No. 5 Penn State men’s hockey (18-8-0, 10-6-0 Big Ten) dropped a heartbreaking overtime defeat at Beaver Stadium against No. 2 Michigan State (21-5-0, 12-4-0 Big Ten), 5-4. It was the second-most attended college hockey game in history.

On a historic, frosty afternoon in State College, two of college hockey’s best went back and forth in an instant classic. The game went to overtime, just the third of the year for Penn State, and Charlie Stramel finished off a hat trick to send the crowd home disappointed.

How It Happened

Kevin Reidler got the start for the Nittany Lions, his 14th start of the season. Dane Dowiak got the game’s opening shot just nine seconds on Trey Augustine on a wraparound try.

Michigan State would strike first just over two minutes in, as Porter Martone banked it off the wall to Charlie Stramel in the offensive zone, who fed a wide-open Daniel Russell for the game-opening goal at 2:23.

Dowiak got a partial breakaway on the other end at the 3:30 mark, but sent the shot wide. Cayden Lindstrom, fresh off his ejection on Friday night, came the other way on a partial breakaway of his own, but was stopped by Reidler.

The early flow of the game looked exactly like an outdoor game as both teams tried to gain their footing. Michigan State had the early edge in shots, but a lot of the shot attempts from both teams early were low danger. Mac Gadowsky fired a shot from the point that was swallowed up by Augustine at 8:41.

The first penalty of the game was on the Nittany Lions, as Lev Katzin went off for holding at 10:53. Stramel fired an early shot from the point, and there were a few other tense moments, but Penn State killed off the game’s opening power play.

Matt DiMarsico tried to replicate his goal from Friday night on a feed from Reese Laubach behind the net, but Augustine denied it. Reidler had to make a quick save on a shot from Russell on the other end a few minutes after. Cade Christenson fired a shot from the point that got through, and shortly after, Dowiak got a third chance in close, but the puck slid off his stick and was covered by Augustine.

Anthony Romani went off for hooking at 16:53 to hand Penn State its first power play. Luke Misa looked for a deflection by JJ Wiebusch in the first couple of seconds, but it went wide. Aiden Fink had a clean one-timer go wide, and Gavin McKenna fired a pair of shots towards Augustine, but the power play expired without a goal.

The Spartans got a clean breakaway as the penalty expired, with Romani getting robbed by a sprawling Reidler. The Swedish netminder made his 16th save of the opening period a split second later, denying a stuff-in try from Shane Vansaghi in the final seconds of the first.

It took just 13 seconds after the puck was dropped for the second period for Beaver Stadium to erupt, as Dowiak found Fink on the break, who sidestepped a defender and sniped one past Augustine to tie the game at one.

Who else, but Aiden Fink!! #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/FpFPD92wZZ

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

The two sides went back and forth for the next few minutes before a quick change by the Spartans caught the Nittany Lions sleeping, as Owen West found Porter Martone ahead of the pack, only to be stopped by Reidler. No reinforcements were coming for Reidler, however, as Stramel tapped home the rebound after the sophomore was left out to dry, giving Michigan State back the lead at 3:51.

It would take a few minutes for either team to seriously threaten again. At the seven-minute mark, Jackson Smith broke in and had his shot blocked, but Laubach and McKenna followed it up with shots on net.

The increased offensive pressure would eventually result in the game-tying goal. Penn State won an offensive zone faceoff, and a bouncing puck found Mac Gadowsky, who fed McKenna in front of the net. The freshman phenom potted his 11th goal of the season, beating Augustine with a crisp snapshot at 8:22 to tie the game at two.

CHICLETS BUMP!!@MikeGrinnell_ | @spittinchiclets #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/Xj3yA9Bvno

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

Fink looked for his second of the game shortly after, streaking up the right side with Katzin, but was stopped by Augustine. The Nittany Lions kept up the pressure in the offensive zone, pelting the All-American netminder repeatedly in the second.

Michigan State got some chances of its own after getting an offensive zone draw, but shots by Martone, Sean Barnhill, and Tiernan Shoudy were stopped by Reidler. A fanned shot at the point finally broke the pressure, as McKenna picked it up and had a breakaway chance at 15:30, but was stopped by Augustine.

Fink would get his second goal of the game at 16:25, as McKenna fed him for a one-timer in front of the net for his fifth of the season, giving the Nittany Lions their first lead of the series, 3-2.

72 18 GOAL#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/iiNBqBT1Zr

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

Just 13 seconds later, Michigan State’s Patrick Geary went off for tripping, giving Penn State the chance to double the lead. Despite the crowd and the momentum on their side, the Nittany Lions came up empty and soon took a penalty of their own when Shea Van Olm went off for tripping at 19:15.

A pass off the back wall beat the buzzer for the Spartans, as Russell passed back to Stramel, who ripped his second of the game with two seconds left in the period to tie the game, sending it into intermission tied at three.

Vansaghi started the third period with a long shot that was blocked by Christenson. Fink led a one-man break just after the two-minute mark, but was stuck aside by Augustine.

The tie was re-broken just over four minutes in, as Van Olm stole the puck from Maxim Strbak and turned it into a clean breakaway, beating Augustine for the go-ahead goal at 4:17 to make it 4-3 Penn State.

FIRE US UP OLMER!!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/wf42FLKtah

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

The Nittany Lions threatened again shortly after with a scramble in front of the net, but it was forced out of the zone. The Spartans responded with a 2-on-1 the other way, but Carter Schade broke up the cross-ice pass. Reidler made a save on Gavin O’Connell shortly after to force a stoppage.

Takeaways on both ends prevented hard drives to the net as the clock ticked under 13 minutes remaining. Michigan State re-tied the game on a long shot from the point by Max Basgall that got all the way through, evening the game at four with 7:28. Penn State challenged for offside, but lost their timeout after the ruling was upheld due to inconclusive evidence.

Penn State would get an immediate chance to respond when Vansaghi went off for cross-checking at 7:47, giving them a big power play. Despite winning the opening faceoff, it would be a choppy power play, with only two blocked shots attempted before Vansaghi came out of the box.

As the clock ticked under nine minutes, Michigan State threatened a breakaway that was broken up by Smith at the Penn State blue line. Misa had a shot blocked on the other end after being teed up by Katzin with seven minutes remaining.

Lindstrom and DiMarsico traded quality chances as the final five minutes of regulation began, but both Reidler and Augustine fought them off. The final few minutes were an assortment of tumbling bodies, hold-your-breath shots, and deep exhales. The two teams exchanged haymakers, but neither goalie broke. A stoppage to fix the ice with 37 seconds left provided a break, but the final seconds ticked off. Overtime, it is.

The opening shot of overtime by Smith was blocked by Basgall. On the other end, West fired and was stopped by Reidler. A defensive breakdown three minutes in proved to be the final blow to the Nittany Lions, as Stramel finished off his hat trick to win the game for the Spartans.

Takeaways

• Stoppages to fix the ice: 11
• Time of game: 3:08
• The spectacle was fully delivered. The official attendance was 74,575, the second largest in college hockey history and the eighth largest hockey game ever. The boos were loud, the cheers of jubilation were louder. Penn State successfully displayed what a Beaver Stadium hockey game could be, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Winter Classic was here in the next three years.
• Gavin McKenna and Porter Martone will be linked together for a long time, from their time with Team Canada at World Juniors and their brief Big Ten rivalry, to being top NHL draft picks. They both showed out this weekend and showed the hype is for real.
• Trey Augustine kept the Nittany Lions to just one goal on 60 shots in the series in East Lansing back in November. Things went differently in this series, as the Richter Award favorite allowed seven (or more) goals in the two games this weekend.
• The game-tying goal scored by the Spartans in the third period was a victim of the outdoor game’s inability to provide overhead views. “Inconclusive evidence” after a long review is a tough one to stomach for Gadowsky and company. There’s a case that if this game had been played at Pegula, the Nittany Lions would’ve prevailed.
• Michigan State went 4-0 and picked up 10 of 12 points in the season series. Penn State has fallen to third in the Big Ten standings.

Up Next

The men’s hockey team will have a bye week before going on the road to Ann Arbor to face off with No. 1 Michigan at Yost Ice Arena at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, February 13. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.