GOPHER MEN’S HOCKEY: Power-Play Goals Drop Gophers in Loss to No. 5 Penn State
by Matthew Auchincloss November 22, 2025
Before the No. 2 Michigan hockey team’s second game against Ohio State began, junior forward Nick Moldenhauer had five assists. By the end of the night, he was up to eight, adding more than half of his previous season total in just over 20 minutes of on-ice play. It was also more than he had recorded in a game in his career.
Saturday night was a dominant performance from Moldenhauer, who has quietly been one of Michigan’s most valuable players this year — even if the stat sheet doesn’t always reflect it. His versatility has improved dramatically since joining the Wolverines, and he’s converted from a one-dimensional shooter into an everyman who throws the body, kills penalties and still scores goals. His on-ice vision has improved, allowing him to make more plays, and he’s a much more dynamic force for the Wolverines than he has been in previous years.
“He’s been awesome,” senior forward Kienan Draper said. “Stepping up big time for us. He makes plays every single game that go kind of unnoticed, and it’s nice to see him get rewarded tonight. And he’s such a key piece for our team, and we know he’s going to be huge for us for the rest of the first half here.”
The assists Moldenhauer made were critical as well, not empty-calorie assists. On sophomore forward Michael Hage’s goal in the second period. Moldenhauer saw Hage hurtling towards the goal and managed to backhand an awkward deflected pass from sophomore forward Will Horcoff to Hage, who didn’t miss. The play likely would have died without Moldenhauer’s contribution.
His third assist was to senior forward T.J. Hughes on the penalty kill, where he took advantage of a poor stick handle from Ohio State forward Landen Gunderson to make the play. Moldenhauer managed to bat the puck away from Gunderson as the Buckeyes overhandled it and lost control, knocking it towards Hughes who had just changed on. Moldenhauer then served as the second man down the middle with freshman forward Adam Valentini to his left and Hughes on his right. It forced Buckeyes defender William Smith to pick between defending the pass options or defending the shot. He picked to defend the passes, as is conventional in 2-on-1s, leaving Hughes open to pot the Wolverines’ sixth goal of the night.
Perhaps his best assist of the night, however, was a stretch pass to Horcoff, who had long left the offensive zone and was calling for the puck far up ice, knowing that Moldenhauer could make the intended play. Moldenhauer’s pass was practically right on the tape and Horcoff was able to smoothly receive the puck and keep his lead over the Ohio State defenders, leaving him 1-on-1 with Buckeyes goaltender Kristoffer Eberly, who stood no chance. Horcoff pointed down the ice to Moldenhauer as his goal, recognizing his teammate’s critical role in the goal. He also got the team’s game puck postgame, according to Naurato.
“I feel like he’s a guy that does a lot of really good, winning hockey plays for this team,” Naurato said. “And maybe he deserves more in the stat column.”
Moldenhauer added significantly in the stat column tonight. His three assists put the game out of reach for Ohio State and were an integral part of Michigan completing the sweep over its rivals.
MINNEAPOLIS – The Golden Gophers men’s hockey team could not overcome a pair of power-play goals in a 2-1 setback to No. 5 Penn State from 3M Arena at Mariucci Saturday night.
Tanner Ludtke provided the lone tally for Minnesota (6-9-1 overall, 3-3-0 B1G) on the man advantage that gave the home side a lead in the first period. The Nittany Lions (11-5-0 overall, 4-4-0 B1G) responded with power-play tallies in the second and third periods to close a Big Ten Conference split. It was the Gophers’ first home loss to Penn State since Nov. 10, 2022, snapping an eight-game winning streak in the series.
The Maroon and Gold struck first midway through the opening period after sustained forechecking pressure forced a turnover behind the PSU net by John Mittelstadt. The visitors were called for the game’s first penalty at 8:51, and the Gophers capitalized quickly. Just 31 seconds into the power play, LJ Mooney weaved past a defender and threaded a pass to Ludtke, who blasted a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle for a 1-0 lead. The Gophers carried that advantage into the first intermission.
Goaltender Nathan Airey continued his strong weekend early in the second period, turning aside a flurry of Nittany Lion attempts as the visitors tilted the ice in their favor. Penn State generated extended zone time and earned its first power play with 6:10 remaining in the frame. Less than a minute into the man advantage, PSU knotted the score at 1-1 on a one-timer from the right circle. The game remained tied through 40 minutes, though a too-many-men penalty in the final seconds put the visitors on another power play to open the third.
Penn State wasted little time taking its first lead of the night, converting just 64 seconds into the final stanza on another one-timer from a similar spot. Minnesota pushed back midway through the period and earned a power play when Mooney was slashed driving to the net on an odd-man rush, but the Nittany Lions killed off the chance. The Gophers continued to generate looks late, including a rebound effort from Teddy Townsend that was gloved down on a highlight-reel save, but could not find the equalizer.
Minnesota doubled its shot output in the third period and placed 12 attempts on target while pressing for the tying goal. Despite the late surge, the Gophers came up short and closed the weekend with a series split, falling 2-1.
Noteworthy
Ludtke picked up his second power-play tally of the season and third goal overall, all of which have been scored on special teams … It was the Lakeville, Minn., native’s first goal inside 3M Arena at Mariucci and first since scoring in back-to-back games at North Dakota Oct. 17-18 … Mooney extended his scoring streak to a season-long three games behind his eighth assist of the campaign, seventh during a man advantage, reaching 11 total points … Nine of Brody Lamb’s now team-leading 13 points this season have come in the second game of a series as the senior posted his sixth helper of 2025-26 … Airey finished the night by turning away 27 shots as he made back-to-back starts in goal for the Maroon and Gold … Minnesota registered 21 blocked shots in the setback, its fourth time totaling 20 or more blocks in an outing … The Gophers scored a power-play goal for the third-straight game and sixth over the past five contests, but allowed PSU to go 2-for-2 on the man advantage Saturday … It marked the fifth time in the last nine games where Minnesota has surrendered multiple power-play tallies … The Maroon and Gold fell to 5-4-0 when scoring the game’s first goal.
Coach Motzko’s Comments
“A disappointing outcome, but it was a good weekend for us. I mean, it was a hard-fought game. Our guys fought; they fought their tails off,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “We had chances. We had plenty of chances. We just couldn’t slip one more in there.”
Next Up: Away at No. 3 Denver (Nov. 29)
The Gophers hit the road for their final nonconference matchup of the season when they face the third-ranked Pioneers of Denver in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game Nov. 29 inside Ball Arena. Denver is the fourth top-10 opponent Minnesota will face in the first half of its schedule.
