Gophers' early lead doesn't last in 6-3 loss to Penn State

Published Nov. 16, 2019 11:13 p.m. ET

The Gophers jumped out to an early lead but for the second night in a row, they couldn't keep up with high-scoring Penn State.

Juniors Scott Reedy and Cullen Munson scored in the first period to give Minnesota a two-goal lead, but the Nittany Lions stormed back, outscoring the Gophers 6-1 the rest of the way to complete the sweep. Penn State cruised to an 8-2 win in Friday's series opener.

The Gophers briefly held off the Penn State surge in the second period after the Nittany Lions got on the board on the power play at 3:15.

It took Minnesota less than a minute to respond. Sophomore Sampo Ranta answered with a breakaway goal at 4:21, but the Nittany Lions did him one better, cutting the Gophers' lead to 3-2 just 15 seconds later. Penn State scored five unanswered goals following Ranta's tally.

Gophers freshman Jared Moe made 25 saves in his seventh career start, while Peyton Jones made 35 saves for Penn State.

Minnesota (4-6-2, 1-3-2 Big Ten) hosts Wisconsin next weekend, before nonconference foe North Dakota comes to town Nov. 28-29.