University Park, PA — In a historic first at Beaver Stadium, Penn State hosted an outdoor hockey game in front of 74,575 spectators, the second-largest crowd in college hockey history. The only larger outdoor crowd came during the 2010 Big Chill at Michigan Stadium, when Michigan State and Michigan drew a certified attendance of 104,173.
Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, all the pomp and pageantry, including a ceremonial puck drop by new Penn State football head coach Matt Campbell, was not enough to overcome No. 2 Michigan State, which completed a regular-season sweep of No. 5 Penn State with a 5-4 overtime victory.
Michigan State once again adjusted to its surroundings more quickly. The Spartans’ top line struck early, as forwards Porter Martone and Charlie Stramel set up Daniel Russell for a first-period goal and an early 1-0 lead.
Throughout the 2025–26 season, Michigan State outscored Penn State 7-0 in the first period across the four regular-season meetings.
The Spartans continued to dominate play in Penn State’s zone, building a decisive 13-4 shot advantage at one point in the opening period.
Penn State responded early in the second period. Just 13 seconds in, forwards Dane Dowiak and Gavin McKenna found Aiden Fink, who scored his first Big Ten goal of the 2025–26 season. The tally was Fink’s fourth goal of the year after scoring 17 Big Ten goals a season ago.
Following a turnover in the Michigan State zone, Martone sprung a streaking Stramel, who slipped the puck past Kevin Reidler for his 14th goal of the season, restoring the Spartans’ lead at 2-1.
Five minutes later, Penn State tied the game when defenseman Mac Gadowsky found McKenna in the slot for his 11th goal of the season.
As the second period began to wind down, the Nittany Lions surged again. Dowiak and McKenna connected once more with Fink, who buried his second goal of the game to give Penn State a 3-2 advantage.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.After a Shea Van Olm tripping penalty, Michigan State capitalized on the ensuing power play with just two seconds remaining in the period, as Stramel netted his second goal of the game to tie it at three.
Van Olm redeemed himself early in the third period, scoring his third goal of the season unassisted to put Penn State back on top, 4-3. The lead was short-lived, however, as Spartan defenseman Matt Basgall tied the game at four.
Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky challenged the play for a potential offsides, but video review determined Stramel was onside, allowing the goal to stand.
After 60 minutes failed to produce a winner, the game moved to overtime. During four-on-four play, Stramel completed the hat trick with under two minutes remaining to seal the victory for Michigan State.
Despite McKenna’s three-point performance, he finished the season series with four total points (two goals, two assists) against the Spartans. By comparison, Martone recorded eight points (three goals, five assists) in the season series, often fueling comparisons between the two elite prospects.
Michigan State also succeeded in getting under Penn State’s skin this season, as the Nittany Lions accumulated 85 penalty minutes across three games. Notably, in the Beaver Stadium showdown, Penn State was limited to just four minutes in the penalty box.
Penn State will face its third consecutive top-five opponent next weekend when the Nittany Lions travel to Yost Ice Arena to take on the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines.
