No. 10 Penn State men’s hockey (20-12-1 overall, 10-12-1 Big Ten) defeated Wisconsin (12-21-0 overall, 5-18-0 Big Ten) 6-1 Friday at Pegula Ice Arena.

Penn State set the tone from the start with Danny Dzhaniyev’s goal 14 seconds into the game. The Nittany Lions proceeded to score five more goals en route to a dominant 6-1 win over Big Ten-last Wisconsin.

How It Happened

Guy Gadowsky had Danny Dzhaniyev, Ture Linden, and Ashton Calder as his starting forward line. Meanwhile, Christian Berger and Paul DeNaples started on defense, while Liam Souliere started in goal.

#HockeyValley goes country starting with these guys!! pic.twitter.com/oTJPcQ7p6O

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) February 25, 2023

Penn State wasted no time getting to Jared Moe in net, as Dzhaniyev sniped the puck into the net to make it 1-0 Penn State just 14 seconds into the game, with Linden and Calder getting the assists.

Tyson Jugnauth took a tripping penalty for Wisconsin shortly after. Penn State capitalized, as Linden buried a slap shot from the face-off circle to make it 2-0 on the power play at 6:41 in the first period.

Penn State continued to play aggressively, controlling the puck in the offensive zone.

After even more scoring chances, Penn State scored again. At 16:36, Linden went top-shelf to make it 3-0. It was Linden’s second goal of the game, putting the DMV native on hat trick watch. Pegula erupted into a frenzy as Linden celebrated by jumping into the boards.

THE PASS #NCAAHockey x @PennStateMHKYpic.twitter.com/WK6endfDGN

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) February 25, 2023

The Nittany Lions kept outplaying the Badgers, with the first period ending 3-0.

Moe’s life didn’t get any easier starting off the second period. Tyler Gratton scored his seventh goal of the season at 3:02 in the period to make it 4-0.

OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOALS OFF THE RUSH!! pic.twitter.com/Qcw0DSYGJW

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) February 25, 2023

Although the game was getting out of hand, Moe remained in net.

At 10:38, the Nittany Lions struck again. This time, it was Connor McMenamin, who sniped a shot from behind the Big Ten logo near the blue line to make it 5-0.

Puck retrieval and stick work. #Hockey pic.twitter.com/BWiNhPtMfC

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) February 25, 2023

Penn State continued to heavily outplay Wisconsin, forcing turnover after turnover and leaving the Badgers little room to capitalize on puck possession.

At 16:30 in the second period, Simon Mack joined in on the scoring extravaganza to make it 6-0. Mack quickly out-skated a Badger and received a pass from Connor MacEachern right in front of the net, putting it past Moe for the sixth time.

Fast hockey is fun hockey! pic.twitter.com/2RdRnwhcmz

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) February 25, 2023

After the Nittany Lions nearly scored following a turnover, the second period ended 6-0. The Nittany Lions were in the driver’s seat at Pegula, posting 30 shots compared to Wisconsin’s 17.

The first 10 minutes of the third period did not have much action. Both teams played back-and-forth hockey, and nothing notable occurred.

Then, McMenamin took a slashing penalty at 9:08 in the second period. At 9:47 in the third period, Wisconsin ended Souliere’s shutout bid and made it 6-1. Brock Caufield had the power play goal.

A tussle took place at 12:41 in the third period, leading to Tyler Paquette taking a roughing call for the Nittany Lions and Anthony Kehrer heading to the sin bin on the same call for Wisconsin.

Penn State closed out the game with ease, beating Wisconsin 6-1.

Takeaways

• Penn State set the tone early by scoring 14 seconds after puck drop. For a team that has recently struggled, getting ahead of the game and controlling it by scoring early was helpful.
• Have a day, Ture Linden! The Virginia native had two goals, both of which were in the first period against the Badgers.
• The Nittany Lions have dominated the Badgers as of late here in Happy Valley. Penn State has outscored Wisconsin 17-4 in the last three games at Pegula.

What’s Next

Penn State and Wisconsin will finish the series tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena.