The No. 7 Gophers scored three goals in the third period to beat Penn State 4-2 on Saturday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci before an announced crowd of 7,309.
The win salvaged a split for Minnesota (8-6, 5-3) in the series; the Nittany Lions won the opener 5-3 when they scored two goals in the final period.
"We had a good battle tonight from start to finish," Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. "I thought we played a strong game the last half of the second period and the third period."
In the rematch, Mason Nevers broke a 2-all tie on a power-play goal at 5 minutes, 19 seconds left in regulation. It was the fifth goal of the season for the sophomore forward from Edina but his first winning goal. Brock Faber and Ryan Johnson had assists on the play. Captain Sammy Walker's second goal of the game, an empty-netter with 1:21 left, gave Minnesota its final two-goal margin.
Penn State (7-6, 1-5) took a 1-0 lead in the rematch on Jimmy Dowd Jr.'s goal early in the second. The Gophers tied the score at 1-all on Walker's goal midway through the middle period.
Matthew Knies's power-play goal at 4:57 of the third gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead. But the Nittany Lions tied it on Kevin Wall's goal at 12:24.
Jack LaFontaine made 35 saves for the victory. Oskar Autio stopped 25 shots for Penn State.
