University Park, PA — Penn State hoped to harness the White Out energy from the Roar Zone to close the regular season on a strong note as the Nittany Lions prepare for postseason hockey in the Big Ten Tournament and aim to repeat their Frozen Four run.
Instead, Wisconsin carried over the momentum it built during the third period of Thursday night’s 7-3 win and skated to a 5-2 victory at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday night to complete the series sweep.
Early on, Penn State looked to rebound from a disastrous third period the night before, when Wisconsin outshot the Nittany Lions 17-6, dominated the faceoff circle 23-8, and scored four goals in the final frame.
Penn State appeared energized by the return of Charlie Cerrato, who had been sidelined with an injury since the January 9 game against Minnesota.
Prior to puck drop, Lev Katzin was a healthy scratch. Many speculated the decision was related to his late hit on Wisconsin’s Grady Deering the night before, which earned him a 10-minute misconduct.
While Penn State initially fed off the energy in the building, things cooled when Nittany Lion forward JJ Wiebusch cross-checked Wisconsin’s Vasily Zelenov, leaving Zelenov down on the ice for a short time.
Penn State successfully killed off the early penalty and established a 7-3 shots-on-goal advantage midway through the first period.
However, Wisconsin began to control the faceoff circle, winning 15 of the first 24 draws and gaining a decisive puck-possession edge. The momentum shifted when Gavin Morrissey and Christian Fitzgerald executed a pinpoint passing sequence that set up Quinn Finley, who redirected a quick shot past Kevin Reidler to quiet the White Out crowd.
Frustration began to mount shortly afterward when Penn State’s Ben Schoen was assessed a cross-checking penalty following a play where Wisconsin’s Weston Knox appeared to embellish the contact, sending Schoen to the box for two minutes and drawing the ire of the Pegula crowd.
Wisconsin took control of the rest of the period, outshooting Penn State 12-1 down the stretch.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Just seconds into the second period, Reidler watched a loose puck trickle into the net after it was last touched by Morrissey, giving Wisconsin a 2-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, Wisconsin struck again as Oliver Tulk finished a pass from Ryan Botterill to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Badgers continued to pour on the pressure when Blake Montgomery pushed the advantage to 4-0, prompting Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky to turn to Josh Fleming in relief of Reidler, who stopped 16 of 20 shots.
During a stretch spanning the midway point of the first period through the middle of the second, Wisconsin dominated play and outshot Penn State 18-2.
Late in the second period, Penn State finally generated some life when Charlie Cerrato and Mac Gadowsky set up Shea Van Olm for his eighth goal of the season. For Cerrato, it marked his first point since January 4 against RIT.
Just a minute later, Aiden Fink and Gavin McKenna combined to set up Reese Laubach for his 11th goal of the season. McKenna’s assist gave him his 48th point of the year, passing Denis Smirnov’s Penn State freshman record for most points in a single season.
Two minutes into the final period, Wisconsin’s Tulk scored his second goal of the night off another pass from Botterill to restore a three-goal lead.
Penn State got outshot 54-31 in the last four periods of play where its forecheck was virtually nonexistent, allowing Wisconsin’s defense to exit the zone with little resistance
Penn State enters the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the 2025–26 Big Ten Tournament and will look to snap a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) when it hosts No. 6 Minnesota at Pegula Ice Arena on Wednesday.
