No. 6 Penn State men’s hockey (20-11-2, 12-9-2 Big Ten) was defeated by No. 11 Wisconsin (20-11-2, 13-10-0 Big Ten) 7-3 at Pegula Ice Arena in a top-15 conference matchup.

Josh Fleming got the start in net and allowed an uncharacteristic six goals on 40 shots, while Cade Cristenson, Gavin McKenna, and Aiden Fink all found the back of the net for Penn State.

How It Happened

Wisconsin registered the first three shots of the game before going on the man advantage 3:15 into play after Jarod Crespo was sent to the penalty box for hooking. Fleming came up with two saves on the Bagers’ power play, and the Nittany Lions successfully killed off the penalty.

Ben Schoen entered the offensive zone and dropped a pass back to JJ Weibusch, who fed the trailing Christenson in the slot. Christenson buried the wrister past Daniel Hauser, beating him under the glove, to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead 6:25 into the first period.

Quinn Finley evened the game for Wisconsin 2:14 later, one-timing a feed from Blake Montgomery past Josh Fleming.

Penn State earned its first power play midway through the period after Tyson Dyck was sent to the box for slashing Aiden Fink.

McKenna wasted no time finding the back of the net, beating Hauser eight seconds into the man advantage on a wrister from just above the right faceoff circle. Wisconsin challenged the play for goaltender interference, but was unsuccessful, and Penn State took the 2-1 lead with 9:04 to go in the opening period.

BANG! G-MAC!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/YdjPamkrQ4

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) March 6, 2026

Weibusch nearly added to the lead after picking up a bouncing puck, finding himself one-on-one with the goalie, but Hauser flashed the glove to turn him away.

Minutes later, Mac Gadowsky mishandled the puck in the Nittany Lions’ defensive zone, leading to a grade A chance for Ryan Botterill. Fleming came up with the save, sparing the Nittany Lions from a two-goal deficit.

Just over two minutes into the second period, Vasily Zelenov picked up the loose puck after it took an odd bounce off the end boards, and snuck it under the pad of Fleming to tie the game. Wisconsin took the lead 1:45 later, after Adam Pietila’s shot hit off the post, ricocheted off of Grady Deering, and into the back of the net, giving Wisconsin a 3-2 lead.

Penn State would earn a power play after Blake Montgomery cross-checked Ben Schoen near the face. The play was reviewed, and Montgomery was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct.

The teams would skate four aside for two minutes after Matt DiMarsico was sent to the box for interference. He would return with 2:08 of power play time remaining, but Penn State was unable to find the equalizer.

Wisconsin turned the puck over in its own defensive end, and with 66 seconds to go in the period, Fink let go of a wrister that Hauser got a piece of, but was unable to keep out of the net, sending the teams to the locker room tied 3-3.

Simon Tassy took the lead back for Wisconsin four minutes into the third period after wrapping around behind the net and stuffing the puck inside the post.

Less than 2:30 after Tassy’s goal, Ryan Botterill worked Carter Schade behind the net and used the same wrap-around move Tassy did, tucking the puck inside the post and under the pad of Fleming to take a 5-3 lead with 13 minutes to go in the third period. Pietila extended that lead to three with 6:08 to play in regulation, silencing a stunned Pegula Ice Arena.

Gavin Morrissey sealed the deal with 2:28 to go, beating Fleming after picking up Finley’s loose pass while on a face-one-three man advantage, giving Wisconsin a 7-3 lead.

Takeaways

• Fleming allowed three separate wrap-around goals in the third period, and seven overall for the game. It was a very unusual showing from the freshman netminder.
• Wisconsin dominated puck possession and play in the second and third periods, outscoring Penn State 5-1 during the final 40 minutes of play.
• JJ Weibusch missed a wide-open net in the second period while on the man advantage, which would’ve been the tying goal to that point. In retrospect, the goal wouldn’t have mattered, but at the time, it would have swung momentum in Penn State’s favor.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will close out the regular season with the team’s annual whiteout, against Wisconsin, at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, March 5, at Pegula Ice Arena.