2024–25 Big Ten Conference ice hockey season

The second period began with Maine skating fast and trying to break into the Penn State zone while the Nittany Lions countered with a more reserved attack. PSU was content to wait for their opportunities and they were rewarded with a breakaway just two minutes in but Boija was able to stop Aiden Fink with his glove. The Black Bears shook off the near-miss and continued to pressure Penn State but were unable to find the net. Just past the 5-minute mark, David Breazeale threw a blind pass behind his own net but the only one in the area was Charlie Cerrato. The Lion forward found DiMarsico in front of the net and the sophomore made no mistake, burying his second of the night into the top corner. With a 3-goal lead now, Penn State had little reason to go away from their defense-first game even with half of the match still to be played. Despite Maine pressing hard in the offensive zone, the Lions counterattack was getting the better chances and Boija had to work just to keep his team in the match. Maine was almost able to get one back with about 7 minutes to play when the puck bounced out of Sergeev's glove but it slid past the outside of the post. Physical play afterwards saw both teams throwing the body around and Dowiak was slow to get up. Shortly after, Cerrato crashed into Boija, hitting the goaltender high and nocking his head into the post. After an injury stoppage, the Swede was able to continue. Neither team shied away from contact as Manie tried to force their way into the Penn State end but the Nittany Lions would not oblige. PSU's patience continued to be rewarded with the best chances and Cerrato was inches away from finding a goal with 2 minutes to play but the angle on his shot was just a little off. The final moments passed by with little effect and had Penn State up by three going into the final period.

Almost as soon as the players got back onto the ice the hitting resumed. Early on, Maine was finally able to establish some offensive zone time and on their second entry they were able to get some scoring chances on goal. Penn State nearly countered with a 2-on-0 but the puck ended up rolling into the corner. Past the 5-minute mark, Bodie Nobes crashed into his own net, taking out Boija and Fink in the process, but no one was injured on the play. As time ticked away, Maine's chances at getting back into the game became increasingly remote. As the period progressed, Penn State seemed to be getting stronger and didn't allow Maine to stay in their zone for long. Near the middle of the period, Nicholas DeGraves got the puck right in the slot in front of the Maine net. His shot went wide but concurrent with the chance he was hit hard by Makar and crashed to the ice in pain. Despite protests from the Penn State bench, no penalty was called on the play. Maine began upping their offensive pressure and was able to get the puck deep into the PSU zone but the Nittany Lions' defense blocked a pair of opportunities. About a minute later, Josh Nadeau took a slashing penalty, costing Maine vital time that they could ill afford. However, just like Penn State had earlier, Maine was able to get a few solid shorthanded chances on Sergeev As they were going for a third scoring chance, Harrison Scott was called for crosschecking and put Maine on the defensive for another 2 minutes. Boija was forced to make several stellar saves during the extended power play but did not allow the Lions to score. Back at even strength, Maine had just 6 minutes remaining to find 3 goals but still found it difficult to fight through the Penn State defense. After forcing an offensive zone draw, Boija was pulled for an extra attacker giving the Bears 6 skaters with just over 4 minutes to play. However, despite their best efforts, Penn State was able to turn over the puck and Dowiak was able to skate down the ice and deposit his second of the night into an open goal. The game calmed down a little after the marker but Maine continued to skate, refusing to knuckle under in spite of the score. The final minutes were completed without too many fireworks and ended with Penn State as the clear victor.

The Gophers picked right up where they left off and a screened point shot from Luke Mittelstadt eluded Hrabal but hit the crossbar and bounced away harmlessly. Massachusetts countered and went on the attack which included a bit of physical play as well. A few long shots reached Soulière but he didn't have too much difficulty making the saves. The two teams then went back and forth for several minutes to no real effect but, around the 12-minute mark, Minnesota generated a few scoring chances. Neither found its mark and UMass was able to get back to its game. Hrabal was forced to make another couple of saves a few minutes later when Minnesota titled the ice once more. With around 8 minutes to play, the Gophers got another good opportunity at the UMass cage. A net front scramble was halted by the Minutemen defense and Hrabal pounced on a loose puck to end the threat. Massachusetts tried to reply with a close-in shot of its own but Lautenbach's chance never fully materialized. A few minutes later Minnesota was able to get into the UMass end and, after failing on its initial chance, moved the puck to an open Connor Kurth in front. The Gopher forward pulled the puck around Hrabal and deposited a backhand into the cage. Now down by two, Massachusetts fought back and upped their forechecking game. After Jack Musa stole the puck in the Gopher end, Cal Thomas slashed him in response and was sent off for 2 minutes. UMass was able to set up their power play in the back half of the man-advantage and nearly ended up scoring on a melee in the goal crease but Soulière managed to keep the puck out and preserve Minnesota's 2-goal lead. The waning seconds passed with more jostling and jawing but, again, no further penalties.

The third began with the physical play continuing but UMass swiftly got to its offensive game. A few minutes in, the Minutemen had a pair of glorious chances; the first was stopped by Soulière's glove and the second rolled off Aydar Suniev's stick before he could get the puck around the sprawling netminder. Massachusetts had no real choice but to open up the game offensively while Minnesota did its level best to prevent any further scoring. The increased pressure eventually ended up with Suniev getting a pass from below the goal line just off to the right of the net and then shooting the puck past Soulière to the left. The Gophers were unhappy about the goal because an apparent tripping penalty down low went uncalled by the refs and led directly to Massachusetts getting its hands on the biscuit. After the fans voice their displeasure over another potential UMass penalty, Massachusetts went back on the attack. After Minnesota was forced into an icing, Soulière went over to the Gopher bench with an equipment problem and Nathan Airey was forced to take over in goal. Right after the ensuing faceoff, Daniel Jenčko deflected the puck past Airey to tie the game. The partisan crowd was silenced by the stunning turn of events and the Minutemen tried to take advantage. Minnesota was soon able to collect itself and countered with two chances from Kurth in tight. As the game stopped for a TV timeout around the 8-minute mark, Soulière returned to the Gopher crease. The teams then began to exchange chances and UMass got a great chance with about 5 minutes to play but was unable to get the shot on goal. A moment later, a pass into the slot from Francesco Dell'Elce was deflected into the top corner of the Gopher cage off of Jimmy Clark's stick. Minnesota was now forced to restart its offence with just 5 minutes to play or their season was over. It took just over a minute for Snuggerud to grab the puck off of a faceoff, skate towards the center of the ice and fire the puck past three Minutemen to tie the match. The goal revitalized the Gophers who began to to pressure UMass on both ends of the ice. Massachusetts, however, was undaunted and a hit into the boards by Keenan on Mason Nevers demonstrated as much. Neither team could find another goal before time expired so overtime was needed to settle the score.

Snuggerud tried to end the match early but his hard shot missed the net. Massachusetts then had a few chances of their own that failed to connect. When possession switched back to the Gophers, a shot from Kurth hit of of the top of Hrabal's mask and stunned to netminder but he soon recovered and remained in the game. About a minute later the Minnesota faithful groaned when what they believed was an obvious tripping call was let go. The play helped UMass turn over the puck which was then skated up the ice and swiftly deposited into the goal for the winning tally. An angry buzz persisted through the building after the winner but Suniev's second of the night was allowed to stand as the deciding goal. A few objects were thrown onto the ice as the two teams shook hands while Bob Motzko, Minnesota's coach, was visibly angry at the referees.

After a slow start, Boston University was able to finally get its first real scoring chance on the power play but Logan Terness was equal to the task. Ohio State's 50th-ranked penalty kill was able to stymie the Terriers and retain their lead. However, the momentum began to shift and BU was able to finally establish some offensive zone time afterwards to try and even out the play. After another giveaway by BU around the 5-minute mark, Yegorov had to make another big save in tight, this time on Patrick Guzzo. The Terriers began to show of their offensive talent in the middle of the period but the OSU defense was able to block several shots. Right after winning an offensive draw, Cole Eiserman rifled a shot into the top corner of the net to tie the game. BU began to take over after their goal until Gunnarwolfe Fontaine broke in on the Terrier goal just after the midway point of the game. Yegorov made the save and the match began to see-saw between the two clubs. Before anything could happen, however, Devin Kaplan smacked one of the OSU players in the head with his forearm and was given a roughing minor. The bad penalty ended up costing BU as Joe Dunlap scored his second of the game off of the rush. BU got right back on the attack after the penalty but the Ohio State defense limited the Terriers to long shots on goal that Terness was able to stop. With just over 3 minutes in the period, Jake Dunlap was called for hooking. After a pretty bit of passing, the nation's #5 power play connected when a wide-open Quinn Hutson wired the puck in off of the goal post. Riding high off of their second goal, BU Gave up a 2-on-1 and allowed the Buckeyes to take a lead when Max Montes fired low-stick on Yegorov. Just 12 seconds later, Matt Copponi received a pass from behind the cage and smacked the puck past Terness to even the count once more. With the two teams doing their best to wear out the goal horn, Shane Lachance took a very ill-advised interference penalty and was nearly given a second for arguing with the referees. About a minute in, Thompson nearly made the Terriers pay a second time but couldn't get the proper angle on a deflected puck and missed a wide-open net. Just as time was expiring, Joe Dunlap scored what he believed was his third of the game but time had expired moments before the puck entered the net and the game remained tied.

After BU was able to salt away the remainder of the penalty at the start of the third, Lachance got a good chance on goal but Terness was able to stop his relatively weak shot. A few minutes later, Terness failed to stop another weak shot from Aiden Celebrini then slipped under his right arm. With their first lead of the game, BU remained on the attack but OSU countered and the two started skating up and down the ice, trying to break through the opposing defenses. By this point, the Terriers had begun to take over on the faceoff dot but the Buckeyes used their structure to take control of the puck and generate another good scoring chance. While Yegorov made the save, the Terriers took their fifth minor of the game immediately afterwards to give Ohio State a golden opportunity to tie the match once more. A few seconds into the man-advantage, the puck bounced right to the BU defenders on the blueline and Jack Hughes carried the puck up the ice on a 2-on-1. The BU forward shot the puck and it was deflected past Terness by an OSU stick to double the lead. About a minute later, Cole Hutson was almost scored on a second 2-on-1 shorthanded chance. Shortly after the penalty expired, Eiserman smacked the puck backhanded from behind the goal line. The puck hit Terness as he was hugging the post but it found a hole and dropped into the goal. With the complexion of the game completely changed, OSU had to now abandon its defensive structure in the hope of finding three goals in the final 12 minutes. This however, only served to feed into the BU offense and allowed the Terriers to continue firing the puck on the Ohio State goal. Just past the 10-minute mark, Eiserman nearly completed a hat-trick when he shot at a half-empty cage but the puck hit the right post and bounced out the other side. Afterwards, the Buckeyes began to press but Yegorov remained strong in goal and kept the puck out of the net. On a counterattack, Jack Harvey made a move around a Buckeye defender and found himself wide open in front of the net. He flipped the puck into the top corner to give BU a 4-goal lead with under 6 minutes to play. The rest of the game was a bit loose as both teams seemed to understand that the game was essentially over. The Buckeyes were a bit physical in the waning moments but it was the Terriers who were called for a penalty when Celebrini was given a minor for interference with about 2 minutes left on the clock. Devin Kaplan then received a 2- and a 10-minute for yelling at the referees. With a 2-man advantage, Terness was pulled to give the Buckeyes a fleeting chance to tie. However, with less than a minute to play, Cole Hutson got control of the puck, danced through two OSU defenders and scored into the empty net to essentially end the game.