No. 8 Penn State Men’s Hockey Pummels No. 5 Wisconsin 7-2 In Comeback Fashion
No. 8 Penn State men’s hockey (17-6-0, 9-4-0 Big Ten) battled back to take down No. 5 Wisconsin (15-6-2, 8-5-0 Big Ten) at the Kohl Center in a Friday night top-10 conference showdown.
After a penalty-filled first period that left the Nittany Lions down two goals, Dane Dowiak and Gavin McKenna each delivered a hat trick to fuel the Penn State comeback. Josh Fleming was a brick wall in net, keeping Penn State alive during the first period, before slamming the door in the second and third to finish with 39 saves.
How It Happened
Josh Fleming got the start in net as the goaltending tandem continues to split the workload throughout the season. Wisconsin started the game on the man advantage after Penn State was unable to get off the ice in time during warmups, and would go up 5-on-3 one minute into the game when Nolan Collins was sent to the box for an illegal equipment violation after breaking his stick.
The Nittany Lions killed off both penalties without allowing a shot on goal, but Fleming was tested minutes later. A shot by Tyson Dyck drew a crowd in front of the net. Bruno Idzan took a whack at the puck, and so did Dyck, but Fleming stood and turned both shots away.
6:31 into play, Quinn Finley found himself on a breakaway, but was denied by the pad of Fleming. Jack Horbach followed it up with a backhand chance after splitting Aiden Fink and Carter Schade, but Fleming flashed the glove to make the stop.
Shea Van Olm was sent to the penalty box at 10:25 into play and, after review, was given a game misconduct for a hit from behind into the boards. Wisconsin headed back to the power play, this time for five minutes, and they capitalized.
Dyck put a shot on net from the left circle, which was met by the pad of Fleming, but he got the rebounds and found the back of the net over the blocker of Fleming to make it 1-0 at 12:46 of the first period.
Matt DiMarsico and Reese Laubach found themselves on a rare short-handed 2-0 after the goal. DiMarsico took it himself, but Daniel Hauser turned him away. After setting back up in the offensive zone and still on the man advantage, Tulk let go of a wrister and beat Fleming to make it 2-0 Badgers.
Tulk — the second Badgers goalscorer — was sent ot the penalty box for boarding with 3:03 to go in the first period. The Nittany Lions didn’t enter the offensive zone with possession until 1:42 had passed on the man advantage, and Fink let go of a shot that was stopped by Hauser. The power play expired, and so did the period, with Wisconsin holding a 2-0 lead.
Jackson Smith laid a massive hit on Kyle Kukkonen at the red line to open the second period. Simon Tassy was sent to the penalty box 1:48 into the period after laying a check on Nic Chin-DeGraves without the puck.
After setting up in the offensive zone, Mac Gadowsky collected the puck near the blue line. He skated down the right side and dished the puck over to Dowiak in the slot, who beat Hauser over the glove to cut Penn State’s deficit to 2-1.
Wisconsin and Penn State then exchanged high chances off the sticks of Tulk and Laubach, but Fleming and Hauser both stood tall in the net.
After knocking down Alex Servagno way after the puck had left, Finnley was sent to the box for interference. Laubach ripped a shot, but it was met by the crossbar. The Nittany Lions would go up 5-on-3 for a minute after Phelan cross-checked Fink to the ground.
Off the face off, McKenna took the puck and fired it past Hauser, top right corner, for his seventh goal of the season, tying the game at 2-2.
Still on the man advantage, DiMarsico’s tip was stopped, and Laubach’s attempt was also denied. Just after the power play expired, Fink dumped the puck cross-corner for Gadowky, who found the trailing Laubach. Laubach let go of a shot that rang off the post, deflected off Dowiak, and into the net for Dowiak’s second goal of the game, giving Penn State its first lead of the night at 3-2.
Play moved to 4-on-4 for two minutes after Dyck was assessed a two-minute minor for slashing, and Dowiak was given two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Badgers controlled possession for the majority of those two minutes, but Fleming made two saves, and DiMarsico blocked two shots to keep the lead with Penn State.
DiMarsico found himself one-on-one with Hauser with 1:38 to go in the middle period, but his shot sailed wide and over the net. Adam Pietila got off one last chance for Wisconsin before the end of the period, but Fleming made the save to send the Nittany Lions into the locker room with a 3-2 lead.
Penn State won the draw and dumped the puck in deep to open the third period. Dowiak pressured Dubinsky, and his pass up the boards was intercepted by Fink. Fink dropped the puck back to Smith at the blue line, and he let go of a high-rising wrister that stunned Hauser, beating him clean to give Penn State a 4-2 lead 15 seconds into the final regulation period.
McKenna silenced the Kohl Center with his second snipe of the game, coming with 8:55 remaining in regulation to give Penn State a commanding 5-2 lead. Lez Katzin was sent to the penalty box for interference moments after, but Dowiak scored his fourth shorthanded goal by poking home a loose puck to extend the lead to 6-2.
On a breakaway with 2:47 remaining, McKenna completed his first collegiate hat trick, beating Hauser over the blocker with a scorching wrist shot, blowing the game open at 7-2. The final two minutes expired as Penn State secured game one of the series.
Takeaways
- Six unanswered goals flipped the game on its head. Penn State looked like a completely different team in the second and third periods after a rough opening frame.
- Captain Dowiak took over. He scored twice in the second period, then capped his night with a shorthanded goal to complete the hat trick.
- McKenna played the best game of his collegiate career. He was flying all night, consistently making the right plays and putting pressure on Wisconsin. He scored on three snipes that left Hauser stunned.
- Laubach’s presence was felt without scoring. He rang iron twice, with his second shot clanging off the post before deflecting off Dowiak and into the net for the eventual game-winning goal.
- Fleming gave Penn State a chance. It could have easily been 3-0 or 4-0 after the first period, but Fleming kept them in it. He then locked things down the rest of the way, finishing with 39 saves on the night.
What’s Next?
Penn State and Wisconsin will duke it out again at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, January 23, in Madison. The game will be broadcast on the BTN.
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