![Gophers Sampo Ranta (58) scored on Nittany Lions goaltender Oskar Autio (35) in the third period. ] JEFF WHEELER • jeff.wheeler@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/A5JIUQ6JN5VRNWFPJQ4MVQBRGI.jpg?&w=1080)
The 100th season of Gophers men's hockey got off to a strong start Thursday night with a 4-1 victory over Penn State at 3M Arena at Mariucci, and the mere fact that college hockey was being played after a hiatus of more than eight months because of COVID-19 offered a small moment of normalcy in these abnormal times.
For Gophers coach Bob Motzko, the circumstances were strange, but eventually the game settled into a fast-paced contest between a Gophers team that's picked by coaches to win the Big Ten and a Penn State team that's trying to defend its conference championship while retooling on the fly. The lack of a crowd because of COVID-19 regulations wasn't detrimental, he said.
"The crowd really makes an impact, but it did not have an impact the other [negative] way tonight,'' Motzko said. "There was great energy on the ice – both teams you could hear. Both teams played extremely hard. Both teams were playing their rear ends off tonight.''
Here are three takeaways from Thursday's game heading into Friday afternoon's series finale (3 p.m., BTN):
1. The Sampo Show
Gophers junior forward Sampo Ranta showed just why the Colorado Avalanche made him a third-round draft pick in 2018.
With the Gophers leading 3-1 in the third period, Ranta took a pass from Scott Reedy in the Gophers zone, blew past Penn State defenseman Christian Berger in the neutral zone, drove hard to the net and tucked the puck past Nittany Lions goalie Oskar Autio to complete the spectacular rush at 10:47.
The play would be reviewed – and kind of, sort of waved off by a referee who meant to say "good goal'' but instead waved his arms in a "no goal'' manner before the goal was announced as good a few moments later. "Brain cramp,'' is how Motzko described it, telling the referee, "Hey, I have those every day.''