Penn State lost its third straight game, an embarrassing 5-2 loss to Wisconsin at Pegula Ice Arena. Charlie Cerrato finally returned to the lineup, but his presence was not enough to wake up the team. The Nittany Lions fell behind 4-0 under siege from the Badgers’ attack early in the second period, and outside of a quick one-minute burst where Penn State scored its two goals, they looked like they did not belong on the same ice as Wisconsin. It is certainly not what we want to see entering the postseason,
and it feels like the season has already slipped away.
First Period
A cross-checking penalty on JJ Wiebusch in the offensive zone led to Wisconsin’s first power play of the night. Penn State’s aggressive penalty kill went to work. Casey Aman made a nice block on Quinn Finley, and Matt DiMarsico nearly scored on a shorthanded breakaway. The Nittany Lions killed off the penalty.
Wisconsin finally broke free of Penn State’s forecheck, and a great outlet pass by Gavin Morrissey through the neutral zone led to a 2-on-2 rush. Christian Fitzgerald fed it across to Quinn Finley, who potted his 15th goal of the season to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions killed another penalty late in the period, but Wisconsin tilted the ice in the back half of the period, outshooting Penn State 12-1 after the Lions got off to a 7-2 advantage early. Wisconsin took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Second Period
Gavin Morrissey deflected a point shot with poor coverage in front of the net and Kevin Reidler out of position to extend Wisconsin’s lead to 2-0. On the next shift, Oliver Tulk was in perfect position to redirect the puck into the back of the net after the Badgers won another puck battle at the boards, and the deficit grew to 3-0.
The Badgers remained relentless on the attack, and a Blake Montgomery blast from the blue line blew past Kevin Reidler and extended the lead to 4-0. Wisconsin rolled up the first 11 shots of the period and had the Nittany Lions on their heels and lifeless. Reidler was pulled for Josh Fleming after giving up his fourth of the night.
A pair of penalties on Wisconsin led to extended power play time for Penn State, and Shea Van Olm blasted a one-timer from the faceoff circle to put the Lions on the board:
On the next shift, Gavin McKenna skated in toward the net and lulled Daniel Hauser out of the crease. McKenna hooked a pass to Reese Laubach in the slot, and Laubach backhanded it home to cut the lead to 4-2:
Wisconsin took the momentum back with a couple of solid shifts in the offensive zone and nearly restored the three-goal lead but for a huge save by Josh Fleming.
Third Period
Shea Van Olm missed a shot wide with Penn State pressuring in the offensive zone that created an odd-man rush for Wisconsin the other way. Ryan Botterill fed Oliver Tulk on the 2-on-1, and Tulk scored his second of the night to give Wisconsin an insurance goal early in the third.
Blake Montgomery got a game misconduct for cross-checking Jackson Smith in the chin. Penn State generated a couple of good looks but looked disjointed for far too long on the five-minute power play. The pace of the game slowed down in the third, which is never a good sign for the trailing team. To make matters worse, Gavin McKenna skated gingerly toward the bench late in the game. Wisconsin cruised to a 5-2 win and a sweep of Penn State on the road.
Scoring Summary
First Period
- WISC: Quinn Finley (15)- Christian Fitzgerald (13), Gavin Morrissey (24)- 5v5- 11:37
Second Period
- WISC: Gavin Morrissey (8)- Ben Dexheimer (18), Quinn Finley (14)- 5v5- 0:22
- WISC: Oliver Tulk (6)- Ryan Botterill (9), Jack Horbach (5)- 5v5- 1:29
- WISC: Blake Montgomery (9)- Luke Osburn (15), Vasily Zelenov (11)- 5v5- 4:52
- PSU: Shea Van Olm (8)- Mac Gadowsky (15), Charlie Cerrato (19)- PP- 12:43
- PSU: Reese Laubach (11)- Gavin McKenna (34), Aiden Fink (26)- 5v5- 13:56
Third Period
- WISC: Oliver Tulk (7)- Ryan Botterill (10)- 5v5- 1:59
Shots By Period
- WISC: 14-16-7-37
- PSU: 8-7-10-25
Takeaways
- Pathetic- This is honestly my only takeaway from this game. I attended over 60 games in the Roar Zone as a student, and I have watched hundreds more Penn State hockey games on TV over the last 13 years. I have never seen a Penn State team completely give up the way this team did in the second period. They could not even break out of their own zone for the first 10 minutes of the period and got shelled by Wisconsin over and over with no resistance. The quote from Reese Laubach after last night’s loss painted quite a picture. There’s no leadership or accountability right now. I’m not calling for anyone’s head because bad seasons happen and Penn State has always rebounded, but something is seriously wrong in this moment and it is not going to magically disappear.
What’s Next
Penn State will host Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm on Big Ten Plus.
The Nittany Lions have slipped to No. 11 in the NPI, meaning what was a near-guaranteed NCAA bid two days ago is suddenly in jeopardy. Wednesday is now a must-win game.
