No. 16 Penn State men’s hockey (7-0-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten) defeated Wisconsin (2-5-0, 0-1-0 Big Ten) 2-1 in Madison on Friday.

Wisconsin jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but Penn State rallied to score two unanswered goals to open up conference play with a win.

How It Happened

Ashton Calder returned to the lineup after a brief injury, as head coach Guy Gadowsky emphasized the forward was “day-to-day” during his weekly press conference. Meanwhile, Liam Souliere started in goal.

After brief scoring chances from both sides, Wisconsin opened up the scoring with Dominick Mersch making it 1-0 at 3:41 in the first. The shot came from behind the face-off circle and between Souliere’s pads, going into the net.

Penn State’s slow start continued, as Paul DeNaples took a penalty for hooking. However, Penn State killed the penalty thanks to multiple turnovers in the defensive zone.

The Nittany Lions got extremely lucky after the penalty ended, as Mersch whiffed on a one-on-one chance against Souliere in front of the net. A few minutes later, the Badgers nearly had a breakaway, although it was broken up by the defense.

Then, at 13:52 in the period, Kevin Wall tied the game 1-1 after he redirected a shot from Jarod Crespo, who sent the puck flying toward the net from the blue line. Penn State and Wisconsin went to the intermission tied 1-1 shortly after. Crespo’s assist marked his first career point.

Penn State came out firing on all cylinders to begin the second period, with goaltender Jared Moe facing plenty of pressure from the Nittany Lions.

Then, The Nittany Lions grabbed their first lead of the night. At 3:02 in the second period, Tyler Paquette sniped the puck from behind the face-off circle and into the net past Moe to make it 2-1.

Wisconsin took two penalties, both committed by the same player, and the Nittany Lions had an advantage. However, the Badgers killed both of them.

Ultimately, Penn State heavily outplayed Wisconsin in the second period. The Nittany Lions had momentum and weren’t going to give it up easily.

In the third period, Penn State continued to defend its narrow lead. Both sides had good scoring chances, and Penn State nearly capitalized on a power play attempt in the middle of the period.

Penn State’s defense continued to hold strong, and the Nittany Lions escaped game one with a decisive 2-1 win over the Wisconsin Badgers.

Takeaways

• Tonight’s win tied a record for Penn State hockey. 7-0-0 is the tied for the best recorded start in program history, as the Nittany Lions have come out of the gates firing.
• Gadowsky’s players weren’t scared to block shots in a solid defensive performance. The Nittany Lions blocked 11 shots during the game, which contributed to the stout defense all game long.
• Many penalties were assessed in the game. Wisconsin took seven, while Penn State took five. Penn State is lucky Wisconsin didn’t have great discipline, as 2-1 likely wouldn’t have been the final score if it did.

What’s Next

Penn State and Wisconsin finish the series at 8 p.m. tomorrow night, October 29, in Madison.