Ryan Kirwan's two goals push Penn State past Minnesota 6-3

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- In front of a Roar Zone crowd as white as the snow you see in the holiday season, the No. 18 Penn State Nittany Lions gave their fans an early holiday gift with a 6-3 upset over No. 7 Minnesota.

It was a high-flying first nine minutes inside Pegula Ice Arena, as both teams were awarded a few Grade-A chances to open the scoring but both netminders stood tall.

Right after the first stoppage, Penn State took off, netting two goals in 54 seconds thanks to Reese Laubach and Ryan Kirwan.

The now-famous “Kid Line” of the blue and white has continued to shine each weekend, adding to a 34-point mark over the previous nine games.

Tonight all of them were committed and it’s good to see them play an excellent game,” Gadowsky said.

The Golden Gophers flexed their muscles after the multi-goal outburst from Penn State, but sophomore goaltender Noah Grannan was up to the task with 10 saves through the first 20.

The energy in the arena was at an all-time high after the two quick strikes, but seemingly continued to grow with each save from the Wisconsin native.

“I think [his saves] were much more important than usual because of what happened last night,” Gadowsky said. “So the fact we got ahead and he came up with some big saves, I think it added belief.”

An eerily similar start as the start in Game 1, but Penn State entered the intermission on top, something head coach Guy Gadowsky noted.

“I think everybody was a little pissed off [after last night],” Gadowsky said. “We were not mentally tough to maintain our game… so yeah, there was a difference.”

The pace of play didn’t dwindle in the middle period, as both the Nittany Lions and Golden Gophers kept the burners on, flying up and down the ice through the first 10 minutes.

Deja vu struck in the second period, as right after the media timeout Ryan Kirwan buried his second goal of the game off a lucky bounce from a Jarod Crespo shot to make it 3-0.

Penn State continued to pile on the pressure throughout the period, putting up 22 shots compared to Minnesota’s six.

“We were inspired by last night,” Gadowsky said. “We were inspired by our letdown.”

Frustration started to boil over for the maroon and gold, as Aaron Huglen sent Aiden Fink crashing into the boards, earning himself a game misconduct and a five-minute power play for the Nittany Lions.

However, the ice tilted in favor of Minnesota, as Rhett Pitlick potted a short-handed goal, his fourth point of the series, to make it 3-1 in the dying seconds of the middle frame.

Minnesota, feeling the momentum and pressure simultaneously, looked to switch things up offensively in the third period with head coach Bob Motzko putting his lines into a blender.

Three of the most prolific scorers in college hockey in Jimmy Snuggerud, Jimmy Clark and Oliver Moore took the ice together in the final frame looking to add a spark for the Golden Gophers.

The line switches garnered plenty of momentum through the first 10 minutes, but it was quickly vanquished when Jacques Bouqout stripped Luke Mittelstadt and buried one past Justen Close on a breakaway to make it 4-1.

“For us, it’s just don’t panic,” Kirwan said. “ We’re gonna get scored on sometimes, obviously. It’s just how you respond to it.”

A turnover from the Nittany Lions gave St. Louis Blues prospect Jimmy Snuggerud his first goal of the weekend, but Dylan Gratton got the goal right back for the blue and white to keep the three-goal advantage, 5-2.

“It’s nice to see him get rewarded,” Kirwan said. “We just got scored on so that was a beautiful mental shift for us as well.”

The third period continued to be back and forth, as Bryce Brodzinski made it 5-3 off a power-play tally, his fifth in the last six games against Penn State.

However, Danny Dzhaniyev and Penn State got the last laugh, with an empty-netter with half a second remaining to send the fans home happy.

Penn State will take on No. 6 Wisconsin next weekend, and look to continue battling through the plethora of injuries the squad has faced.

“We’ve learned to be resilient from the injuries we’ve had to go through,” Gadowsky said. “And tonight was nothing different.”

Joshua Bartosik is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jsb6137@psu.edu.