Senior forward Connor MacEachern had two goals and an assist for No. 8 Penn State as the Nittany Lions upset No. 1 Minnesota in a 4-2 win on the road Thursday.
It’s the second straight week that Penn State has upset the No. 1 team in the nation as they shut out Michigan 3-0 last Friday before splitting the series.
Junior forward Christian Sarlo also scored for PSU (10-1-0, 4-1-0 Big Ten), and junior goaltender Liam Souliere made 24 saves.
Sophomore forward Aaron Huglen and senior forward Bryce Brodzinski each scored for the Golden Gophers (7-4-0, 3-2-0 Big Ten). Senior netminder Justen Close made 24 saves.
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MacEachern opened the scoring just over six minutes into the game on a 2-on-1 with senior forward Connor McMenamin, who dished to MacEachern for a one-timer.
Brodzinski tied it 1-1 early in the second period, scoring with a wrist shot to the top right corner after freshman forward Logan Cooley made a beautiful move to set him up.
Sarlo restored Penn State’s lead, making it 2-1 with 5.8 seconds left in the second. A Minnesota turnover at the end of a power play went right to Sarlo on his way out of the box, and he froze the defender before driving into the slot and scoring.
Hey @espn how about them Nittany Lions knocking off the No. 1 team in the nation in back-to-back weeks!! #SCTop10@Buccigross pic.twitter.com/eHydyiHd1E
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) November 11, 2022
MacEachern capitalized on another Gopher turnover to make it 3-1 just 48 seconds into the third, firing a wrist shot from the high slot off the rush.
Huglen’s first of the season cut it to 3-2 moments later, scoring from the top of the left circle off the rush as Souliere got a piece of the shot, but not enough. The goal stood after an offside review.
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Graduate forward Ashton Calder scored on an empty net with 18.5 seconds left for the 4-2 final.
Both sides went 0-for-1 on the power play.
Game 2 in Minneapolis is set for Friday at 8 p.m.
