot from the Nittany Lions deflected in front of the net and past the goaltender as they struck for a 1-0 lead at the 6:01 mark. The Gophers fought back on the next shift where Beckett Hendrickson split a pair of defenders and fired a shot from the slot that had to be turned aside. The unrelenting pressure finally paid off as Wood buried a rebound to pull the Maroon and Gold even with 10:15 remaining during the second. Moore’s initial shot was stopped but Wood stayed persistent in front of the net and was rewarded with the tying tally.
The Gophers staked a 2-1 edge in the final five minutes of the period when Mason Nevers lifted a rebound high over the goaltender’s glove and off the back bar. The graduate student was in the perfect spot after Koster’s shot was blocked by a PSU stick for his second goal of the weekend. Moore nearly had his third point of the period, but his backhand attempt rolled off his stick and was covered by the goalie. The Nittany Lions put on a surge over the final 90 seconds only to see Minnesota hold off the attack and go up the ice to extend its advantage to 3-1 as Jimmy Snuggerud scored with 25 seconds remaining in the period.
The goal was ultimately erased as PSU challenged for a collision two minutes prior and instead it was a five-minute power play for the home team. The reversal completely changed the contest as the Nittany Lions converted via the man advantage, making it 2-2 with 1:34 to play and the score stayed tied after two periods.
While on the extended penalty kill, Moore forced a turnover at the blue line only to see his breakaway clang off the right post before the visitors returned to full strength. Momentum stayed with the Gophers as they capitalized on a broken play as Wood one-timed his second goal of the night thanks to a slick feed from Connor Kurth. The lead was short lived as PSU responded less than a minute later for a 3-3 tie. As the clock showed 7:35 left in regulation, a dangerous slash by a Nittany Lion player right to the head of a Gopher gave the visitors a five-minute power play and a chance to jump ahead.
It was an all-out attack by Minnesota during the beginning of its man advantage trying to get a Big Ten title clinching goal, but incredible goaltending from PSU negated each chance. With just 3:04 to play, Koster took advantage of a perfect, behind-the-back pass across the goal crease from Jimmy Clark and put away the eventual winner. Moore added an empty-net goal in the final 30 seconds, sending the Maroon and Gold to a 5-3 victory.
Netminder Liam Souliere closed out the road win by turning away 30 shots in a venue he previously spent four seasons, recording his 13th victory of the year.
Noteworthy
Moore’s pair of helpers were his 18th and 19th of the year and extended his season-long point streak to five games, while he increased his point total to 30 with the empty-net goal … The sophomore is the fourth Gopher to reach the 30-point mark this year … For the fourth-straight Saturday appearance, Wood put together a multi-point effort, this time with his 13th and 14th goals of the season … It was his second game scoring twice this season, stretching his point total to 35 … Nevers picked up a goal for the second-straight night, his second time scoring in back-to-back outings this year, and now has six goals and eight points … Koster took to the ice in the 176th game of his Minnesota career Saturday, tying for the fourth most in program history, and recorded his 15th assist and fourth goal this season … The graduate student has reached the scoresheet in seven of his last nine appearances to total 19 points with his fourth multi-point performance of 2024-25 … Thomas collected an assist for the third time in his last four games, totaling nine points for the campaign … Kurth extended his point streak to three games with two assists to reach 36 points with his 20th helper … After going 10 games without a point in January, Clark has tallied seven points over the last nine games to post 20 points … Snuggerud pushed his point streak to three games behind his team-leading 23rd assist and 45th point … The Gophers wore their “Iron Range Alternate” uniforms for the second time this season on Saturday … The announced attendance of 6,570 was the 12th-straight sellout crowd to watch the Maroon and Gold to close the regular season.
Coach Motzko’s Comments
“To our guys’ credit tonight, they had no quit in them. And we’ve been playing pretty darn well all year long,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “We’ve only got four losses in regulation, but we needed to find a way to win that because we have earned and deserved the right to be Big Ten champs. You know, we’ll share it with Michigan State, but we’ve earned that and we’re awful proud of that.”
Next Up:
Home vs. Notre Dame (B1G Tournament Quarterfinals – March 7-9)
Minnesota begins the 2025 postseason presented by Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union with a best-of-three home series in the Big Ten Conference Tournament Quarterfinals versus seventh-seeded Notre Dame inside 3M Arena at Mariucci March 7-9.
(info and stock photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
