Penn State men’s hockey up against another ranked opponent in its search for its first Big Ten win

Another weekend, another top-ranked opponent.

The Penn State men’s hockey team faces a Top 10-ranked opponent for the third weekend in the past four when it travels to play No. 7 Minnesota for a two-game series Friday and Saturday.

After an 0-4 start to Big Ten Conference play, the Nittany Lions need to get a victory and it will not come easily. Penn State has a 5-11 record on the Gophers’ home ice, 3M Arena at Mariucci.

While shooting the puck remains an area of strength and Penn State ranks third in goals scored among conference teams (36) this season, stopping the puck has a been a problem.

Oskar Autio sits seventh among goalies in the six-team conference with a 2.58 goals-against average. He’s given up 18 goals in seven games. Penn State has a 4-3 record when he’s between the pipes. His backup, Liam Souliere, has a 3.75 average in the four games he’s played. The team has a 2-2 record in those games.

Coach Guy Gadowsky said the two will likely continue to share duties going forward because they’ve both proven they can win games.

More importantly, the defensive struggles go far beyond the goalies through the first 11 games. It’s been a team effort — with some mental lapses and physical mistakes preventing Penn State from finding the consistency it would like.

The team endured similar struggles when it played an abbreviated, conference-only schedule and started 0-5 last season. That was its worst start in conference play since the inaugural Big Ten season (2013-14), when it started 0-9 and finished with just three conference victories.

Penn State (6-5-0, 0-4-0 Big Ten) at No. 7 Minnesota (7-5-0, 4-2-0)

Series: 8 p.m. Friday, 9 p.m. Saturday

Radio/TV: 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com

Notable: Minnesota leads the series, 17-15-1. … Minnesota swept Notre Dame to start conference play and then split series with Wisconsin and Ohio State in recent weekends. … Senior forward Blake McLaughlin leads Minnesota with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists). … Minnesota has the fewest penalties (32) and lowest average penalty minutes (7:30) in the Big Ten. … Penn State leads the conference, averaging 36.45 shots per game.