It sounds like something out of a horror movie. A fun adventure among friends turns very, very serious when a bunch of hungry lions show up.

But that is roughly what happened at 3M Arena at Mariucci on Saturday, when the Gophers’ seemingly comfortable lead in their playoff game disappeared at the hands of a Penn State team determined to extend its season.

Still, the playoffs are about survival, and via Aaron Huglen’s goal with just 68 seconds left in regulation, Minnesota did just that, beating Penn State 3-2 to sweep their best-of-three playoff series.

While the Nittany Lions’ season comes to an end, the Gophers will advance to the Big Ten semifinals, where they will either have a single home game versus Michigan or a single game at Wisconsin, pending the results of the first-round series elsewhere.

“We were able to hang on long enough to make a play tonight,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said.

Penn State (15-18-3) probably deserved a better fate, as the Lions were the aggressors for the final two periods, outshooting Minnesota 35-7 over the 40-minute span. Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky appeared devastated after the game.

“I thought the boys played well,” was his only comment after a lengthy closed-door session with his team. Liam Souliere finished with 21 saves for the Lions, who got goals from Jimmy Dowd Jr. and Matt DiMarsico.

After Jaxon Nelson produced a lead just 98 seconds into the game, Minnesota survived a messy opening period which saw star forward Jimmy Snuggerud ejected for a hit from behind and three consecutive penalties called on the Gophers which had Penn State on an extended 5-on-3 advantage. The Gophers killed it off, then doubled the lead when the Nittany Lions ran into penalty trouble of their own.

“We came to play in the first period,” Motzko said, who credited Penn State for its resolve. “And then … we battled through the shorthanded and the 5-on-3 and we took a 2-0 lead, but we had a lot of guys sitting in the first period. There was a lot of emotion at the end of the first and we couldn’t get them settled back down.”

But the visitors were not going away quietly, and the Lions pounced on Minnesota in the middle frame, outshooting their hosts 15-3 and clawing back to a 2-2 deadlock.

With 6:20 left in the third period, there was a video review after a wide shot off the end boards hit Close and slid along — just not over — the goal line. Just 25 seconds later, the Lions appeared to take the lead for real, but Minnesota challenged and replay revealed that Penn State entered the zone offside.

“Give them a lot of credit. They played their asses off tonight,” Close said of the Nittany Lions. “It’s hard to end a team’s season, and I give that hockey team a lot of credit for the way they competed tonight. They definitely didn’t make it easy.”

Then Huglen and Brody Lamb got loose on one of the very rare offensive rushes for the Gophers in the final two periods, and Huglen poked the puck past Souliere.

Briefly

For Nelson, it was the third time in the past four games that he has had multiple goals.

Motzko admitted he was openly cheering for St. Cloud Cathedral earlier in the day on Saturday as the Crusaders defeated Hermantown to win Minnesota’s Class A state boys hockey championship. Motzko’s late son Mack played hockey there and graduated from Cathedral.

“I can officially tell you I was cheering for St. Cloud Cathedral today, and very happy for them,” Motzko said. “They played great too.”

If Ohio State wins its best-of-three series with Wisconsin, the Gophers would host either Michigan or Notre Dame next weekend in a one-game semifinal. If the Badgers win their series, Minnesota would travel to Wisconsin for a one-gamer, which would be played Sunday at noon.

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