No. 17 Penn State men’s hockey (9-6-3, 2-4-3 Big Ten) dropped the opening game in its series against No. 6 Wisconsin (13-4-0, 7-3-0 Big Ten) 6-3 on Friday night in Madison.

Noah Grannan got the start between the pipes inside his home state but had a rough night in goal. Wisconsin grabbed the momentum early and never looked back, cruising to a 6-3 victory over the Nittany Lions.

How It Happened

Grannan was tested by the Badger offense early on in Friday’s game. Wisconsin mounted an early offensive zone presence within the first two minutes and Grannan quickly wracked up four saves.

The Nittany Lions continued to play on their heels until Christian Fitzgerald found himself right in front of Grannan and passed to a streaking William Whitelaw who found the back of the net.

Wisconsin goaltender Kyle McClellan managed to remain perfect even after Penn State finally made its way to the offensive zone. Danny Dzhaniyev unleashed a hard shot on the Wisconsin netminder but was stopped as the Badgers quickly transitioned to offense.

The Badger offense struck again just under two minutes later after Carson Bantle beat Grannan and stretched the Badger lead to 2-0.

The game continued to be back and forth until the Nittany Lions regained some momentum as Dylan Lugris found the back of the net from the right side and brought the score to 2-1.

Penn State continued to mount chances in the offensive zone but McClellan didn’t budge and the score stayed at 2-1. Wisconsin continued to struggle to clear the puck throughout the middle of the first period but Penn State couldn’t connect.

Matt DiMarsico was called for a hook trying to collect a puck in front of the net and Wisconsin went to the game’s first power play with under six minutes to go. The Nittany Lion penalty-kill unit held, though, and went back to even strength after allowing only three shots.

Neither team could generate quality chances for the remaining four minutes of the period and the teams skated to the second period with Wisconsin leading 2-1.

The Badgers started the second period with the same intensity they showed to start the game. Bantle found the puck in the slot but the puck hit the goal post before being cleared by Penn State. Bantle got another try on the next possession, though, and got past Grannan and gave Wisconsin a 3-1 lead.

Quinn Finley was called for a trip with just three minutes gone in the second period and Penn State went on its first power play of the game. The penalty didn’t amount to much, as the Nittany Lions didn’t record a shot during the two-minute minor. After returning to the ice from the penalty box, Finley collected the puck and scored putting the Nittany Lions down 4-1.

Penn State and Wisconsin were evenly matched for the next few minutes with Penn State’s best chance coming on a two-on-one fastbreak where Dzhaniyev narrowly missed a pass before the puck was taken again by the Badgers.

The Nittany Lions couldn’t regain any momentum and the chance of a comeback got bleaker when Dane Dowiak was called for a slash three minutes left in the second period. The power play only lasted eight seconds as Simon Tassy was called for a trip. The four-on-four was business as usual with both teams unable to create quality chances.

Penn State dominated the last minute of the second period but couldn’t find paydirt and the second period ended 4-1.

Penn State looked a bit stronger to start the third period and got pucks on net early. McClellan held strong and Penn State was stifled again after a lengthy offensive-zone presence.

Tempers flared with three minutes gone as both Christian Berger and Bantle were sent to the penalty box for roughing and the teams skated four-on-four. It didn’t last long as Dimarsico was called for roughing and the Badgers went back on a power play. Wisconsin couldn’t convert and the teams returned to full-strength action with under 15 minutes to go.

Wisconsin found themselves with a three-on-two just a few seconds after heading back to full strength and Whitelaw connected again to put the Badgers up 5-1. Penn State was able to strike back, though, as Tyler Paquette showed his stick-handling abilities and finally beat McClellan to take the score to 5-2. David Silye was called for a hold before the goal and Penn State went on the power play immediately following the goal.

The Nittany Lions created some chances on the power play but couldn’t connect, even after McClellan was caught out of the crease. The power play ended early when Reese Laubauch was called for a hold. After seven seconds of four-on-four action, Penn State went on the penalty kill.

Tanner Palocsik got a breakaway chance during the penalty kill but was stopped. Laubach exited the penalty box and immediately grabbed the puck and skated free to the crease and brought the Nittany Lions to within two goals at 5-3.

The momentum was shortlived and Dzhaniyev was booked for boarding as Wisconsin went back to the powerplay. Bantle recorded his third goal of the night while on the power play and the Nittany Lions found themselves back down by three goals at 6-3.

Penn State couldn’t recover from the last goal and, despite some opportunities, couldn’t get past McClellan.

With less than a minute left in the game, Owen Lindmark was called for holding and Penn State finished the game on a power play. One minute into the power play, Aiden Fink was given a five-minute major penalty for making contact with a player’s head, and the teams finished with four-on-four hockey.

The last minute of four-on-four action didn’t result in any quality chances and the game ended 6-3.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions’ first matchup with Wisconsin was, as expected, dominated by the Badger defense. Not only did Penn State score three goals, but it struggled to create chances all night long.
• Noah Grannan struggled in goal on Friday. The Germantown, Wisconsin, native had a tough night as he gave up ix goals on 30 shots.
• Penn State was outmatched by Wisconsin and couldn’t keep up in every phase of the game. While Wisconsin’s defense is its strong suit, its offense didn’t disappoint, and the Nittany Lions couldn’t keep up.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will be back in action against the Badgers at 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 9, in Madison, Wisconsin.