No. 6 Penn State men’s hockey (20-12-2, 12-10-2 Big Ten) was defeated by No. 11 Wisconsin (20-11-2, 13-10-0 Big Ten) 5-2 at Pegula Ice Arena in both teams’ final regular-season game.

Kevin Reidler was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 16 shots, and the Nittany Lions were never able to dig themselves out of the 4-0 deficit.

How It Happened

Blake Montgomery took a cross-check from JJ Wiebusch, drawing the game’s first penalty 3:37 into play. Matt DiMarsico saw the best chance during those two minutes — finding himself all alone with Wisconsin goalie Daniel Hauser while short-handed — but was turned aside by the left pad.

DiMarscio nearly scored minutes later after receiving a pass from Aiden Fink deep in the corner, but his shot ricocheted, hit the top of the net, and then bounced over the net.

Quinn Finley opened the scoring 10:47 into the first period, beating Reidler after receiving a perfectly placed saucer pass from Christian Fitzgerald while attacking two-on-one.

Carter Schade was sent to the box with 3:06 remaining in the first period after cross-checking Weston Knox. Finley recorded the only shot on goal during the man advantage for the Badgers, while Nic Chin-DeGraves laid his body out to block two different shot attempts to keep the Badgers from adding to their lead.

Gavin Morrissey extended Wisconsin’s lead just 22 seconds into the second period, deflecting Ben Dexheimer’s point shot into the back of the net. Oliver Tulk made it 3-0 just 1:07 later, tipping Ryan Botterill’s pass behind Reidler.

Montgomery made it 4-0 4:52 into the second period, burying a slapshot from the point, forcing Penn State to pull Reidler and put in Josh Fleming.

Penn State went on the power play midway through the second period after Tulk held Luke Misa while trying to trip the puck. Though unable to score, the Nittany Lions were awarded another power play after the Badgers were caught with too many men on the ice.

Shea Van Olm got the Nittany Lions on the board in the dying seconds of the power play, blasting a one-time feed from Mac Gadowsky past Hauser and into the net.

Comeback starts with one! pic.twitter.com/DmdR6Ubjkn

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) March 7, 2026

1:14 later, Reese Laubach made it 4-2 after putting home the loose rebound from Gavin McKenna’s tuck-in attempt.

That's two thus far!! pic.twitter.com/sQnpySnUPE

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) March 7, 2026

Moments after that, Wisconsin nearly took back the three-goal lead, but diving attempts from Jarod Crespo and Fleming kept Christian Fitzgerald’s trickling shot from finding the back of the net.

Tulk scored his second goal of the night 1:59 into the third period, extending Wisconsin’s lead to 5-2 after receiving the pass from Botterill on a two-on-one, and the Nittany Lions were never able to recover, falling by that score.

Takeaways

• To put it simply, Penn State got outplayed in every single aspect of the game. The Nittany Lions showed some fight in the second period, cutting the deficit down to two, but the Badgers’ goal opened the third period and killed all of that momentum.
• Reidler was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 16 shots, though the defense in front of him didn’t make the outing any easier.
• Coach Gadowsky called this series a great test for the playoffs. If Penn State plans to play in postseason play as they did against Wisconsin, they will get run out of the building by any team they play.

What’s Next?

Penn State will host a Big Ten Quarterfinals game set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, at Pegula Ice Arena. The opponent is TBD.