Penn State men’s hockey’s regular season came to a close in unceremonious fashion on Friday night in Pegula Ice Arena.
After dropping the series opener 7-3, the No. 6 Nittany Lions were upseated by No. 11 Wisconsin again, this time by a 5-2 score during the Wear White Game.
“I thought they were quicker on pucks and they were able to control the puck in their offensive zone. They had extended offensive zone time,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said after the game.
How it happened
Forward Charlie Cerrato returned to the lineup for the first time since early January after a lengthy recovery from injury, giving a boost to Penn State’s second line, though Lev Katzin was a scratch after playing Thursday.
Aside from an early cross-checking penalty on JJ Wiebusch, the Nittany Lions dominated time of possession in the early minutes, seeing multiple scoring chances but failing to convert.
Instead, Wisconsin jumped out to a 1-0 advantage off the stick of Quinn Finley, who redirected a shot in front of the net and through Kevin Reidler’s pads.
The Badgers parlayed their lead into some offensive momentum, overtaking Penn State in shots. After a cross-checking call on Carter Schade — which the fans took heavy offense to — the visitors had another prime scoring opportunity but couldn’t capitalize, taking a slim lead into the first intermission.
Less than 30 seconds into the middle frame, Reidler was the victim of friendly fire when Gavin Morrissey’s shot redirected off a Nittany Lion skate and into the net.
“It was a weird game,” Gadowsky said. “We had pucks going in off our behinds. We had our players getting passes and breaking their sticks and it was just one of those weird games. But that’s hockey.”
Oliver Tulk furthered Wisconsin’s lead, going five-hole on a redirect in front of the net to make it 3-0 less than two minutes into the period.
Fresh off a faceoff win in the attack zone, Blake Montgomery rifled a shot past Reidler from the high slot, making it 4-0. Gadowsky opted to pull Reidler for goaltender Josh Fleming, who started the previous night in a 7-3 loss.
“The hook was made entirely 100% to give the team or to change the mojo,” Gadowsky said. “That was it. That’s 100% nothing on Kevin.”
The Badgers nearly made it 5-0, but the goal was waved off by a holding call against Tulk, setting up Penn State’s first power play of the night. With 17 seconds remaining, Wisconsin was called for too many men on the ice, sparking a brief 5-on-3 overlap.
The Nittany Lions mustered no shots during the initial man-advantage, but Shea Van Olm buried the puck on a one-timer from the right faceoff dot during the second power-play. Just over a minute later, Reese Laubach knocked in a loose puck in front of the cage, making it a 4-2 contest deep into the second period. Gavin McKenna’s assist on the goal broke the program record for total points by a freshman.
The pace of play picked up in the third period, and Tulk scored during an odd-man rush — his second — to make it a 5-2 Badger lead.
After several penalty kills, including a cross-check by Jackson Smith, matching unsportsmanlike calls on Wiebusch and Christian Fitzgerald and a five-minute major for misconduct on Blake Montgomery, the score held.
The white-clad crowd began to disperse as the minutes ticked down. Defending its comfortable lead, Wisconsin closed out the road sweep, returning the favor after Penn State did the same in the Badgers’ barn.
“Yesterday we were disappointed that we didn’t fight to the end,” Gadowsky said. “I thought tonight we did.”
Team leaders
Goals: Reese Laubach, Shea Van Olm, 1
Assists: Gavin McKenna, Aiden Fink, Mac Gadowsky, Charlie Cerrato, 1
Saves: Josh Fleming, 16/17, Kevin Reidler, 16/20
Up next: Penn State will host Minnesota in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament, with puck drop slated for 7 p.m. on Wednesday
