No. 17 Penn State men’s hockey (9-7-3, 2-5-3 Big Ten) was stymied 4-1 by No. 6 Wisconsin (14-4-0, 8-2-0 Big Ten) at KOHL Center in Madison on Saturday night.

Jimmy Dowd Jr. grabbed a 1-0 lead just one minute into the game for the Nittany Lions. However, the Badgers tied it 12 minutes later, took the lead in the second period, and scored two goals in the third to hand Penn State its first series sweep of the season.

How It Happened

Dowd quickly scored in a wrap-around from behind the net to give Penn State an early 1-0 lead one minute into the first period. It was his second goal in as many series.

Then, Wisconsin woke up. Facing Liam Souliere in goal, the Badgers peppered him with shots. However, he kept them at bay as the Nittany Lions regained possession.

Five minutes into the game, Wisconsin’s Charlie Stramel took a two-minute holding penalty. The Nittany Lions didn’t score, though.

Penn State responded by giving Wisconsin a hard time on the opposite end of the ice against William Gramme in net. Like his counterpart, Gramme did enough to keep Penn State from taking a 2-0 lead despite facing a barrage of shots. Wisconsin killed the penalty.

Then, at 13:34 in the first period, Wisconsin tied it. Anthony Kehrer scored for the Badgers after they had several chances, and they weren’t done yet.

In the second period, Penn State had another chance on the power play as Tyson Dyck took a two-minute penalty for high sticking at 4:13 in the period. Once again, Penn State didn’t score.

Then, after some back-and-forth play, Wisconsin grabbed a 2-1 lead. Christian Fitzgerald scored for the Badgers at 10:07 in the second period, and he was assisted by William Whitelaw and Mike Vorlicky.

Vorlicky took a cross-checking penalty three minutes later. Then, right after Vorlicky’s was complete, Brady Cleveland was assessed a five-minute major for contact to the head. Despite having two ideal scoring opportunities, Penn State squandered both of them as Cleveland’s penalty extended into the third period.

Wisconsin’s lead only grew in the period. Just four minutes in, Stramel scored to make it 3-1.

After more back-and-forth play, Penn State had one more power play opportunity as Whitelaw was sent to the sin bin for hooking at 11:11. The Nittany Lions only took three shots, and two of them were blocked by defensemen. Once again, they didn’t score.

With three minutes left in the game, Souliere was pulled in favor of the extra skater. Penn State put pressure on Wisconsin as shot after shot was taken, but it wasn’t enough. Jack Horbach scored the empty-netter to make it 4-1, which ended up as the final score in Madison.

Takeaways

• Penn State had several opportunities with five power plays to win this game, but they were all squandered against a tough Wisconsin penalty-killing unit. The Nittany Lions frequently play a fast, aggressive offensive tempo which involves a large number of shots being taken, especially on power plays. Whether Wisconsin was simply too good or Penn State wasn’t having a good night, it’s not acceptable to go 0-for-5 on the power play at all.
• Neither goaltender played well in this series. Noah Grannan gave up six goals in his homecoming on Friday, and Souliere gave up four. It was a tough series against a great team, and this is a great lesson for them to learn from. It was surprising despite Wisconsin’s strength as a team, especially because both have been reliable in the past.
• This series is a sign that the break for the holidays is coming at an ideal time. Penn State has been up and down so far this season as it has nearly a .500 record. The talent is in the building, but Guy Gadowsky, the rest of the coaching staff, and the players seem to need a reset to figure this out, which will need to happen if the team wants to return to the NCAA Tournament.

What’s Next

Penn State hosts Army at 6 p.m. on Saturday, January 6, at Pegula Ice Arena for a one-game series.