No. 5 Penn State men’s hockey (18-7-0, 10-5-0 Big Ten) fell to No. 2 Michigan State (20-5-0, 11-4-0 Big Ten) on Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena, 6-3.

In a chippy affair that served as an appetizer to Saturday’s Beaver Stadium spectacle, the Spartans put three past Josh Fleming in the first period and survived a late charge, despite a pair of ejections in the process. The Nittany Lions trailed 4-1 after two periods, but came close to forcing overtime on multiple occasions.

How It Happened

Fleming got the start in net for the Nittany Lions, opposite star Spartans goaltender Trey Augustine. Penn State got the game’s first shot 20 seconds in on a long shot from Jarod Crespo that was easily swept aside.

Patrick Geary got the first Michigan State chance of the night when he sent one wide of the net on a break 90 seconds in. A second shot attempt from Geary shortly after was blocked by Smith. Things were chippy from the jump, with Shea Van Olm and Lev Katzin getting in separate spats.

Eric Nilson was set up beautifully in the crease by Shane Vansaghi at 3:23, but Fleming stonewalled him. A controversial no-call on the other end on a drive to the net by Aiden Fink sent the crowd into an uproar, one that grew louder after Michigan State’s Anthony Romani sprung a breakaway on the other end and slipped it through the five-hole of Fleming for the game’s opening goal at 4:02.

Penn State looked for a quick response and nearly got it when a bouncing puck got to Luke Misa, who fed Katzin in the slot, but the All-American Spartan goaltender made a terrific save to keep it out at the five-minute mark.

The first penalty of the game came at 7:56, when Smith was called for interference on Romani after a giveaway nearly resulted in another breakaway. The Spartans had a productive power play, maintaining pressure in the offensive zone and getting six shots on net, but none of them got past Fleming as the Big Ten’s best penalty kill delivered.

The difference in the early going was that Michigan State’s shots had a cleaner path to Fleming than Penn State’s could get to Augustine. On one end, a bouncing puck gave Charlie Stramel a chance in close that was stopped, but on the other end, Gavin McKenna missed Ben Schoen in the slot.

A massive scrum began at 13:33 after a Michigan State offside that led to dueling penalties for Vansaghi and Nic Chin-DeGraves. An additional unsportsmanlike conduct was assessed to Chin-DeGraves after he mouthed off to the officials on the way to the box. The two penalties, plus a game misconduct, gave the Spartans a power play. JJ Wiebusch served the second minor.

That additional penalty proved costly. Owen West delivered a bomb from the point that got all the way through, doubling the Michigan State lead at 14:59 of the first period. Penn State once again tried for a quick response, with Fink setting up a Dane Dowiak one-timer, but it was gloved by Augustine.

The Nittany Lions would get their first power play shortly after, however, as Crespo was hooked by Daniel Russell at the blue line at 16:03. Unfortunately, it would last just 27 seconds, as Smith took his second interference penalty of the period as Penn State attempted a zone entry.

Still, as the game went to 4-on-4, Reese Laubach got the game’s best chance, springing free on a breakaway and beating Augustine, but ringing the left post. The Spartans would take advantage of a massive hit by Stramel, disrupting the Nittany Lions’ offensive momentum, as Cayden Lindstrom set up Romani for his second goal of the game at 18:26 on the power play.

Guy Gadowsky challenged the Stramel hit for head contact in a desperate move to swing the game, but the challenge was unsuccessful, and Penn State lost its timeout. A big theme of Penn State’s opening period offense was not getting clean shots off, as Dowiak and Fink lost the puck trying to get shots off in close.

After a dreadful first period, Penn State started the second period with Matt DiMarsico driving hard to the net and nearly putting one past Augustine. The Nittany Lions attempted some stuff-in attempts in the ensuing 20 seconds, but the Spartan netminder kept them all out.

Tensions boiled over again at 3:38 when Fink got obliterated in open ice, drawing a penalty. The offending Spartan, Lindstrom, was then mauled by several Nittany Lions in what turned into a 10-man brawl. The ensuing penalties were as follows:

• Cayden Lindstrom got a five-minute major and a game misconduct for head contact.
• Colin Ralph got a five-minute major and a game misconduct for facemasking.
• Gavin McKenna got a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking during the brawl.

All three men were ejected. Penn State got a five-minute power play, but with their quarterback done for the night, they came up empty with four shots on net. Mac Gadowsky and DiMarsico also had golden opportunities in the slot, but sent it wide.

Penn State would get another chance on the man advantage when Matt Lahey was sent off for cross-checking at 9:26. After more missed opportunities, the Nittany Lions finally got one past Augustine on the 23rd shot of the game, as Smith rang the inside of the post and put it in the back of the net at 11:18. DiMarsico and Misa picked up assists, as Penn State cut it to 3-1.

A SMITTY BOMB!!! #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/GdDEopP1GD

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) January 31, 2026

The rally would not last long. Lahey’s shot on net trickled away from Fleming, and as the Montreal native tried to corral the rebound, Porter Martone slipped the puck between his legs, and it trickled into the back of the net for a back-breaking goal at 15:14 to make it 4-1. Sometimes, you don’t get the bounces.

Speaking of not getting the bounces, when you face a goalie like Augustine, the passes have to be perfect to beat him. DiMarsico tried setting up Wiebusch with just over a minute left for a one-timer, but the pass was offline. As the period expired, Fink got a minor penalty for throwing his stick, which would go into effect as the third period started.

Penn State killed off the power play to start the period with relative ease and threatened again shortly after, but the shot from Smith at 2:21 rang the post once again, and this time hit the outside. It was the third post of the game for the Nittany Lions.

The bounces would even out just a minute later, however, as a long shot from Carter Schade deflected off the skate of Laubach and into the back of the net for his sixth of the season at 3:27 to make it 4-2. DiMarsico picked up his second assist of the day in the process.

Great Pass, Backdoor tap-in!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/5qOwPFs60t

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) January 31, 2026

Shea Van Olm would be sent to the box at 4:28 for cross-checking a Spartan into the boards, giving Michigan State another power play. Despite being shorthanded, Penn State got the best chance of the power play, as Fink set up Nick Fascia in the slot but was denied by Augustine on that and the ensuing stuff-in attempt.

The bad news kept coming for the Nittany Lions when, after a fantastic save by Fleming, Schade was sent off for hooking at 5:35 to set up a lengthy 5-on-3. Fortunately, they were able to kill off the Van Olm penalty and got a call when Stramel took a cross-checking penalty at 6:41 in the crease.

The two sides played 4-on-4 for 55 seconds, with the best chance coming on a hard drive to the net by Crespo. After an unproductive start to the power play, a big carom from behind the net on a shot from Smith landed on the stick of Wiebusch, who hit DiMarsico for a quick shot in the crease that was buried past Augustine for his 15th of the season at 8:42, cutting the deficit to 4-3.

ONE-GOAL GAME IN HOCKEY VALLEY!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/rIySQaTEXm

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) January 31, 2026

The Nittany Lions kept the pressure up. They maintained consistent zone pressure and had the Spartans on their heels as they reached the midway point of the third period. Michigan State finally got the puck out and got a big chance from Gavin O’Connell, but after it was stopped by Fleming, Nilson went off for tripping at 11:35.

The power play was a rough one, though, as Michigan State repeatedly denied zone entry and got two shorthanded shots on goal, including a partial breakaway from Tommi Männistö. The power play expired without any serious threats, but the Nittany Lions continued firing shots from the blue line after it expired.

The Spartans settled down and evened out the action as time ticked off the third. Gadowsky pulled Fleming with 2:21 to go, but it did not end well. Romani potted a hat trick with 2:01 remaining to ice the game. Daniel Russell added a second empty-netter with 22.1 to go for good measure.

Takeaways

• Josh Fleming, who had been on a heater, had a rough one today. His two worst starts of the season have been against the Spartans, but he was left out to dry a few times tonight. Kevin Reidler will look to get the Nittany Lions on track at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
• The crowd at Pegula Ice Arena was in a bad mood from the start, with some calls going Michigan State’s way. The whistle was not generous to the home team, to say the least.
• These two teams don’t like each other. The Lindstrom hit on Fink boiled over into the season’s biggest brawl, resulting in three ejections. It was chippy all night around the fight, and the hostility of the Pegula crowd did not calm any tensions.
• Trey Augustine is the best goaltender in the nation, and he won this game for Michigan State. Penn State scored three goals, yet they pushed for several more and were denied by a helluva goalie.
• Penn State was already down four skaters due to injury, but skated even more shorthanded throughout the game. While Fink returned after taking a nasty hit, Gavin McKenna was ejected, and Lev Katzin left with an upper-body injury late in the third.

Up Next

It’s the one you’ve all been waiting for, folks. The men’s hockey team finishes up the weekend series in the first-ever men’s hockey game at Beaver Stadium at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 31. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.