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Lions upset Minnesota on ice

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Behind a 20-save performance from sophomore goaltender Peyton Jones, the No. 11 Penn State men’s ice hockey team defeated No. 7 Minnesota, 3-1, in the Big Ten Conference opener this evening from 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Penn State improves to 2-1-0 on the year and 1-0-0 in the Big Ten.

Penn State opened the scoring just after a series of penalties had expired as junior Andrew Sturtz forced a turnover and raced after the loose puck, beating a pair of Gophers down ice on a breakaway. He slipped a backhanded shot over the right pad of a sliding Eric Schierhorn for a 1-0 edge at 15:03 of the first period.

The Nittany Lions extended their lead early in the second period benefiting from the man-advantage after Minnesota was whistled for too many men. With the puck stuck along the half wall in the Gopher zone, freshman Alex Limoges gained possession and fed the puck to senior Erik Autio at the point. He found sophomore Denis Smirnov wide open at the left circle and he fired a wrist shot past the glove of Schierhorn, off the post and in for the 2-0 lead at 3:06.

Penn State made the score 3-0 just after a 5-on-3 power-play expired midway through the second period when sophomore Nikita Pavlychev tipped in a goal on the doorstep off a great feed from freshman Cole Hults during the man-advantage. Smirnov added the secondary assist on the goal.

Minnesota cut into the deficit as Ryan Norman received a pass in front of the crease and lifted the puck over the glove of Jones for the 3-1 score at 8:57 of the final frame.

Jones stopped 20-of-21 shots including a diving stick save near the end of the second period on a two-on-zero chance by the Gophers. The sophomore moves to 2-1-0 on the season and has started in net 19 straight games.

Penn State held the 26-21 edge in shots on goal and went 2-for-3 with the man-advantage and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. Smirnov now has a two-game point streak and is now second in the conference with five points (two goals, three assists). He registered his second consecutive multiple-point game and the 15th of his career. Sturtz is now just four goals shy of tying the Penn State career record for goals of 45 held by Casey Bailey.

The two teams conclude the series on Sunday.

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