Liam Folkes is the most hated man in Madison, and Penn State’s season isn’t over yet.

No. 18 Penn State men’s hockey (21-14-2, 13-13-1 Big Ten) wrapped up its Big Ten quarterfinal series against Wisconsin (14-18-5, 10-12-5 Big Ten) with a 4-3 victory at Pegula Ice Arena.

Liam Folkes, Cole Hults, and Alex Limoges scored for Penn State, which will take on Ohio State next weekend in Columbus. Folkes scored the game-winning goal 10:50 into overtime as Penn State won this weekend’s Big Ten quarterfinal 2-1.

Peyton Jones made 36 saves in the victory.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a dream start in tonight’s game when Liam Folkes backhanded home a rebound to open the scoring 1:18 into the first period. Denis Smirnov took the initial shot, and the rebound fell right to Folkes for his 16th of the season.

Despite an excellent, swarming start by the Nittany Lions, Wisconsin was opportunistic and scored its first high-quality scoring chance of the game. Brock Caufield fired a shot over the blocker of Peyton Jones to tie the game at 1-1 with 14:36 left in the opening frame.

Momentum significantly evened out after Caufield’s goal, and the remainder of the first period was a tight-checking, evenly-matched stretch of hockey. The score remained tied entering the first intermission, and Penn State held a 16-13 advantage in shots after 20 minutes.

Stoughton, WI native Cole Hults scored against his hometown team with 15:51 left in the second period to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 advantage. Hults’ sixth of the season came on Penn State’s first power play of the evening — Badger center Tarek Baker took a roughing penalty to set up the man advantage.

Penn State couldn’t turn that momentum into a more sizable lead, and Wisconsin capitalized with two goals in 26 seconds to take a 3-2 lead midway through the frame. Max Zimmer finished off a nice play on a 2-on-1 rush before Josh Ess was left wide open in front of goal to give the Badgers their first lead of the evening.

Wisconsin nearly doubled its lead on a 4-on-1 odd-man rush, but Peyton Jones stonewalled the Badger attack. Led by Alex Limoges, the Penn State counter-attack instantly tied the game at three following the big save. Limoges’ 22nd goal of the season brought the two teams even entering the third and final period.

Wisconsin appeared to take the lead early in the third period, but the referees immediately called the goal back due to goalie interference. Matthew Freytag bumped Kevin Kerr into Peyton Jones as a shot from the point hit the back of the net, so the game remained tied at 3-3.

With both teams’ seasons on the line, the third period was even tighter and more tense than the rest of the game. Regulation ended in a deadlock, so the game went to overtime.

As both teams exchanged scoring chances and even more hard hits in the extra period, Liam Folkes once again stuck the dagger into Wisconsin’s heart. He blasted a one-timer past Daniel Lebedeff to end tonight’s game with 9:10 left in overtime to send Penn State to the next round.

Takeaways

• Who else would’ve scored the game-winner tonight? Liam Folkes ended Wisconsin’s season for the second time in three years after blasting a one-timer past Daniel Lebedeff 9:50 into overtime. Folkes opened the scoring for Penn State tonight, just as he did in the 2016-17 Big Ten championship game.
• The rubber match of this weekend’s Big Ten quarterfinal series truly felt like a Game 7. Neither team truly controlled the action for extended stretches of time, and the game was incredibly physical and competitive throughout. Considering the fact that this was both teams’ third game in as many days, the pace and intensity was impressive.
• Alex Limoges, take a bow. Limoges tied Penn State’s single-season record in goals with his 22nd of the year late in the middle frame. He’s blossomed into a bona fide star for the Nittany Lions — I wouldn’t be surprised if NHL clubs try to pry the sophomore away from Hockey Valley this offseason.

What’s Next

Penn State will take on Ohio State in the semifinals next weekend. The game will be played at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 17 in Columbus.