MADISON, Wis. — History was made for Penn State on Friday night when the Nittany Lions traveled to Madison to take on the Badgers. Freshman Gavin McKenna and junior Dane Dowiak combined for the first-ever multiple hat-trick game for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions had seven unanswered goals to defeat No. 5 Wisconsin with a final score of 7-2.
The Badgers started the game strong, scoring two first period goals. The opening goal came from Tyson Dyck with 8:14 remaining in the period. Wisconsin added another just under three minutes later when Oliver Tulk found the back of the net, giving the Badgers a 2–0 lead heading into the second period.
Penn State wasted little time getting on the board in the second period, as Dowiak fired a shot into the back of the net to ignite the Nittany Lions’ offense. The goal sparked a surge that Penn State would not look back from the rest of the night.
The Nittany Lions added two more goals in the period. McKenna netted his first of the game to tie the score at 2–2, and just two minutes later, Dowiak struck again for his second goal of the night, giving Penn State a 3–2 lead heading into the third period.
Penn State sealed the win with four more goals in the third period. Jackson Smith added one, while Dowiak completed his hat trick. McKenna then scored twice to secure his own hat trick, as the Nittany Lions pulled away for the win over the Badgers.
Penn State took on Wisconsin again Saturday night, and despite a slow start, the Nittany Lions scored three unanswered goals to win 3–1 and complete the sweep over the Badgers.
Wisconsin got the scoring started in the first period when Christian Fitzgerald found the back of the net to give the Badgers a 1–0 lead.
Penn State didn’t get on the scoreboard until the third period, when JJ Wiebusch tied the game at 1–1 with 15 minutes remaining. Reese Laubach then gave the Nittany Lions the lead with 6:52 left in the game, and McKenna sealed the win with an empty-net goal to make the final score 3–1, completing a big conference sweep for Penn State.
Penn State has now won seven straight Big Ten games and are on a seven-game winning streak, the longest regular-season streak in program history.
The Nittany Lions will travel home to face No. 2 Michigan State in a two-game series on Friday and Saturday, with Saturday’s game set to be the first Penn State hockey game at Beaver Stadium.
