No. 15 Penn State hockey (0-4-0) dropped its fourth game of the season 7-3 against No. 14 Wisconsin (4-2-0) at LaBahn Arena Tuesday night.

The Nittany Lions fell behind early once again, as the Badgers opened the game by the end of the first period with three goals. Alex Limoges scored the only goal of the game for the Nittany Lions, while the rest of the offense continued to struggle to get pucks in the back of the net.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions came out of the box strong after dropping their first game of the season. Penn State goalie Liam Soulière was tested early with an open Wisconsin scoring chance from the slot, but the freshman was able to keep the game scoreless.

After a few minutes of back-and-forth play, Wisconsin scored the first goal of the game at 6:43 in the first period. Penn State didn’t have much of a response, as it only took Wisconsin just over two minutes to make it a 2-0 game at 9:06 in the first. The Badgers kept the ice tilted in their favor with a power play goal to make it a 3-0 game at 17:01 in the first. The Nittany Lions got a break with a power play chance late in the period, but Aarne Talvitie took Penn State’s second penalty of the game to make the ice even.

The Nittany Lions came out of the first intermission moving the puck much better, and captain Alex Limoges buried his first of the season at 4:21 in the second period to cut the Wisconsin lead to 3-1 off a great pass from freshman Jimmy Dowd.

Despite finally scoring their first goal of the game, the Nittany Lions still didn’t have much of a response after the goal. Aarne Talvitie took an interference penalty to give Wisconsin its third power play of the game at 6:38 in the second period.

The Nittany Lions were successful on the penalty kill and were gaining momentum. Penn State was able to draw a penalty on Wisconsin. Despite not scoring on the power play, the ice began to tilt towards the Nittany Lions. Penn State drew another penalty in the waning minutes of the period, but the Badgers took advantage of a short-handed breakaway to extend the lead to 4-1 at 18:56 in the second.

The third period didn’t start out Penn State’s way, either. The Badgers quickly extended their lead to 5-1 off a Penn State turnover just 26 seconds into the period, followed by another Wisconsin goal at 1:19 in the third to make the score 6-1.

Despite a discouraging deficit, the Nittany Lions didn’t go down easy. Freshman Xander Lamppa scored his first career goal at 8:49 in the third period, followed by a power play goal from Clayton Phillips at 9:54 in the third to cut the Wisconsin lead to 6-3. The ice began to tilt towards Penn State. Despite having the momentum, the Nittany Lions weren’t able to get another one on the board. Wisconsin’s Cole Caufield scored a hat trick on an empty net to put the game away for the Badgers and extend the lead to 7-3.

Takeaways

• Penn State needs to start getting more momentum going to start games. The team has allowed their opponent to score the first goal three out of the first four games. It will be hard to win many games if the Nittany Lions keep playing from behind.
• The puck movement needs to be more refined by the next series against Michigan. The passing between Penn State players looked sloppy and led to too many Wisconsin scoring chances, including the first goal of the third period, and too many blown chances for the Nittany Lions.
• It is still unclear who the regular starting goalie is going to be moving forward. Soulière allowed his first goal short side, which seems to be a constant theme for Penn State goalies this year. Despite making multiple key saves, the freshman struggled to keep the Badgers off the scoreboard.
• Special teams have contributed to the team’s lack of success through the first four games. Penn State killed only two out of three power plays while allowing a shorthanded goal. The Nittany Lions also continued their power play woes tonight while going 1-5 on the man advantage.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will travel back to Happy Valley to host No. 4 Michigan in their home opener, followed by another home series against Arizona State at Pegula Ice Arena.

Puck drop against Michigan is slated for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2. Penn State will continue to look for its first win of the season.