#5 Wisconsin Men's Hockey Allows 7 Unanswered; Falls To Gavin Mckenna #8 Penn State

With Penn State being penalized for failing to time off nan crystal successful a timely mode pursuing warmups, and different fluky punishment owed to a surgery stick, Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey began Friday nighttime pinch ample opportunity to build a lead. During that 3 minutes of powerfulness play time, UW grounded to registry a changeable connected goal, foreshadowing nan frustrating destiny that was to travel for caput coach Mike Hastings' team.

Later successful nan first period, PSU winger Shea Van Olm received a awesome punishment and a crippled misconduct for checking from behind, giving nan Badgers 8 full minutes connected nan advantage successful nan opening frame. During that awesome powerfulness play, Wisconsin scored doubly and logged 11 of its 18 first play shots connected goal.

Those opening 20 minutes were nan precocious constituent for fans wrong nan Kohl Center who braved sub-zero temperatures to witnesser nan top-10 matchup. After nan first intermission, nan #8 Nittany Lions scored 7 unanswered goals, upsetting nan #5 Badgers 7-2.

"We cognize what we tin do, and I deliberation that comes from nan 26 guys successful nan locker room. Everyone's sewage to spell location coming and return a look successful nan reflector and recognize really bully we tin be. And, obviously, for illustration we've done each year, flush it, but besides study from coming and travel backmost tomorrow and beryllium better."

With nan loss, Wisconsin lost its 3rd location crippled successful simply 9 days. The Badgers person mislaid 4 of their past six contests, surrendering astatine slightest 4 goals successful each defeat. All 4 of those losses person travel astatine nan hands of teams classed successful nan top-10 of nan polls contempt UW going 3-1 against top-10 teams earlier January.

"We've sewage to reply nan bell," Hastings said.

First Star: Penn State guardant Gavin McKenna

Perhaps nan first-overall prime successful nan upcoming 2026 NHL Draft, PSU guardant Gavin McKenna whitethorn person deed his stride astatine nan correct clip for Nittany Lions fans, and nan incorrect clip for nan Badger faithful. Despite coming into nan nighttime pinch 24 points connected nan season, nan freshman had only scored six goals. By nan clip nan last buzzer sounded, however, he had recorded his first collegiate chapeau trick.

Despite him not having scored arsenic often arsenic expected truthful acold this season, nan Medicine Hat Tigers merchandise put his individual scoring talent connected afloat show successful Friday's bid opener. McKenna's 2nd extremity of nan nighttime showed his hands, shot, and velocity astatine their afloat capabilities arsenic he swatted a walk by UW guardant Simon Tassy retired of nan aerial successful nan neutral area and turned astir to people connected a blocker broadside wrist shot.

The Wisconsin defense allowing that overmuch clip and abstraction to a subordinate of McKenna's caliber is simply a look for disaster.

"There's a operation of rather a fewer things there," Hastings said of nan Nittany Lions' goals arsenic PSU piled connected late. "Our entries, retired turnovers, outnumbered rushes to a beautiful bully statement — that statement ate america up today."

Second Star: Penn State skipper Dane Dowiak

Centering that statement pinch McKenna connected nan wing, Nittany Lions skipper Dane Dowiak besides scored 3 goals, completing his first-career chapeau instrumentality by scoring a shorthanded third-period goal.

When McKenna scored his 3rd of nan nighttime six minutes later, he and Dowiak became nan first Penn State duo to grounds chapeau tricks successful nan aforesaid crippled since nan programme transitioned to Division I 13 years ago.

In summation to scoring shorthanded, Dowiak scored a extremity connected nan powerfulness play, and different shorthanded.

Badgers skipper Ben Dexheimer pointed straight to typical teams play arsenic nan quality betwixt nan luck of his squad and Penn State arsenic nan Nittany Lions scored doubly pinch 3 opportunities connected nan advantage successful nan 2nd period.

"They capitalized and we request to person a amended consequence than we did," said Dexheimer.

Third Star: Penn State winger Aiden Fink

With 3 assists, nan 3rd personnel of PSU's apical statement helped put distant UW for good, providing superior assists connected 2 of nan Nittany Lions' 4 3rd play goals.

As Penn State entered nan 3rd play pinch a one-goal lead, nan Calgary, Alberta autochthonal helped to quiet nan Kohl Center crowd hoping to will nan Badgers to a comeback. Fink intercepted a breakout walk that Wisconsin defenseman Aiden Dubinsky had intended for Quinn Finley. In turn, Fink dropped nan puck disconnected astatine nan constituent for PSU blue-liner Jackson Smith, who scored 15 seconds into nan last frame.

The puck appeared to redirect Dubinsky's instrumentality and past UW goaltender Daniel Hauser.

"It hit, I don't cognize who it hit, but it deed a mitt aliases something," Hauser said. " I don't cognize if it was our guy, I deliberation it was our feline benignant of passing done nan changeable lane. You know, still astir apt a save-able puck to beryllium honorable pinch you. But, you know, conscionable a weird bounceand that sometimes happens.

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