Gophers coach Bob Motzko called it a “monster” opportunity. Following an impressive win Friday at Penn State, his team had a chance to pick up its first Big Ten sweep of the season in Saturday’s series finale.

Instead, the No. 6 Gophers fell behind early and couldn’t recover in a 6-3 loss at Pegula Ice Arena. The No. 18 Nittany Lions took a 3-0 lead with two goals in the first period and one in the second, and they had an answer each time the Gophers tried to rally.

The Gophers didn’t score until Rhett Pitlick’s shorthanded goal with 30.3 seconds left in the second period, after Aaron Huglen was penalized for checking from behind at 14 minutes, 48 seconds of the second period. Penn State came out strong in the third period and extended the lead to 4-1 on Jacques Bouquot’s breakaway goal at 10:06.

The teams swapped goals in the final minutes, with Jimmy Snuggerud and Bryce Brodzinski scoring for the Gophers. Penn State outshot the Gophers 43-26.

The Gophers overwhelmed the Nittany Lions in Friday’s series opener, roaring back from a 1-0 deficit with four consecutive goals for a 4-1 win. They were outshot 13-3 in the first period but scored on their first two shots, putting them on course for their fifth consecutive win in Happy Valley.

“We did a lot of good things. I liked how we played,” Motzko said. “You win the first [game], now we really have an opportunity to put a statement on the first half of our season.”

After Liam Souliere stopped 17 of 21 shots Friday, Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky switched goalies for the finale, opting for Noah Grannan. As they did Friday, the Nittany Lions got the jump on the Gophers, scoring the game’s first goal at 11:07 of the first period on Reese Laubach’s deflection past a screened Justen Close.

This time, Penn State kept it going. A fortunate bounce helped push its lead to 2-0 only 54 seconds later, with the Nittany Lions on the attack. As they carried the puck down the right side, a pass struck the skate of Gophers defenseman Cal Thomas. The puck ricocheted to Ryan Kirwan in the left circle, and before Close could slide over, Kirwan put it into the open side of the net.

Kirwan scored again at 10:19 of the second period, cashing in on a Gophers turnover to put the Nittany Lions ahead 3-0. The Gophers’ task grew more difficult when Huglen was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct at 14:48 of the period.

Huglen hit Aiden Fink behind the net, drawing a penalty for checking from behind. That got him ejected from the game and gave Penn State’s power play, ranked fifth in the nation, five minutes with the man advantage.

The Nittany Lions came up empty, as the Gophers withstood the pressure. Close stopped all 10 shots that got to the net, and the Gophers blocked five others.

As the power play wound down, Pitlick and Jimmy Clark broke loose for a two-on-one, and Pitlick finished it off with a shorthanded goal to pull the Gophers within 3-1.

After Bouquot’s goal, the Gophers closed within two again when Snuggerud intercepted a Penn State pass in the left circle of the Nittany Lions’ zone and fired the puck past Grannan at 14:35 of the third period. But Close made a mistake less than a minute later. He went behind the net to retrieve the puck, and his pass was picked off by Dylan Gratton, who shot into the empty net.

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.