Game Story: Penn State holds on, knocks Gophers out of Big Ten Conference Tournament (Zone Coverage)

The Gophers, having likely done enough over the first 34 games to earn an at-large bid when the 16 team field is announced on March 18, will enter the NCAA Tournament on a four-game losing streak, all to the Nittany Lions and all at Pegula Arena.

The latest loss came Saturday when Penn State came out ahead 6-5 in a game which saw Minnesota (19-17-2) explode for four goals in the second period and four lead changes.

Evan Barratt scored twice Saturday, including the game-winning goal with 8:35 remaining in regulation.

“We were a little sluggish in the first and then after that I thought we played hard and fought right until the end. It’s just disappointing we didn’t get that final goal,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia told reporters after Saturday’s game. “The guys had a great push in the second and third period and showed a lot of who they are coming back from 3-1 on the road.”

Combined with Friday’s 5-3 victory, Penn State won the best-of-three quarterfinal series 2-0 and will advance to next week’s Big Ten semifinal.

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