Madison, Wi. – No. 8 Penn State could not have scripted a much worse start Friday night against No. 5 Wisconsin, yet the Nittany Lions responded with seven unanswered goals to secure a 7-2 victory at the Kohl Center.
Before the puck even dropped, Penn State’s bench was assessed a warmup infraction, giving Wisconsin an immediate power play to open the game. The Badgers capitalized on the early momentum, as Penn State spent nine of the first 16 minutes shorthanded.
Wisconsin struck first when forward Tyson Dyck buried his own rebound off goaltender Josh Fleming, extending his point streak to four games and giving the Badgers a 1-0 lead.
Still on the power play following a game misconduct to Penn State forward Shea Van Olm, who returned from injury and delivered a physical hit on Wisconsin captain and defenseman Ben Dexheimer, Oliver Tulk skated around the circle and scored through a screened Fleming to make it 2-0.
The Badgers dominated early, outshooting Penn State 17-3 during the opening stretch.
Momentum shifted in the second period as Penn State settled in.
After a penalty to Wisconsin forward Simon Tassy, captain Dane Dowiak scored on the power play for his seventh goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Following a cross-checking penalty to defenseman Jack Phelan, Penn State converted again on a lengthy 5-on-3 advantage, with Gavin McKenna scoring his seventh of the year to tie the game.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Dowiak wasn’t finished, netting his second of the night later in the period after being set up by Reese Laubach and Mac Gadowsky to give Penn State its first lead at 3-2
Just 17 seconds into the third period, defenseman Jackson Smith blasted a slap shot past the Wisconsin goaltender to silence the Kohl Center and extend the lead to 4-2.
Moments later, a neutral-zone turnover led to McKenna’s second goal of the game, as he skated to the point and sniped home to make it 5-2.
Midway through the third, Dowiak completed the hat trick, Penn State’s sixth of the season and 21st in program history, finishing off a play with Aiden Fink recording his third assist of the night. The goal tied Fink with McKenna and Charlie Cerrato (who was again out of the lineup) for the team lead with 18 assists.
With under three minutes to go, McKenna earned his first collegiate hat trick from an assist from Mac Gadowsky to score Penn State’s seventh unanswered goal to seal their 7-2 win.
In the game’s final 44 minutes, Penn State outshot Wisconsin 31-24.
No. 8 Penn State looks to win their seventh in a row when they face No. 5 Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. Puck drops 8:30 PM Eastern on Big Ten Network.
