Feb. 24, 2013
Box Score
VIDEO: Coach Gadowsky Postgame Comments
MADISON, Wis. - Sophomore goaltender PJ Musico (Orange, Calif.) turned aside a career-high 46 shots, but the Penn State men's hockey team fell to No. 18 Wisconsin, 5-0, at the Kohl Center Sunday night. The Nittany Lions dropped to 12-14-0 while Wisconsin improved to 14-10-7.
After a scoreless first period, John Ramage and Michael Mersch gave the Badgers a 2-0 second-period advantage before Nic Kerdiles, Tyler Barnes and Brendan Woods added markers in the third.
Wisconsin outshot the Nittany Lions by a 51-22 margin and went 2-for-7 on the power play. Penn State finished 0-for-3 on the man advantage. Wisconsin netminder Joel Rumpel made 22 saves for the whitewash.
The Nittany Lions will conclude their inaugural NCAA Division I season Monday, Feb. 25 when they face the Badgers at 8:37 p.m. ET. The game will air live on BTN.
Wisconsin, which outshot the Nittany Lions by a 22-7 margin in second period, scored twice in the middle stanza to take a 2-0 lead. Ramage broke the scoreless tie 1:26 into the frame after rifling a slap shot from the high slot above Musico's glove. Tyler Barnes and Mark Zengerle collected assists on the play.
While on their fourth power play of the evening, Mersch doubled the Badgers' advantage. Mersch collected a pass from Jake McCabe to the right of Musico and threw a shot toward the net that bounced off a Penn State defenseman and past the goal line.
In the third period, Kerdiles made it 3-0 after scoring off Zengerle's rebound at 10:20 of the frame. Barnes extended the lead right after serving a roughing minor. The forward jumped out of the box and received a pass from Keegan Meuer before scoring on a breakaway.
With 3:09 left in the contest, Woods tallied on the power play to account for the 5-0 final.